Ruth Goller

In the artist's words:

Hailed by The Guardian for her “thunderous bass-guitar hooks,” Ruth Goller is a bassist, vocalist, composer, environmentalist, and now a solo artist. 

Goller helped lay the foundation for the UK’s jazz renaissance, from her years on stage with Acoustic Ladyland and Melt Yourself Down, to more recently Let Spin and Vula Viel, while performing and recording with the likes of Shabaka Hutchings, Mercury Prize nominee Kit Downes, Sam Amidon, Bojan Z, Marc Ribot, Rokia Traoré, and Paul McCartney.

On “Skylla,” Goller in some ways returns to the raw, untaught instincts that drove her as a teenage punk musician. Working with different tunings for each song, Goller composes instinctively based on what she hears in each moment. As Goller puts it, “at that point, muscle memory doesn’t work anymore, so I have to trust my ear completely.” While predominantly a solo project, Goller is joined on ‘Skylla’ by accomplished and celebrated vocalists Lauren Kinsella and Alice Grant. The final contribution comes from Kit Downes, who handled the post-production and mixing of the album.

Intimate vocals and bass guitar intertwine in improvised harmony on Goller’s debut album, exhibiting a confidence that reflects her experience at the forefront of the European jazz scene. A work of uncanny and original beauty in which Goller has reached deep within to find pure honesty and musical originality. As ECM Reviews put it, Goller “unravel[s] an intimacy so deep it [feels] almost blasphemous to be privy to its wonders.”