The sheer infinity of an ocean, a breeze of warm air on the cheeks, the indulgence of a juicy melon – Maria Rui's music conveys the soulfulness of the Mediterranean lifestyle. Sung with her smooth velvet voice, in her mother tongue Portuguese, her songs range between joy and melancholy; they radiate energy, levity and aspiration. Being influenced by classical music, Bossa Nova, but also by bands like the Doors and Led Zeppelin, she creates her own inspiring mix of Jazz, Pop, Fado and African and Brazilian music. A mix she inventively calls “atlantic“, as the Atlantic Ocean is the connecting waters between the sounds of Portugal and its former colonies. When listening to her songs, full of joie de vivre, one cannot imagine she ever traded her passion for music for the natural sciences. But after studying piano at the conservatory in Porto for a few years, she decided to move to Germany to study aerospace engineering. Eventually, the university choir brought her back to music. And success proves her right. Her first European tour featuring her first EP “Sangue Aventureiro" (engl. "adventurous blood") was instantly sold out.