Introducing Rafi Bookstaber by way of his new LP, Late Summer, out on Woodsist Records. This album was produced by M. Geddes Gengras and Paul Grimes.
MP: Describe the concept Late Summer is based around as a collection of 8 songs with titles that often refer to elements of the earth.
RB: wouldn't look too hard to concepts here, this being music. as a conceptual framework holding the songs, it came together fairly early in process i guess. the subject matter might appear in the form of concepts in listening, but it aint made that way. re elemental subject/objects, id say see #2 below.
MP: Where did you record this album and how did your environment play into its overall sound?
RB: as noted on the sleeve, recorded at 'home' here in Asheville, NC, 'home' being 2 houses i lived in during the recording period. moved from Philadelphia looking for a greener and more complete spectrum earthly existence, and i think the record def sprang from where i was at in a new place and what i found and was here. just slowness, and gettin into the whole thing...
MP: It seems that several artists tend to go towards a more pop-oriented sound as they progress from album to album but that doesn't appear to be your style. How do you stay grounded in your form of psychedelic/spiritual hymnals?
RB: i dunno, i think im gettin it together a little, this records gotta have a little pop edge from my solo bongo+voice tape....its really all the same from this end. each project is just following a thread, theres no judgement made in terms of how it will play afterwards. that said, did really make a choice or effort or somethin in there to make something here for a 'wider audience' or more song oriented ear styles.
just layin down what comes, i cant say i feel like i have a form or anything that im holding onto. always coming from the same place maybe makes it feel grounded, nice that you feel that way.
MP: Are your other albums similar to Late Summer? What sets this record apart, in your mind, from your other releases.
yea, definitely. and no, not really.
this record is just this record. dig it, or dont.
"The immediate thing i felt when i jammed his "late summer" for the first time was wanting to hug life, cosmic love in the underground." - Matt Valentine (Solo Artist, Woodsist Records)
MP: What type of effect do you hope your music has on its listeners?
i like mv's thing there about wanting to 'hug the world', i mean what else can you ask for?
MP: Who has had the biggest influence on your musical style and why?
soooo maaany to choose from and am grateful for, will pick one here. shout out to jackie-o motherf'er, played a show at bard college / upstate NY 2004, that truly tore the lid off for me. 8 or 10 piece band, and they just rode it super deep for what felt like hours, brought the snow at the end. was the first time i ever really saw group mind at work in a musical way, and the way sound can be channeled live, like NOW, with a flow using motion and energy in free and abstract ways, it was all new to me, and deep and alive in a way that only free music is. but still, they were on, and greenwood and all, where you at, nice show.
MP: In my mind, Late Summer has a fairly experimental/outsider sound compared to the majority of psych and folk music the Woodsist label releases. How did you go about deciding to work with them to release this record?
interesting you think so, hah hah...was hoping i could sneak it by....Jeremy is a friend and a deep listener, and a fine curator of vibe, and besides he knows a hit when he hears one. always work with friends, and was interested in sharing this with a range of folks that he's in touch with through the label. sent him some tracks early on really, seemed like an easy fit....
MP: What kind of music do you listen to on a regular basis and how does that affect your associations with people?
well, lets say first off, important to have a balanced diet. many beautiful styles out there, more than i can handle....
been deep into roots reggae last while, got a couple turntables upstairs and been digging in.....just good vibes, that simple, makes you smile. its a total cosmology of living, experiences of suffering and transcendence if you follow the imagery, or you can just feel it, of course.
whatever you do that yr into, hopefully it can make ya a little more loving and aware of what is and what we share
MP: If you had to listen to one record for the rest of your life, which record would you choose and why?
the olde chestnut....to pull another first off on this one, lets say not sure id pick one.....you cant hang on, and if ive got a period that is the rest of my life with only one option for sound, lets just dig the world and whats out there, and not get hung up on any one record.....
other wise maybe heart of the congos, or fred neil second lp, or maybe just al green livin for you/aint no fun 45
MP: What advice would you give to someone seeking to make music that's one: authentic to themselves and two: not a rip off of the music that inspires them?
well, same thing them thangs really.....maybe just be inspired by the the music and how it affects you, then go record and forget everything you already know.