Raphael Roginski - Žaltys '2024

Tracks list

Polish guitarist Raphael Rogiński digs into Eastern European mythology on
his gorgeous latest full-length, shimmering traces of archaic folk music,
American primitive guitar, jazz and ambient forms into a dreamy meditation on
memory, wonder and loss. Crucial midnight listening, whether you're into
Laraaji, Loren Connors, Merope, Popol Vuh or Daniel Lanois.

If you heard last year's sublime 'Talàn', or Rogiński's transcendent
re-interpretations of Henry Purcell, Bach and John Coltrane, then you'll have
some idea of where 'Žaltys' is heading, but the prolific guitarist takes his
craft to another level here. He was inspired by the rich Eastern European
landscape and its ancient history - the album title references the grass snake
that's a revered household spirit in Lithuania, while the track titles are taken
from various Lithuanian plant names. Casting his mind back to time spent as a
child holidaying in Poland's relatively untouched Suwałki region, he
remembers being entranced by the music he heard from neighboring Lithuania,
buying his first guitar, and retreating to the forest with his four-track
recorder and capturing the local soundscapes. It's these experience that give
'Žaltys' its backbone; Rogiński's process has been refined significantly
in the years since, but that sense of adolescent wonder is still palpable. 

Rogiński's guitar tone is particularly mesmerizing; he worked alongside
Warsaw-based musician and producer Piotr Zabrodzki to develop a sound that he
describes as "guitar piano", and the effort is noticeable immediately. On
opening track 'Paprastasis Amalas', the strings ring out with an elegant sparkle
that reminds us of zither or harpsichord - Rogiński's style has undoubtedly
been influenced by the Fahey school of American primitive playing, but his
obsession with experimentation, using old amplifiers and a Leslie speaker, and
uncommon strings for the guitar, help his music reach into an entirely new zone.
He mostly emphasizes textures rather than riffs or specific phrases, turning
short clusters of notes into weightless, gusty expressions that immediately
transport us to the wild Eastern European countryside or beyond. So it makes
perfect sense when Merope's Indrė Jurgelevičiūtė shows up on lead
single 'Šilinis Viržis', singing softly and playing the kanklės - a
zither-like Lithuanian chordophone.

The two musicians have been friends for years, and their collaboration feels so
fated its almost effortless; Rogiński's delicate twangs are perfectly
balanced with Jurgelevičiūtė's effervescent plucks, while Zabrodzki
fills the gaps with rolling waves of piano. Jurgelevičiūtė's is the
only voice we hear on the mostly instrumental album, but it's all we need,
rooting us for a moment in the folk traditions that Rogiński references but
doesn't fully cradle. Because there's more at work in the background: on the
fragile 'Smiltyninis Šlamutis', Rogiński offsets his ethereal ambience
with blues-y distortions that are thrust further into the spotlight on 'Pelkinis
Gailis', while 'ÄŒiobrelis' takes an unmistakably North African turn with
Rogiński's guitar turning into a kora for a moment, and on 'Miškinė
VarnalÄ—Å¡a', his oddly-tuned, muted plucks sound almost like gamelan,
sitting comfortably outside the boundaries of equal temperament. 

Tracklist:
1 01. Raphael Roginski - Paprastasis Amalas (03:17)
1 02. Raphael Roginski - ÄŒiobrelis (03:14)
1 03. Raphael Roginski - Smiltyninis Å lamutis (03:43)
1 04. Raphael Roginski - Pelkinis Gailis (01:56)
1 05. Raphael Roginski - Borbašo Gvazdikas (03:10)
1 06. Raphael Roginski; Indrė Jurgelevičiūtė - Šilinis
Viržis (04:01)
1 07. Raphael Roginski - Tamsialapis Skiautalūpis (03:41)
1 08. Raphael Roginski - Miškinė Plikaplaiskė (03:25)
1 09. Raphael Roginski - Miškinė Varnalėša (04:11)
1 10. Raphael Roginski - Raudonoji Gegūnė (02:35)
1 11. Raphael Roginski; Indrė Jurgelevičiūtė - Kalninė Arnika
(03:57)
1 12. Raphael Roginski - Miškinė Dirsuolė (04:19)

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