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Raphael Rogiński: Žaltys review | Jude Rogers' folk album of the month
This searching, soulful release conjures up the spirit of summers spent by the lake and in the forest
Cover art for Žaltys.Created with Warsaw musician/producer Piotr Zabrodzki, and mastered by Oren Ambarchi collaborator Joe Talia, these 12tracks show how an electric guitar, amped up for reverb and resonance, can evoke a sense of wonder at natural history (many of the track titles are the Lithuanian names of flowers). Still, you can hear echoes of Rogiński’s first instrument, his grandmother’s Uzbek kamānche (a three-stringed lyre), in the gorgeous Paprastasis Amalas (which translates as Common Mistletoe) and the gnarlier Pelkinis Gailis (Marsh Rosemary), his raw, finger-picked style lingering longingly over the minor-key laments. Indrė Jurgelevičiūte of folk group Merope plays the kanklės, a Lithuanian plucked string instrument closely related to the zither, on several tracks, and sings beautifully on Šilinis Viržis (Common Heather), her voice conjuring up old shoegaze 7ins and psych-folk reissues.
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