When creating extensions. Conversation with guitarist Edgars Rubenis / Article

Slow Lightning by Edgars Rubenis

Edgars Rubenis is one of the most talented Latvian guitarists of his generation. He does not stick to one style or genre, but offers the listeners to go on a musical journey, discovering in his own way how all styles and genres are related to each other. His choice to play the blues comes as no surprise. At the beginning of his career, Edgars played in the electric blues band “Driving South” together with Arti Oruba and Pauli Greenhoff. However, the new album “Slow Lightning” is not a return to the beginning, at least it was not consciously planned, says Rubenis himself. He says: “As a guitarist, I grew up influenced by blues music. So it’s somewhat organic that when I pick up the instrument, the music manifests itself in that language. At the same time, on the album ‘Slow Lightning’ and also on the next tracks that will be released, it’s not going back to play something I’ve done before. Slow Lightning is a step forward for me, reflecting ragtime and early blues through myself. The album is part of the Pains and Boogies trilogy.”

The closing track “NR 27” of the album “Slow Lightning” seems to combine several compositions, so I asked the musician about his approach to composing. “When you have the first two, three riffs, it’s clear that you can make a composition out of it. If I were to work only with the first impulse of an idea, which could also be formed into a composition, the idea might be too detached from the whole. It’s important for me to see how one a single idea can connect to others, form an extension,” says Rubenis. When writing a new composition, it is always possible to choose whether to follow the shortest path of a specific message, or to take the listener through a wider musical experience, as the composition “NR 27” does:

“I have a purely human interest in what kind of musical experience the piece will bring me in the end.”

In the early blues, Rubeni is interested in “the balance between the apparent simplicity and the great human dedication, the seemingly primitive first recordings, in which you can still hear the artistic intensity of the blues musician.” His musical path has been shaped by many different styles and genres, thus revealing the many faces of the guitar – only hip-hop and metal music in its extreme form have not been Rubenis’ playing field. “I have a whole backlog of musical stuff that’s still waiting to be resolved. I’m moving on, maybe coming back later with the right instruments,” he admits.

I say to the musician that at least their listeners don’t associate with one big hit, if only now and then they demand Mona De Beau’s song “They go into the sun”. At the same time, “Mona De Bo” has always been special in that the concert programs are more artistic events than the usual repertoire to be played for years. Edgars thinks that often people adapt one identity, subculture, and they feel that they have found themselves and their whole future life. On the other hand, this approach has never worked for “Mona De Bo” neither musically nor in lifestyle: “Life goes and changes, why wouldn’t it appear in music as well? The roots of “Mona De Bo” are in rock music, where the usual experience is that bands continue to be one stylistic line. If we think about academic music concerts, change is expected in this context. In terms of attitude, we are closer to the academic approach than to rock music.”

It turns out that Edgars chose the guitar as his instrument thanks to his father, who also played this instrument and had a great love for music. “I was drawn to the guitar from a young age. When we moved to Jelgava, my father took me to a guitar teacher at the age of seven. However, it took some time until I found the motivation and started playing,” recalls the musician. He was also lucky in terms of the availability of instruments – the first guitar was not “leftover”. When his interest in playing the guitar became more serious, his parents supported him in buying a good guitar. “Later, I have played on a Soviet-era guitar that was made in Bulgaria. When the hands are already able to do a lot on the guitar, the guitar with its specifics gives a unique sound and character,” says Rubenis. Also, growing up in the nineties, in the time before the Internet – this “old school” has shaped his sound. His guitar teacher Valdis Indrishonoks is said to have recommended learning to play directly from recordings, thus strengthening the connection with his “inner ear”:

“I’m not proud of it, but I practically don’t work with sheet music at all. I don’t know how people develop an “inner ear” – that kind of musicality when working from paper,” says the musician.

Edgars Rubenis has been living in the Netherlands – The Hague, where he studied at the Institute of Sonology for 10 years. “Through school, I hoped to have time to clarify various artistic questions for myself. I was interested in studying composition, the opportunity to consult with inspiring practitioners about it. I have a master’s degree in sonology,” says Edgars, adding that the acquired knowledge cannot be defined by one profession name, they are widely applicable – you can work both in creating music software and composing music.