Rūta Venus
During the lockdown in 2020, Rūta has experimented with creating different artists names in connection to entering the streamed music world. While she later abandoned the idea of an artist name, Rūta Venus remains her personal label, with the release of the single Hera and the album Violin Ritzos.
Violin Ritzos brings together a variety of Rūta’s compositions, stretching over a decade.
The album is composed of four previously unreleased music tracks, which despite being composed with great passion and creativity, never saw the light of day as originally intended.
The first track, Hera, is exotic and flirty – a unique and alluring musical composition. Originally written and recorded more than a decade ago, using home equipment and an old violin, in the heat of Tel-Aviv, this track was intended for theatre but never reached its audience until now. Hera is infused with Rūta’s personality, influenced by a diverse range of cultures from across Europe and Asia, and her unique musical style, characterized by a strong melody which taps deeply into the listener’s emotions.
Violin Ritzos, written in Stockholm, is a deeply personal composition blending Rūta’s interest for folk and contemporary music. The track begins with silence and gentle taps representing the four corners of a room. As the music unfolds, Rūta’s true personality begins to emerge, layered, wild and naturalistic. The track has picked up interest of classical performers, and score has been arranged for a string quartet.
O Mirum is a musical meditation, and a testament to the transformative power of music. Originally written for a special project for people living with cancer in Vilnius, the track begins with gentle drops of piano notes, and gradually expands into ocean of sound, full of joy and positivity. This composition also gained interest among classical musicians, and has been rearranged as a score for violin and electronics (Rakhi Singh), clarinet and electronics (Ozlem Tercanli), and later migrated into Rūta’s Violin Concerto (Dalia Kuznecovaite and Lithuanian National Symphony Orchestra).
The last track of the album, Stone&Flora, is a collaboration with Swedish violinist Katt Hernandez, which unfolded into a wild dance of two violins – complex, dynamic and unpredictable.
Credits: Cover Artwork @hellovalentina, mastered by Gary McFarlane, mixed by Max Rzepka, special thanks to Matthew Whiteside for mentoring on streaming production.
Duration: 37 minutes
Setup: violin and pre-recorded electronics