'Stel dat Mikael Åkerfeldt ooit een akoestisch (folk) album zou opnemen.', zo omschreef ik mijn eerste kennismaking met Rubashov drie jaar geleden. Ergens is hij me nooit blijven boeien, maar deze song gaat er wel weer in. Lekker lang uitgesponnen, neemt de Zweed hier zijn tijd en dat komt de sombere sfeer én de beklemmende video helemaal ten goede. Folk(rock) zoals ik die graag hoor.
Members of the Green Phlox is op 21 januari 2022 verschenen via Despotz Records.
Luister ook naar: Lights Of July Pillars
Lees
"Nattlandet is very special to me. I felt it when i wrote that song and i wanted it to be as long as it as it wanted. No rush. I chose to sing it in Swedish and I think that the video is as dreamlike as the song."
With the characteristic combination of folk tones, acoustic guitars and a singing voice that is both rough and fragile at the same time, Martin Rubashov paints cinematic sceneries for the listener of being a seeking wanderer in the deep forest of the Swedish forests of Hälsingland. In the distance, the sun falls through the pines that create a warm contrast against the dark trees. The ground is covered with cold muddy moss and the dew lies like unshaded smoke over lingonberry and uprooted trees. You hear the sound of something moving in the dark. Eyes are watching you vigilantly from the crowns of the trees and you can sense something or someone insidious through the light morning fog. The environment is timeless, as a world of your own imagination in a dull future dystopia, with a shimmering streak of hope twined as a golden thread in the dark web.
Big trees, massive mountains and deep waters are some of the factors that frequently lure Martin Rubashov into the forest. The tangible awareness of being a small part of something bigger helps him to stay close to the feeling of what is truly and authentic. In 2018, Martin Rubashov released his latest album 'The Nature Script'. In 2020, Martin Rubashov returned with the single release 'Lights of July' featuring Jonas Renkse (Katatonia), the single was followed up with the singles 'Goblin' (sept 24th) and 'Pillars' (Nov 12th).
Martin Rubashov describes the album: "I started recording the album in the beginning of the pandemic and I had no clue of which direction I would go musically, but I felt that I wanted to collaborate with great talented people even if we couldn't work together in the same studio. My parents have had a tableware at home for several years called "Green Phlox", and I felt so strongly that I would like to sit in the woods with all the talented musicians that I collaborate with and drink a cup of coffee or two in that particular tableware. All the songs is about longing for nature, all the thoughts and memories and about nurturing what you have. The hunt to catch something you don't really know if you need and that the hunt sometimes leads you back to yourself and your right elements."
Martin continues: "The feeling of landing on a cold but inspiring and encouraging world, inside a warm pine forest." He continues "I'll use my twelve stringed guitar a lot more and I have written the majority of the material, I still haven't left the forest and I'll stay here when it comes to my music. I want to widen my view more. Wander deeper into the forest. Build sounds to connect the songs and record more of nature to tie into the lyrics that take place here."
More about Martin Rubashov Martin Rubashov has previously released three albums and several EP's via Despotz Records and he continues proven himself of being a poet and great musician. With critically acclaimed songs such as Hideout, Muddy Mountain King and Black Elk (featuring Anders Fridén, In Flames), Martin shows his gift of being able to invite the listeners into his love for nature and the seductive forces of the forests, both good and evil.
