Creativity
Gef’s 30 Under 30 Winners: Q&A with Ruby Biscoe-Taylor
Ten categories. Thirty young visionaries making their mark on the Isle of Man. Introducing the all-new #Gef30Under30 winners: the next generation of our island’s leaders.
The Games Global Creativity winners are some of our island’s most artistic young minds — expressing themselves while also empowering their local creative communities. They are creating the art of tomorrow, no matter which medium they choose.
What is your name and age?
Ruby Biscoe-Taylor, age 29.
Job title or role in the community?
Self-employed musician and employed at UCM.
How did you start your career or role in the community?
I have always made music in some form or another but started my band Biskee Brisht in 2017 to enter the Arrane Son Mannin competition, which finds a song in Manx Gaelic to compete in the Pan Celtic International Festival song contest. I wrote a new song, which was translated into Manx – and we won! So off we went to Ireland to compete at the festival and since then, the band has grown and developed into what it is today. I’ve been working full time as a musician and teacher since 2021 and it’s given me the freedom and opportunity to use my time in different ways – busking, writing, playing private functions and volunteering in care homes.
Tell us about your business/industry, is there something interesting about it that most people wouldn’t expect?
The music industry is so vast, even on the Isle of Man. For such a small island we are so diverse but the amount going on shows how important the arts are for our wellbeing and for our general standard of living. I think the thing that I have found the most unexpected is actually being able to make a living from the arts. My degree was in music and coming home after university, I’d convinced myself that if I lived on the Isle of Man, I wouldn’t be able to work in music. It’s taken me until I’m nearly 30, but here I am, working as a musician and I never thought that would be possible over here.
Who are your role models, either on-island or off, in your sector or outside of it?
I’d say all of the females in my family – my mum, my aunties, my cousins and my grandmothers. They are all so different but hardworking, passionate and successful in their fields, as well as being hugely supportive and influential in my life decisions.
What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever received?
My mum once told me something really simple when I was a teenager and it stuck with me. I’m a chronic people-pleaser, and she said, ‘you don’t have to do anything you don’t want to’. It seems so obvious and she probably wouldn’t even remember saying it to me but it changed my life. It gave me the freedom to make choices I believe in, instead of what I think I ‘should’ be doing.
What do you wish you knew when you were getting started in your career?
More than anything, I wish I knew myself a little better – how to look after myself and my mental health. I feel like I spent so much of my twenties feeling lost, anxious and depressed, constantly getting burnt out and not knowing how to cope. I’m coming out of my twenties feeling the best I ever have after learning so much more about who I am and how I function.
What are your plans for the future?
I want to carry on releasing music and performing with Biskee Brisht. We have some UK festivals booked this year and we are in the process of recording our second album. As well as that, I’ve become very interested in music for wellbeing and would like to continue work with care homes. My long term goal is to train to become a music therapist. You need to complete an MA to practice, so I am currently saving and planning for that.
What, for you, are the benefits of staying on or moving back to the island for young people under 30?
When I left the island at 16, in no world did I ever think I would return and live here for my twenties. But the reason I did was for support, and I’ve received that partly from my family and partly from the community around me. I didn’t understand how much value there is in the community that is fostered on the island until I moved away and came back again. For music, in particular, I’ve been able to grow and develop here, especially benefitting from the fantastic work done by the Isle of Man Arts Council and Culture Vannin, who I have both received funding from.
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