Summer is in session and 24-year-old Ruti Olajugbagbe is in full bloom. You may recognise Ruti as The Voice UK contestant who, six years ago, belted her way to victory at the tender age of 18. Described by then-mentor Sir Tom Jones as a “wonderful, magical singer”, Ruti’s powerhouse contralto and rich, radiant tone instantly bring to mind the near-inimitable voice of London Grammar’s Hannah Reid .
Ruti’s breathtaking vocals will shine whatever their setting, but it’s clear from how their sound has shifted over the past few years that they’ve taken pause to steadily carve their own path, wisely evading the ready-made pop-factory mould that many a competition winner has succumbed to. Following the release of their latest offering, their evocative EP ‘Lungs’, we catch up with the burgeoning musician from within the four walls of their bright green bedroom in Essex – the sound of Ruti’s dad playing their track ‘Bubblehouse Bounce’ rebounding in the distance. We talk turning second-rate situationships into full-throated power ballads, neuro-diversity and its connection to creativity, their journey to self-confidence and iconic artists who serve as inspiration.
— — Hey Ruti! How’s the response been to your latest EP, and how are you feeling? The response has been incredible, actually. I was so excited about the music that I’ve been releasing because I was like, so, so proud of it. I kind of knew ‘Lungs’ was the big one because it’s a lot more universal than the other two.
‘Bubblehouse Bounce’ is quite an upbeat one that I felt people would connect with, and then ‘Don’t Make A Sound’ was a bit more of a risk, even though it’s my personal favourite. I was listening to ‘Lungs’ and it’s such a great power ballad. I feel like you’re releasing your absolute everything into it.
.. It’s funny because it’s not about my most recent relationship.
I wrote this song like five years ago, literally about a random guy! Yet it’s so powerful and intense? It’s so intense for, I don’t know, maybe a few months of shenanigans. And by shenanigans, I mean being led on and not being communicated with properly. Also, me being very insecure, holding on to every little tiny nothing that he would give me.
So I was anxious all the time. And I was having panic attacks. And when I have a panic attack it’s a lot of hyperventilating and not being able to breathe very well.
So I typed into my notes ‘You might as well take my lungs away’ because he made me so anxious. And that was it. There’d be a lot less good songs if more men behaved well.
.. It’s so true.
I was so embarrassed about the song that it took five years for it to be released. But then I played it live and I saw the response. So that convinced me to feel a bit more confident about it.
I was just embarrassed that it was about this guy! — — I watched your video for ‘Bubblehouse Bounce’ and then I watched an interview of you after you’d won The Voice. I feel your confidence has clearly grown so much. What was that journey like? And how do you feel now compared to when you were 19? I can hear [my dad playing] ‘Bubblehouse Bounce’ again! It’s gone back to the beginning.
Okay, so I feel I know myself a lot better. I know what I want for myself, or even if I don’t know what I want, low-key I can listen to myself better. And my feelings.
I won’t let myself do things just because someone else has an expectation of me. That’s quite a recent thing. Going through a break-up – it was a good relationship – and actually, that helped me grow through the pandemic, because of who that person was.
I felt like they made me better. Hopefully they can say the same! We can only hope..
. How did taking part in and winning the Voice influence this change? Starting the voice in sixth form and then coming out of that whole process, I grew so much really quickly, in my ability, but also my confidence – being in front of the camera and not actually caring much about what people think anymore, because I knew that I was having a great time. And then there were ups and downs – looking at social media and seeing people do lots of things after leaving and thinking, “Why am I so stuck? Why am I not doing anything? Why are people expecting me to be on a world tour?” But I realised I’m taking my time.
I try to go by my instincts, because often I’ve found that they’re right. I just know myself. Was that hard to achieve amid all the pressure from everyone’s expectations, the competition, the music industry? I was just getting so tired, and that’s happened more recently as well.
Sometimes I’ll take on too much, and people are expecting that it’s easy. “Go and perform here. Go to the session, go meet this new person, go meet this new person, go meet this new person!” I would be saying yes because I felt like, oh, this is the right thing.
I need to better my career. But I’m also exhausted and anxious..
. and I don’t know what’s going on! And sometimes that’s my fault of being like, I want to do that, I’m gonna do that, I’m gonna do that. And then I can’t go on because I’m in physical pain.
And also I’m so tired – I might fall asleep right here, right now. It stopped me from maybe being more open. Because I still live in my hometown, I think about people asking me for pictures and talking to me on the street and I was like, I don’t want to do this! Then there’s other opportunities that I’d probably turn down just because I was like, I don’t want people to perceive me at all right now! That’s really hard.
If you’re a sensitive person, which obviously helps you to as an artist, there’s that double-edged sword isn’t there. You’re sensitive and that helps you do what you do, but then you have to deal with all the other energy sapping stuff that comes with it..
. Yeah, it’s overstimulation, and people asking me things. I’m like, I don’t know, I just want to sing and then like, leave! Do you feel like you get overwhelmed quite a lot? I’m definitely on the ADHD spectrum.
Whether I get a full diagnosis or not is kind of not my priority anymore. I was really desperate, because in the pandemic I was struggling a lot, and throughout secondary schooI I struggled so much. I managed to make it through sixth form, and then going into the real world, I was like, Oh, I now have to have a routine.
And then obviously, the pandemic was soon after that. I get quite overstimulated, I always have. I was always like, why am I crying? Or, why do I want to leave right now? But I’m just listening to it.
I’m like, okay, I’m getting the shakes. I’m gonna leave for a second and then get some water, put my earplugs in and then get on with it. But there’s no way I don’t have ADHD! Does music help you with that sense of overwhelm and anxiety then – is it a calming space for you or does it actually expend a lot of your energy? It uses a lot of energy.
I would say that unless I’m sitting and listening, making music is still a job. I’ve got to keep up to date with one task and one song and finish that song. One of my favourite people to work with is very similar to me.
So we’ll be in a session, and then it’s like, okay, we need to finish this song today. And then we’re like, oh, that tiny note sounded like this song. Let’s listen to this song.
Oh, that song reminds me of this one! Play this song, then this song. And then half an hour’s gone past. And it’s like, do you remember when we were going to record that one backing vocal line? And that’s a problem! (laughs) It feels manic in my head constantly.
But I guess it does help with making music. Because I’m constantly getting new ideas. It’s inherently creative, to be constantly thinking of new things to do, and thinking how to do something differently – than getting distracted.
I think that’s just creativity. So it’s no wonder there’s so many people with ADHD and other neurodiversities in creative industries. And it’s wanting to be stimulated in that way.
And if we don’t like it, then we’re gonna just leave it! And then we’ll move on to the next thing, which I guess is quite good, because it means I’m not precious about anything. I don’t want to be releasing music that doesn’t make me feel pumped, or tingling! Did you have any early encounters with music that are now integral to you as an artist? My mum and dad aren’t musicians themselves. They do like music a lot, but I wouldn’t say we listened to loads of music growing up.
And my mum sold all of her records before she went to The Gambia, which is where she met my dad when they worked together and she did midwifery there. And my dad didn’t have many possessions, so I didn’t have that growing up. But I went to church with them as a kid, so it was a lot of classic Christian rock (laughs).
And then a bit of gospel as well, which I really enjoy. But there was one specific album by Daniel Bedingfield, ‘Gotta Get Thru This’ that loads of people in church had, and it was like the car journey album. I love that album still! So, some of the songs are not great, but ‘Gotta Get Thru This’, ‘If You’re Not The One’ and another couple songs on there are really good.
I feel like in the way that I sing now there’s some sort of connection there with me and Daniel for sure! (laughs). He’s just a rogue artist that has been there from the start. Those formative moments of music in the car are so important.
Absolutely. And then we had an ‘ABBA Gold’ CD as well. Because my dad listened to those songs when he was younger, and so did my mum, of course.
She grew up in the post-disco 80s era. So The Fatback Band and George Benson and Kool & The Gang. Not ‘Jungle Boogie’, but that genre of post-disco.
I love Kool & The Gang so much and Earth Wind and Fire, which is the kind of is the music we play at family parties. But once we got Spotify, which was maybe 10/12 years ago, I was then able to hear the music that they really liked. And my dad enjoys a lot of highlife music because he grew up in Nigeria and moved to the UK in around ’97.
So he grew up listening to Bobby Benson and Fela Kuti, of course. So that’s what he was listening to when I was in school, but at that point I was obviously finding my own music, which was a plethora of different genres. Everyone was going through their emo phase.
I was listening to Bring Me The Horizon at the peak of their screamo, but then I was also listening to Mumford & Sons...
and Bastille. We’ve all been there. And also George Ezra when he first came out, I was rinsing that! And that [‘Budapest’] was the first song you sang on The Voice? Yeah, and when that EP ‘Cassy O’ came out – I think it was 2014 and also his EPs before that.
‘Did You Hear the Rain?’ That was crazy. That was the first song that I heard. I was just like, whoa, this is crazy.
I was obsessed with his early stuff – he played guitar, his voice was really deep and bluesy and I was like: I’m in; I want to sing like that. — — And is there anyone you’d particularly love to work with in your wildest dreams? I feel like anything can happen. It’s dreams, but it’s also pretty close.
I want to collab with Gabriels and Jacob Lusk [who’s one half of Gabriels]. They are absolutely magnificent. Like, genuinely, I can’t.
I couldn’t speak about Jacob Lusk enough. His voice! His voice is crazy. It’s wild.
And it’s beautiful. And there’s all these different tones because he’s a gospel singer. He could sing anything.
I would say it’s kind of soulful, but like soulful and reminiscent of Motown Records stuff. Classic. His vocals on dance tracks are really good.
He performed Elton John’s ‘Bennie and the Jets’ [this year] and...
I’ve got chills thinking about them. It was so good! Okay, noted. Do not sleep on Jacob Lusk and Gabriels.
I hope Gabriels keep going because they’re just magnificent. And then who else would I like to collaborate with as much as that? One of my biggest inspirations is Laura Mvula. And I just hope one day we get to produce something together, because I think she’s so sick.
She’s a great composer and a great producer. And I love her voice as well. And I’ve seen her talk about the fact that people would say that she wasn’t a vocalist, but her voice is so interesting.
It’s so distinct. I feel like those are the only ones that I’m desperate to work with. Not Daniel Bedingfield? Do you know what, I would actually love it if maybe in a couple of years I reached out and was like, Do you wanna join a vocal? Because I think his voice is crazy, it’s so good! I think it would be really cool.
— — Ruti’s new ‘Lungs’ EP is out now. Words: Henrietta Taylor —.
