Album Review: Ruth Koleva - Future Sweet EP

One of my favorite things about music is how it can captivate you over and over every time, and just like that, I spent my entire weekend profoundly listening to and diving into the music of Ruth Koleva. As a short summary, all I can say is that she is a very unique individual with a special blend of raw talent and creativity that in result produces enchanting soul-filled music.

It is evident that Ruth is among a new breed of talented independent musicians that are starting to pop-out of unusual places, for instance Bulgaria, which is where this charming songbird comes from.

Although personally, I have not had the chance to meet her, I get the feeling that she is a very interesting person with a very insightful sense for music given her history and accomplishments.

Ruth's upbringings and constant travels in search of her artistic career have crafted her into a well-rounded musician that has achieved much in very little time, as important, she has become an ambassador of talent for a new generation of musicians coming out of Bulgaria and the region surrounding it.

Among her accomplishments, she is the youngest recipient of GRAZIA’s Woman of the Year award and Best Female Singer award at 2012’s BG Radio Awards. In 2011, she released her debut album "Within Whispers", which has very well received by the Bulgarian audience and had already shared the stage with distinguished jazz vocalist Bobby McFerrin. She's made quite a name for herself.

Ruth's rich and vibrant voice and musical vision combine with the newfangled rhythms of Elena Angelova (percussions), Fingertone (keyboards), Tromobby (trombone), Teodor I. (drums), Stoyan Dhaferov (guitar), Mony (bass)  bridge  the sounds of old-school jazz and contemporary nu soul / nu funk.

However, the true magic lies Koleva's skill to leverage multiple genres and her skills as vocalist / singer as her tone of voice suffuses an element of warmth and sincerity in her lyrics. She (and her band) seems to me as one of those musical phenomena that remind you that creativity and music have no borders.

2013 will be a very important year for Koleva as she will see her project further expanding with the much anticipated release of her second album. With her latest EP release "Future Sweet", we can begin to notice hints of experimental nu jazz and electro with her native neo-Soul elements. Songs such as "Slow fire" and "Heartfelt", feed the listener a laid-back soul experience, while "Moving Forward", takes the listener off-tempo and plays with rhythms, lyrics and her voice to give it life.

For me, what personally gets me from her work is the lyrical empowerment and the tone of voice imbued by her music, it's a symphony of soul.

Ruth has definitely made it to my list of artists to keep an eye and I would recommend you to keep an eye out on her as well, as she'll be coming out with her new album very soon. We'll keep you posted. Let me know what you think of Ruth's music in the commentary section below. Let me know what you think of Ruth's music in the commentary section below. You can follow her on Twitter, Facebook or check her website!