Ruut Turns Fifteen Years of Dreams and Waiting Into “Gravity”
Ruut’s Gravity is just like the sound of an artist who at last opens the door to a section that has been patiently waiting for its turn. The artist, who was born in Finland and now lives in Baltimore, has had these songs with her for about fifteen years, calling them quiet companions and private prayers during times of uncertainty, persistence and creative exploration. This background gives the album an emotional depth that extends beyond its title. As you go from the opening track “Intro” through to “Glimpse” and “Waiting”, there is the impression of someone looking back while at the same time moving forward, with Ruut’s voice acting as the central point of balance throughout. Although her songwriting has an intimate feel, the performances are able to grow into something much bigger, so that personal reflections can be recognised by listeners in their own lives. The song “Gravity” fits naturally in the middle of the project, while “Shine” and “Unbeatable” give a stronger sense of release and movement forward. The album’s emotional journey appears to have been thought out carefully, shifting between vulnerability, hope and determination rather than just offering a series of unconnected songs.
There is also a fascinating musical background to the record. Ruut, who was born in Kuopio, Finland, grew up in an environment filled with music, picking up the piano by listening rather than by formal instruction and beginning to write songs when she was young before moving to Budapest and later establishing herself in Baltimore. The early influence she received from American gospel music became a significant element in her musical identity, and the years she spent performing and developing on her own helped to create a voice which doesn’t easily fit into a single category. The combination of her Finnish origins, her exposure to American music and her deeply personal method of songwriting gives Gravity a unique viewpoint. “Church Bells” adds another dimension of spiritual and autobiographical imagery to the album, while “Storm” points to a more turbulent emotional state before “All I’ll Ever Need” moves towards something more intimate. The songs are linked by Ruut’s ability to transform her personal experiences into melodic storytelling, and the production by Grant Cornish, with mastering done by Blake Morgan, offers a refined setting without detracting from the emotional core of the recordings. “Unbeatable”, which had already been noted as an important new start for Ruut, takes on particular significance within the context of the entire album since its sense of resilience is connected to all that came before it.
In the end, Gravity is more concerned with understanding the journey that led to the arrival than with reaching a destination. Having spent many years writing, performing and developing her art outside the traditional route, the decision to release this album via Meridian marks another phase in that journey. The progression from “Intro” to “Always Be (Epilogue)” gives the record a sense of completion, as if the listener has been guided through a series of memories, struggles, discoveries and instances of renewed belief. It is especially appropriate that Ruut describes the album as capturing her “story of becoming” since the songs are not shown as a final picture of a person but rather as proof of her growth over time. The album has the closeness of music that started in a private setting and has since opened up to a broader audience; it is reflective without being discouraged, emotional without becoming excessive, and ultimately focuses on the lasting belief that dreams can survive even if the path to them turns out to be much longer than anticipated.
Gravity is the way in which Ruut is turning his fifteen years of quiet dreams, private prayers and hard-earned persistence into music that at last gets to step into the light.
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