Intervju: Rastaban (Belgija)

RASTABAN

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Folk scenu Belgije čini svojstvenom i jedinstvenom bend Ratsaban. Objavili su do sada album Aurora, a uveliko rade na svom novom izdanju. Bend čine: Marine Libert, Dominic Marchal, Stephan Késenne, Luka Aubri i Mich Rozek. Inspiraciju u svojoj muzici dobijaju iz Folk tradicije Evrope. U njihovim pesmama možemo osetiti, čuti tradiciju i kulturu Kelta, Skandinavije, pa sve do slovenskog Balkana. Uvek nasmejani i puni pozitivne energije, uživaju u muzici koju stvaraju, što nam je i potvrdio Mich Rozek za naš Celtic - Slavic Webzine Serbia.

Oficijalna fejsbuk stranica

1. Zašto naziv Rastaban? Kada i kako je nastala ta ideja?

Mich: Kada je naš prethodni projekat došao do kraja, odlučili smo da nastavimo sa novim pevačem i pod novim imenom, a imali smo samo nekoliko dana da pronađemo ime za bend. Bilo je baš napeto i razmenjivali smo puno mejlova između nas. Mi sve na demokratski način odluke u bendu donosimo, što je značilo da je bilo potrebno vreme, vreme koje nismo imali. U jednom trenutku, predložio sam selekciju mitoloških imena vezanih za zvezde i sazvežđa, i Rastaban je dobio našu pažnju, zbog toga što je prelepo i ima jaku simboliku. Koren je iz arapske reči koja označava "glavu zmaja/zmije", i to je ime zvezde, koja ima poziciju oka u sazvežđu Zmaja. Činjenica da je zvanični dan  osnivanja benda u januaru 2012. godine, bio je takođe početak godine Zmaja po kineskom kalendaru, bio je lep neočekivan simbol, koji je naš izbor učinio još odgovarajućim. Ali i pored toga, simbol Zmaja i njegova univerzalnost je nešto što smo smatrali kao dobar izbor energije, koju pokušavamo da podelimo kroz našu muziku.

2. Vaše emocije koje prenosite na slušaoce su velike, i to se posebno oseća na živim nastupima. Kako ste vi zadovoljni prijemom kod publike?

Mich: Mi očigledno nismo očekivali tako snažnu interakciju sa publikom. Od samog početka nešto posebno se dešavalo, a čini nam se da interakcija jača. Nije uvek slučaj, imate nastupe, koji su magični više od drugih naravno, ali generalno, ima nešto veoma osećajno i moćno u reakciji koju smo dobili od ljudi koji posećuju naše nastupe. Termin Tribal Folk, koji koristimo da opišemo našu muziku se takođe uklapa u ovaj osećaj radosnog i energetskog zajedništva između nas i publike. To je barem, kako sam ja doživeo lično, putem spektra mojih emocija i osetljivosti, ali mislim da je ipak to upravo tako.


3. Često koristite različite jezike u tekstovima pesama, što se posebno oseća  u numerama "Moja duša" i "Čaje šukarije". Kako uopšte vršite odabir pesama, pošto se trudite da pokrijete širok spektar različitih jezika u svojim pesmama?

Mich: Jezici koje koristimo su veoma važni za nas zbog različite boje i energije, koju donose u pesmama. Volim da koristim srpsko - hrvatski jezik na primer, to je za mene veoma melodičan jezik, koji nije tako lako prepoznatljiv kao drugi slovenski jezici. Donosi veoma poseban pečat.  mi ponekad kombinujemo tri jezika u jednoj pesmi. Na primer "Zora", ima delove na engleskom, francuskom i srpsko - hrvatskom jeziku. Dok melodija dolazi iz tradicionalne keltske pesme iz Britanije. Neobična kombinacija, ali izgleda da radi.
Postoje dva aspekta u pesmama koje izvodimo. Deo tradicionalnih pesama, koje su preuređene za naš zvuk, i deo nove pesme komponovane od strane benda. Tradicija je odabrana prateći naša srca, naša osećanja i našu pozadinu.
Raznolikost možete naći, kao rezultat različitih kultura u kojima smo u nekom trenutku odrastali.

4. Neminovno je da spomenemo i ovo? Prethodnih meseci smo svedoci šta se dešava među narodima u Ukrajini. Ratni sukobi ne donose dobro nikome. Pokrenuo si kompilaciju "Folk for the People" , kao podršku protiv sukoba u Ukrajini. Kako je sve to proteklo? Koliki je odziv muzičara bio? Hoće li kompilacija doživeti svoje drugo izdanje?

Mich: Važna stvar, koju želim da istaknem je da "Folk for the People", nema nikakve veze sa konfliktom, koji se sada dešava u Istočnoj Ukrajini. Projekat kompletno nije politički, osmišljen je da pomogne žrtvama represije protiv protesta na Majdanu, koji su tučeni, pucano na njih i ponekad mučeni od strane vladinih specijalnih snaga predsednika Janukoviča u to vreme. Oko stotinu ljudi je ubijeno tokom ovih događaja u februaru 2014. godine, na hiljade povređeno. Dakle, to je bila spontana akcija saosećanja za pomoć žrtvama i njihovim porodicama i ništa više. 

Bio sam zapanjen brojem odziva bendova, koji su želeli da nam se pridruže na ovom projektu. A ti kada bi mogao da vidiš koja je energija i namera ljudi koji su bili uključeni u to, bila motivisana, otvorenog srca za osećaj pravde i poštovanja osnovnih ljudskih prava. Bilo je zaista emotivno videti dobru volju da se uključe u tako kratkom vremenu, svuda u Evropi, pa čak i Kanadi.

Ne znam da li će druga kompilacija izaći. Ali, ako se to desi, ja ću sigurno izabrati da to bude sa manje potencijalnih rizika, kontroverznih diskusija, uglavnom da bi se zaštitili bendovi, koji su donirali pesme od bilo kakvih negativnih i lažnih asimilacija ili političkih diskusija. Ali i dalje sam srećan što sam inicirao ovaj projekat, veoma zahvalan ljudima koji su nam pomogli da ga stvorimo, i ponosan na rezultat.

Rastaban BandCamp

5. Na CastleFest-u ove godine predstavili ste nove pesme ( Finis Terrae, Rusalka i druge...). Kako napreduju radovi na novom albumu? Možemo li ga očekivati uskoro?

Mich: pripreme za predstojeći album idu veoma dobro. Upravo sam komponovao zadnjih par pesama. Trebaju se raditi aranžmani, ali mi u osnovi imamo punu listu numera za album. Sada želimo da snimamo sve pesme, negde ove zime, verovatno u januaru. Zaista se nadamo da ćemo imati spreman album za leto 2015. godine. 

6. Hvala što si odvojio vreme da odgovoriš na pitanja za naš Webzine! I za kraj šta bi porućio slušaocima u Srbiji?

Mich: Ne znam da li nas mnogo ljudi u Srbiji prati, ali se nadam da se oseća energija koju pokušavamo da podelimo kroz našu muziku. Kako moji koreni leže tamo (moja majka je rođena u Vojvodini, u ukrajinskoj porodici), nadam se da će jednog dana biti mogućnosti da tamo podelimo našu muziku na koncertu, koji je najbolji način  da doživite našu muziku. Balkanski region je važan izvor inspiracije za nas, na jezicima koje koristimo i melodijama koje izvodimo. Dovođenje tog poklona, koji smo dobili kroz ove inspiracije nazad ljudima koji se tamo nalaze, bilo bi neverovatno.

RASTABAN

 On the folk scene of Belgium works band Ratsaban. They released album Aurora, and are working on a new release. The band consists of: Marine Libert, Dominic Marchal, Stephan Késenne, Luka Aubry and Mich Rozek. Inspiration in his music derived from folk traditions of Europe. In their songs we can feel, hear, tradition and culture of the Celts, Scandinavia, to the Slavic Balkans. Always smiling and full of positive energy, enjoy the music they create, which is our confirmed Mich Rozek for our Celtic - Webzine Slavic Serbia.

1. Why the name Rastaban? When and how this idea?

Mich: When our previous project came to an end and we decided to continue with a new singer and under a new name, we had only a few days to find a name for the band. It was an intense brainstorming and tons of e-mail exchanges between us all. We're working in a very democratic way for this kind of decisions in the band, which means that it takes time, a time that we didn't really have.
At a certain point, I proposed a selection of mythological names related to stars and constellations, and Rastaban got our intention because of it's beautiful and strong symbolic. It comes from an arabic expression that means "the head of the dragon/serpent", and is the name of a star having the position of the eye of the Draco constellation. The fact that the official day of the foundation of the band in January 2012 was also precisely the start of the Year of the Dragon following the Chinese calender was a beautiful unexpected symbol that made our choice even more relevant. But beside that, the symbolic of the dragon and its universality is something that we felt like a good expression of the energy we try to share through our music. 

2. Emotions that you transmit to the listeners are large, and this is especially felt in live performances. How are you satisfied with the reception by the audience?

Mich: We obviously didn't expect such a strong interaction with the audience. From the beginning, there was something very special happening, and it seems that this interaction is getting stronger. It's not always the case, you have gigs that are more magical than others of course, but in general, there's something very sincere and powerful in the reaction we get from people listening to our music in front of the stage. The terms Tribal Folk that we use to discribe our music are also fitting this sense of joyful and energetic togetherness created between us and the audience. It's at least how I experience it personally, through the spectrum of my own emotions and sensitivity, but I think it's still quite accurate.

3. I often use different languages in the texts of songs, which is particularly felt in the songs "Moja duša" and "Čaje šukarije". How do you make the selection of songs, as you try to cover a wide range of different languages in their songs?

Mich: The languages we use are very important for us for the different colour and energy they bring to the songs. I love to use Serbo-Croatian lyrics for exemple, it's for me a very melodic language that is not as easily recognizable as other slavic languages. It brings a very special touch. We're sometimes combining two or three languages in one song. "Zora" for exemple, has parts in English, French and Serbo-Croatian. While the melody comes from a traditional celtic song from Brittany. An unusual combination, but it seems to work.
There are two aspects in the songs we play. A part of traditional songs that are rearranged to fit our sound, and a part of new songs self-composed by the band. The trads are chosen just by following our heart, our feelings or our background. The diversity you can find is a result of the different cultures we grew up with at some point.

4. It is inevitable to mention this? In previous months, we have witnessed what is happening among the peoples of Ukraine. Military conflicts do not bring good to anyone. You've started a compilation of "Folk for the People", as well as support against the conflict in Ukraine. How all that passed? How many musicians emerged? Will compilation experienced its second edition?

Mich: An important thing that I want to point out is that the "Folk for the People" compilation has nothing to do with the conflit happening now in the Eastern part of Ukraine. The project was completely not political, and ment to help the victims of the repression against the Maidan protesters, who were beaten, shot and sometimes tortured by the governmental special forces of the president Yanukovitch at that time. About one hundred were killed during these events in February 2014, thousands injured. So it was a spontaneous action of compassion to help the victims and their families, nothing more.
I was myself quite amazed by the amount of bands who wanted to join us on this project. And you could feel that the energy behind it and the intention of the people involved was motivated by an open heart, a sense of justice and respect of basic human rights. It was really emotional to see all this good will getting involved in such a short time, from everywhere in Europe and even Canada.
I don't know if a second compilation will take place. But if it does, I will certainly choose a cause with less potential risks of controversial discussions, mainly to project the bands who are donating a song from any negative and false assimilations or political discussions that are not meant to be. But I'm still very happy to have initiated this project, very thankful to all the people who helped us to create it, and proud of the result.

5. On Castlefest in this year presented new songs (Finis Terrae, Rusalka and others ...). How are the works on the new album? Can we expect soon?

Mich: The preparations for the upcoming album are going very well. We've just composed the last couple of songs. They still need to get arrangements, but we basically have the full track list for the album fixed. We're now busy practising all the songs as much as possible to be able to start the recording somewhere this winter, probably in January. We really hope to have the album ready for the summer 2015. 

 6. Thank you for taking time to answer questions for our Webzine! And in the end what to tell the listeners in Serbia?

Mich: I do not know if there are a lot of people in Serbia following us, but I hope they get touched by the energy we try to share through our music. As a part of my roots lie there (my mother was born in Vojvodina, in a Ukrainian family), I hope one day to be able to get there to share our music on stage, which is the best way to experience our music. The Balkan region is an important source of inspiration for us, and the languages we use or the melodies we play. Bringing this gift that we received through these inspirations back to the people who are at the origin of them would be just amazing.