Ruti – when you get chills just listening to her do a Radio Station i.d. you know you’ve been transformed.
Ruti, puttingTuesday night on notice – recorded for the Gilles Peterson program on BBC 6 Music from May 16, 2026.
When you hear a singer, whose voice stops you dead in your tracks and you can’t get enough, it’s almost an out-of-body experience.
Because I routinely skip around the world, checking out what radio is doing and what sessions are happening, it’s usually so overwhelming that you can’t spend more than 30 seconds sampling, seeing if anything grabs you. My rule of thumb; if it grabs me then there’s a pretty good chance it may grab you.
So when I was dialing around BBC 6 Music a few weeks ago, I stopped by Gilles Peterson’s site to check out a session he did with Ruti, a name I was not familiar with. The second notes flew out of her mouth I was frozen, totally and utterly transfixed by the hypnotic, other-world beauty of this voice. So I had to tell you – had to let you know who to keep an eye out for – Ruti is the real deal – she’s all of that and more.
A little background (via Big Family):
Ruti (Olajugbagbe, known professionally as Ruti) is a soulful, shape-shifting storyteller whose music blends folk, lo-fi textures, layered harmonies, and electronic flourishes into something intimate yet expansive. Born in Essex to a Nigerian father and an English mother and now based in London, Ruti is inspired by the likes of Adele and Labi Siffre. Their 2025 EP Maybe I Got It Wrong, is an exploration of identity, family, and connection. Written across London, LA, and Stockholm, with Tom McFarland (Jungle), Tony Esterly (Sia, BTS), and PomPom (Noah Kahan) it marked a new musical chapter for them. With ample releases slated for 2026, Ruti’s upcoming music written closely with Will Bloomfield and Theo Hutchcraft, will be their most personal yet.
The background only scratches the surface – better to just press Play and dive into this warm, enveloping bath. It’s nighttime after all.
