Emily Ruth’s newest album, Beloved, released April 8, promotes connection and mental well-being.
The Carleton journalism alumna said the 10-song album was inspired by personal experience.
“Beloved was written during a really difficult season in my life,” she said. “In the midst of that, my faith has always been very important to me.”
She described her writing as being somewhat of a conversation between herself and God.
“I’d pray in a song like, ‘Okay, Lord, I need you, where are you?’ And then I’d write a song, and He’d be like, ‘I’m here, I’m right here with you,’” Ruth said. “I had that realization and I wrote the final song of the album, which is called ‘The Call.’”
She added music has always been a big part of her life, but only started becoming something more personalized and predominant to her during her post-secondary studies.
“I started writing my own music in university,” Ruth said. “I started kind of looking at what genres I actually really liked myself and what I could be inspired by, and it grew from there.”
Ruth held a release party for Beloved on May 7 in support of BridgeNorth, an organization devoted to ending sex trafficking in Canada.
Casandra Diamond, BridgeNorth’s founder, said the donations will go towards assisting young people who are exiting a trafficking situation. Diamond said she was pleasantly surprised by Ruth’s initiative.
“Here is this woman … who has literally jumped off of the job market, absolutely committed herself to her music and her message, and she wanted to share that with BridgeNorth,” Diamond said.
Emily Bahrij, Ruth’s friend and former roommate, described Ruth as persevering and thoughtful.
“Her values … are loving God first and loving other people,” Bahrij said. “For her to team up with BridgeNorth was a way for her to act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with her God.”
Bahrij said the crowd at the release party felt the impact of Ruth’s music.
“The crowd was inspired, ” Bahrij said.“As I looked across the room, I don’t know if I noticed a face that wasn’t somehow emotionally portraying some sort of impact.”
She added that because of the relatable themes in Ruth’s songs, and the meaningfulness and poignancy of her lyrics, everyone wanted to discuss with Ruth the connections they felt with her music.
She said her favourite thing about Ruth’s music is the simplicity in which she relays her ideas and the relevance of her lyrics.
“It seems as if the words are the most important part of her music,” she added. “The words take centre stage.”
Diamond added that listening to Ruth’s music can help others find the right words to express themselves.
“Music is a great medium … sometimes when people struggle with mental health it’s hard to find the words to express what you’re thinking or feeling,” Diamond said. “Emily’s music had a really wonderful way … of relating to [its] audiences.”
Bahrij said albums such as Beloved can bring comfort to those who are struggling.
“I know Emily’s music will continue to impact people,” she said. “If even one person is impacted and feels a sense of belonging or love, that impacts not only them but it impacts their sphere of influence around them.”
Ruth is playing next at Soul Café in Oshawa on May 28. Her music is also available to stream online.
Featured image provided by Emily Ruth.
