Underrated and criminally ignored even by the most dedicated music diggers, Alan Deil – aka Spookey Ruben – is a living legend. The musician, composer. and video director from Ottawa who now lives in LA not only has been writing highly eccentric and non-conformist songs for a good three decades, but also speaks flawless German and manages to bridge even the most contradictory genre gaps with breakneck elegance. For some, he is also one of the unsung heroes of the alternative, neo-psychedelic, trend-free avant-pop of the 90s – on a par with Beck, Ween, and The Magnetic Fields. Inspired by the oddities of the British new wave scene from the previous decade, Ruben combines weirdly flexible melodies with twisty arrangements and still manages to maintain a healthy level of pop appeal. When he released his eighth studio album, “Who Does That?” (2023), last year, very few people noticed. But from the time when he was still playing with Viva Zwei until today, his songs have influenced so many people that he actually doesn’t have to worry about recognition.