Ruthven

In the organizer's words:

Ruthven

Presented by Emerged Agency
22.10.2025 Cologne, Yuca
Admission: 19:00 hrs | Start: 20:00 hrs

Ruthven - aka Sean Nelson - has always had a certain zeal about him. The musician from south London first came to prominence in 2017 when he was signed to Paul Institute, the label founded by A.K and Jai Paul. At the time, he was a member of the London Fire Brigade, recording tracks at the fire station to buy himself some time between call-outs.

After carefully and judiciously developing his unique blend of R&B-influenced future-funk, Ruthven caught the attention of critics ("creates Prince-like jams with the contours and sleekness of sports cars" - The FADER) and went on tour with Sampha. His recent work with Sampha and Little Simz on "Satellite Business 2.0" sits alongside his collaboration with Overmono on "Gem Lingo (ovr now)".

On his debut album "Rough & Ready", Ruthven introduces listeners to his intimate world. In the 12 tracks, he borrows from classic songwriting while retaining lush instrumentation to create a portal that spans decades. "It's influenced by jazz, but also so many other genres," he says, "even yacht rock artists like Michael McDonald and Steely Dan have influenced me deeply." The result is an album that combines all the sharp edges of early Prince B-sides like "17 Days" with the smokiness of D'Angelo's "Africa" from the Voodoo era.

The making of Rough & Ready presented some challenges, including technical glitches, but Ruthven stayed true to his goal of making very personal and relatable music. The result is an album that the rest of us need to hear.