Maarja Nuut & Ruum Photo: Supplied
Maarja Nuut is an Estonian singer and violinist and an utterly compelling, often hypnotic performer, whose unique songs are informed by pre-Soviet Estonian traditional folk music.
Song Titles: 'Intro', 'Miniature', 'Mahe', 'Muutuja', 'Ringid', 'Takisan', 'Kuud Kuulama', 'Kaed Maed', 'Haned Kadnud', 'Miniature 4', 'Kiik Tahab Kindaid', 'Kurb Lauli'k, 'Miniature C', 'Une Meeles'.
Maarja Nuut had released two solo albums that emphasised her folk leanings and received critical acclaim.
However, she was also motivated to explore a new direction in her music and teamed up with her musical companion who goes under the name of Ruum (aka Hendrik Kaljujärv), a young man who has been making electronic music since he was a teen and lives in the same town in Estonia as Maarja.
Together they have come up with a captivating repertoire of songs that feature Maarja’s folk-like vocal delivery and electric violin, while Ruum’s electronic soundscapes provide an expansive and creative back-drop to their sound.
However it's still Maarja's vocals that are central to their music. As she says, "Little by little I got to know my voice and now it’s certainly my most sensitive and therefore maybe also most powerful musical tool".
Maarja Nuut and Ruum create a sound that retains some of their classical and folkloric traditions but takes those compositions in a new direction, in completely unpredictable ways. As one review in Quietus magazine wrote: "Maarja Nuut is determined to make her mark, to show that the world in her head is actually all around us if we just take a moment to feel its presence".
Their show on the Dell stage in Taranaki held a large appreciative audience transfixed!
Maarja Nuut Photo: Supplied
Maarja Nuut & Ruum performing on the Dell stage in New Plymouth was recorded live and produced by Steve Burridge for RNZ Music
