Up-and-coming pop star Ana Ruiz tells why 'the next Shakira' is all her own woman

Exciting new talent Ana Ruiz speaks exclusively to Murcia Today about her new album and the inspiration behind it

Ana Ruiz by Victor del Pozo

Once in a while, a vibrant new pop musician bursts onto the scene with a distinctive style and aesthetic, heartfelt lyrics with a message, and an inspiring level of creative control over their output. Now Ana Ruiz, from Cartagena, is all set to move the masses, and has a special place in her heart for the UK.

Thank you for speaking to us from Paris, Ana, we’re thrilled to see such a talented, young local musician making a splash in the pop world with your first album, Sirena, from which you released the first song last Friday. It’s a really catchy, well-produced track which leaves us wanting to hear more; what can we expect from the rest of the album?

Thank you for this space and for your kind words. “Sirena” was born from a deep emotional concept. I wanted to create an album like an ocean, with a mix of warm waters full of light and others that are more turbulent or cold.

It features tropical rhythms, touches of dancehall, African percussion, the scent of island reggae, hints of ukulele and nostalgic reggaeton. My intention is to take the listener on a sensory, symbolic and emotional journey. There’s joy, there’s nostalgia and, above all, there’s truth.

The songs are short, almost like emotional capsules, but each has its own universe.

So what you can expect is this: truth, artistic care and a message of gentle empowerment. Many of the album’s elements – pearls, the moon, salt, the submerged garden – are metaphors with their own language, which I’ll share on my social media in the form of a glossary to help interpret the lyrics.

You’ve said this album is a tribute to self-love. At what moment did you feel like you were achieving that?

Sirena helped me make sense of what hurt. When I wrote Versos de Corales, I realised I was stitching beauty onto scars: “Pearls on my skin, I sewed myself at the cost of how cruel, you were only there for pleasure.”

I understood that there was dignity in having survived. I no longer wanted to romanticise pain, but to embroider it with threads of light.

Self-love is knowing how to swim to shore without needing to be rescued.

What do you hope people feel when they listen to it?

That they feel less alone. That they can cry, dance, remember, forgive themselves. That they see the sea not only as a place of loss and sinking, but also as a purifying universe. That they recognise their own symbols within mine. Because hitting rock bottom and being reborn is also an art.

Your back catalogue includes singles dating back to 2019, spanning a wide range of styles, from Latin pop and ballads to the melancholic trip-hop of Swords, an acoustic collaboration with Yau (Follow), the powerful bass in Chakras, and even a Christmas song (Sleigh Bells)! Do you enjoy surprising your audience with what you’ll do next?

Absolutely. I’m deeply interested in creative freedom. To me, each song is like a standalone piece of art, like a painting. I like my music to have movement and transformation. I’m not interested in being boxed into a single genre, nor am I afraid of it.

I enjoy surprising my audience with cultural symbols they can identify with. My style carries a strong influence from Rococo and Renaissance art. For instance, the music video for Chakras was filmed between a Palladian-style mansion in London and a mining village in the countryside of Cartagena.

There are cultural elements from modernist and religious Spain: El Rocío, La Virgen de la Caridad, La Dama de Elche, La Alhambra de Granada, carnations, angels, mantillas, flamenco combs, and traditional Spanish lace and embroidery. All of this is part of a visual and symbolic universe I build with great respect and love for my roots.

With Sirena, the biggest challenge was being honest. Not falling into what is expected of a pop song or an artist singing about heartbreak. I wanted it to be a sincere album, but also beautiful. Some people around me struggled with the fact that some songs didn’t have conventional or commercial structures, but I chose to stay true to my vision.

Also, producing this without a big budget was a true act of love for music.

You sing in both English and Spanish, and readers might be surprised to know you studied at Roehampton University. What led you to study in the UK, and how was that experience for you?

I went to London seeking freedom, tools and a creative community that would challenge me. I studied Performance and Film, and later did a Master’s in Digital Marketing. All of this gave me a more holistic view of art and how to communicate it.

There, I learned to build from scratch and to see music not just as sound, but as a complete concept – thinking about visuals, lighting, costumes, set design, SFX, etc.

London enriched me greatly, culturally speaking, and opened the door to a multicultural sound and aesthetic that still shapes my work today. In my music and performances, you’ll find musical influences from many cultures: Asian, Japanese, African sounds… I’m fascinated by how the whole city vibrates with global influences.

It also deepened my love for Rococo and classical art – its ornamentation, architecture, and symbols. All of this is present in what I do. I immersed myself in worlds I hadn’t known closely: mythology from different cultures, ancient codices, Gothic and Classical art, and also Oriental art, especially Japanese and Chinese music. I’m deeply fascinated by how the ancient and the contemporary can coexist in a single piece.

Was it hard to balance your studies with launching a music career? You still managed to earn a degree and a Master’s while releasing all these singles!

It was definitely not easy. Balancing my studies with three jobs, recording sessions, dance rehearsals, concert prep and video shoots was absolute madness.

I was constantly at Waterloo Station, running around, loaded with bags, ideas and a head divided between deadlines and melodies.

But for me, music is a commitment and a deep form of respect. Even when it’s not visible, there are many difficult decisions behind the scenes.

You often push yourself three times harder out of fear of not being taken seriously.

How have you been able to integrate your Roehampton education into Sirena?

My university studies included Graphic Design, which has been my main visual expression tool for this project.

Sirena has been months of handmade work – from the composition, melodies, concept design, musical production, mastering, etc.

There are many ways to make visual art, and this is one of them. This is digital art, contemporary collage and conceptual design built from pre-existing elements, PNG images and renders that have allowed me to create imaginary worlds with their own language.

What is your creative process like?

Although I’m a social and luminous person who loves to share, there’s something about the creative process that demands total solitude. I lock myself in the studio for eight hours straight, without talking to anyone, without checking my phone, no distractions. I put on my headphones and disappear from the world to fully immerse myself in creation.

Sometimes that means singing, other times writing and other times just absorbing inspiration. But always from a place of depth and high standards. For me, that’s not control – it’s respect for the art.

What does the reference to mother-of-pearl represent in the context of the moon and your emotional skin?

Nácar de Luna is an intimate ballad written to the moon. In this song, the moon – an ancestral symbol of the feminine, cyclical change and inner reflection – becomes a silent guide and constant witness to emotional transformation.

On a symbolic level, it’s a letter to myself, to self-love, and an inner call to return to who I am.
Nácar (nacre/mother-of-pearl) is a luminous substance born from pain – the oyster reacts to injury by forming pearls – and here it symbolises beauty born of the wound. That mythological softness is what I try to channel.

While others loved you halfway, the moon (you) witnessed your pain, your rebirth and every emotional phase throughout your life.

Because just as the moon goes through phases – growing, waning, hiding, shining – so do our minds, bodies and hearts.

Even though that person left with the tide, you kept orbiting, growing with every illuminated scar.

What’s your favourite lyric from the album?

I deeply connect with the verse from Nácar de Luna: “Trust the universe, it was a curse but now’s a verse to help you heal / If you’ve ever been feeling like me, I got u here…”

It’s a direct message to my listeners, an extended hand in the middle of the night.

It means: Trust. Even though what I went through hurt, it has now become a verse, music, healing. And if you’ve ever felt broken or out of place like I have, I’m here. This song is with you. You’re not alone.
There are more rhythmic, sunnier songs. This one is the nocturnal, reflective part.

You’ve been described as “the next Shakira”. Do you aim to emulate her success, and which other artists do you admire or dream of collaborating with?

Shakira is a visionary artist, and I deeply admire her ability to reinvent herself.

While I might share some vocal or musical similarities with her, I don’t share the same artistic identity. Mine is deeply rooted in my hometown, Cartagena, and its port. I keep close most of the elements of this three-millennia-old city, like the Roman theatre and all the historical remnants that make Cartagena such a rich place.

I love talking about the fields of Andalucía, the Alhambra, and the vibrant Spanish culture that lives within me. I also have a song called Kayko, in which I talk about the A-92 road in Andalucía and Venta Quemada – places that are part of the emotional and scenic landscapes that deeply inspire me.

Ana Ruiz’s album, Sirena is being released one track at a time every Friday, with the second single out on June 13. You can listen to her music (Spotify, YouTube, Tidal, Deezer) buy it (Apple, Amazon), and you can follow her exploits on social media (Instagram, Facebook).