Ruken (Ruken Barış) is a singer and song writer. She has studied Jazz-vocals in the Netherlands and Journalism in Turkey. Her music, while being deeply connected to the folk music tradition in Anatolia, is inspired by contemporary jazz and fusion. Ruken, as she writes her lyrics, explores the elusive temporal dynamics embedded in intimate moments that perpetually recreate the past; and seeks musical expressions that would enhance this sense of unity between past and present. Besides writing original music, Ruken is also occupied with compiling and interpreting the traces of musical strands that connect the Mediterranean cultures.