Finnish-born, Baltimore-based artist Ruut follows up her selection as the Finlandia Foundation 2026 Performer of the Year with a remastered reissue of Steinway Sessions. Released via Meridian (ECR Music Group) and remastered by Blake Morgan, this collection revisits 2010 piano-vocal recordings that captured a pivotal era of self-determination and early motherhood for Ruut.
“This special edition of Steinway Sessions revisits the songs I wrote and recorded in 2010 inside a Steinway atelier, guided by mentors who believed in me when I struggled to believe in myself,” she says. “These intimate piano-vocal recordings capture a time of searching, growth, and new motherhood… they’re songs I’ve carried with me and shared on stages across the country for years. Returning to them feels like coming home to the piano, the place where I first found my voice, my grounding, and my sense of self.”
The album opens with the introspectively gripping “Life Is Beautiful,” arriving to a heartrending title-bearing refrain following character-driven lyricism. “Mama floats around the pool ’til noon day, sipping her yellow cocktails to waste the day away,” Ruut’s vocals let out amidst piano-led illumination. The “what you want is never what you get” bridge is impactful in its portrayal of personal tumult, and the difficulty therein of still recognizing life’s beauty. The ensuing “Year in California” achieves a similar piano-forward contemplation, its musings on life’s journeys — balancing money-making ambitions and what truly matters — drive into a “a year in California” soaring soulfulness.
Another excellent piece of songwriting, “Foolish Pride” artfully compares love to an “old pair of jeans with cigarette stains” — striving to keep something beloved alive, even “when the music fades.” “Dance with me before it’s too late,” Ruut’s vocals beckon, capturing the state of lingering heartache and adoration. The album consumes in its sense of wisdom and guidance, especially exemplary here in its urgings to not let one’s foolish pride take over. Steinway Sessions is a stirring success of an album from Ruut exploring soul-searching, personal growth, and motherhood.
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“Life Is Beautiful” and other tracks featured this month can be streamed on the updating Obscure Sound’s ‘Emerging Singles’ Spotify playlist.
We discovered this release via MusoSoup.
