After years of carving her path in a male-dominated industry, vocalist, producer and activist Ruth Royall proudly unveils her debut album Queen - out Friday on her own imprint Royall Sound. With repeated support across BBC Radio 1 (Party Anthems, The Drum & Bass Show), over 80 million streams and three Drum & Bass Awards nominations, Ruth has already built her reputation as one of the most distinctive voices in bass music. But with Queen, she steps into her full power - not only as a vocalist, but as a producer, songwriter, label owner and live artist.
Queen is a deeply autobiographical album that tells Ruth’s story of resilience and independence. Blending drum & bass, garage, house, dubstep, trance and breaks, it reflects her growth as both a mother and an artist determined to create space for herself and others. From the heartfelt DnB anthem Forevermore with Joe Lenzie (Sigma) and Brad Ellis (Afterglow), to her production debut Bop - a rallying cry to promoters to back female headliners - the record is unapologetic in its intent. Easy Fix stands tall as a bold, playful track about boundaries, while Chase the Dawn with Ekko & Sidetrack captures the trance-inspired suspense of her live sets. Butterfly shines as an uplifting garage-house love song, while Gravity, featuring Doctor P, moves from soulful warmth to a bass-heavy dubstep storm. Fuk With My Stuff, a cheeky garage duet with Dread MC, shows Ruth’s playful side, while Brightest Star delivers the most personal moment of the album, produced entirely by Ruth and featuring a recording of her son’s first words. The record closes with Dance In The Rain, a chilled breaks collaboration with Groove Machine that brings the journey full circle.
“Queen is the the biggest project I’ve ever done and feels extremely honest. It’s my first step into a multi-genre space, it's nostalgic, rave-inspired, and full of the sounds that made me fall in love with dance music in the first place. There are breaks, trance, garage, and dubstep all thrown together, yet it feels like one cohesive story. I’ve worked with some of my favourite collaborators across the whole project, and it’s been amazing to just create what feels good without worrying about fitting into a box. Putting together the visuals and creative narrative was so much fun too. The message to take up space and be your true self really shines through in the album and I'm really proud of what I've created.”
The release of Queen comes as Ruth continues to build her reputation as a magnetic live performer. This summer she appeared at Rampage Open Air, Tomorrowland (July 25), and Shambala (August 23), before returning to the Netherlands for a December live tour with her band, culminating at Amsterdam’s legendary Melkweg. Ahead of that, Ruth will present Queen at ADE on Thursday 23rd October with a special showcase at Bitterzoet. She will also host a hometown album launch at Bristol Beacon on November 29th with the full live band.
DSP support for the album has already been outstanding, with placements across Spotify’s Massive Drum & Bass and UK Bass, Apple Music’s New Music Daily, Future Dance Hits, Dance XL, New In Dance and Drum & Bass, Amazon’s UK Garage Now and Drum & Bass Now, YouTube’s New Dance 2025, and Soundcloud’s UK Bassline and Grime & Garage: Step. Radio support has been equally strong, with previous champions including Capital Dance, Jeremiah Asiamah, Jack Saunders, Charlie Tee, Danny Howard, and Sarah Story, alongside new support for Queen from Sian Eleri on Radio 1, Fred V on Kiss FM, BBC Introducing, Kool FM and Rinse FM.
Ruth’s story is about more than music. From touring internationally with her five-month-old baby, to launching campaigns on body positivity and female representation, she’s become a visible force for change in the scene. She has spoken openly with the BBC about the challenges of balancing motherhood and music, launched her Keep It Real podcast and co-hosted Women in Drum & Bass events with Hospital Records. With Queen, Ruth brings these threads together into one uncompromising debut.
Ruth Royall - Queen is out 17th October via Royall Sound