When jazz/fusion music is blended with progressive rock then the result cannot be something less than impressive… especially when the musicians are great instrumentalists too. Marbin comes from the US and this is their first live album which features, apart from three “old tracks”, 7 brand new ones. The guitarist Dani Rabin introduces his band to Grande Rock and talks about music among other things…
Hi Dani… since it’s the first time that we talk, please tell us a few words about Marbin…
D: First I’d like to thank you for taking the time to do this interview. Marbin has been doing great! I’m in the van right now as I’m writing you. We are playing in Paducah KY tonight and opened for Allan Holdsworth’s trio (Haslip and Husband) for the last couple of nights in Chicago. We’ve been touring a lot and are getting ready to record our fifth album in November.
I came upon Marbin with the album “The Third Set” and I didn’t feel that I was listening to a “live album”… I’m talking about the overall sound and the performances. I saw that the tracks have been recorded in different days/periods. How did that thing work? It’s amazing I must say!
D: “The Third Set” is very much a live album. We took Caleb Wilitz (the guy who engineered all our albums) on the road with us on tour for fourteens nights. And recorded everything. After that we listened to thirty hours of music and chose what we thought was the best 10 songs from that tour. I treat that album like a documentary of the band in 2013. We lived and played fast, dirty and intense.
How did the idea of recording a “live album” occur? Probably touring a lot would be the answer but is it only that?
D: For us a studio album is a creative journey inwards. We try to find the hidden ideas within us and bring them to the record. It’s a ton of work and the result is very colorful and thought out. A live show is where we just accept what we are at the moment and just play. We felt that the audience that we are developing in our tours wanted a recording that has what they see at our shows.
I noticed that only 3 tracks are from your previous three studio albums. “Crystal Bells” from your debut in 2009 and “Redline” & Volta” from “Last Chapter…” in 2013. So, the other 7 track are new compositions, right? That’s kinda weird and quite unusual.
D: We wanted to do those three songs again because we felt that the delivery of these live is somehow more powerful. As a rule of thumb Danny and I are against repeating songs that have been featured on previous records. The other seven songs have never been recorded before but we were playing some of them live for a while. We always liked these songs a lot live and this live record was the perfect opportunity to feature them because they need that kind of energy to shine and build.
Will those 7 tracks be recorded in a studio at some point or there will only be those “live” executions?
D: No. For these seven songs that’s it. We believe in recording and writing new material.
What’s “The Third Set” and how can it be related to the album cover? What’s this creature relic on the country field?
D: The name comes from a saying we came up with. Since we mostly play three sets per night. We named our set like this: 1) The first set: the accurate set, 2) The second set: the loose set & 3) The Third Set: The crazy set.
“The Third Set” usually starts around 1am after we’ve all been drinking and have each played about fifteen thousand notes during the first two. It’s when we let it all hang and all of the songs from the record we picked from the last set of the show. Brin Levinson made all of the album art (he did all of our albums). He is amazing!!
Apart from the 3 abovementioned tracks, do tell us a few things about the 7 new ones…
D: Each of these songs has a long story behind the name but you have to come to a show to hear me ramble about it! We name songs after things that happen to us on the road and to tell you about each you would have to make this interview into a book.
I bet there are some Greek folk/ethnic influences on the “intro” of the “Culture”. Isn’t it so?
D: Since we are Israeli I think what you are hearing is the Mediterranean Sea from the other side of the pond. (Yeap, it totally has Greek roots that’s obvious
)
How is your typical way of writing music? Tell us a bit about it…
D: Danny and I sit together in a room and write (on paper) the best music we can come up with at the moment. After, we do one or two rehearsals with the band and then we go on the road and play the songs three hundred times. That’s pretty the recipe.
I saw 6 or 7 (excuse me if I’m mistaken) live videos, on your Youtube channel, which are from a specific live show at Auntie Mae’s Parlor in Manhattan, right? Out of so many live shows how did you choose that one to shoot those videos instead of shooting on different shows every time?
D: We hired a local film crew there. I wish we had a film crew with us constantly but it’s expensive. In retrospect that was not the best show to film! (lol)
How is touring so extensively? I mean more than 1000 (!) live shows in less than 4 years is a world record or something!
D: I love touring! It’s not for everyone but it’s totally for me! It turns your life to an adventure. You meet people and see places and get to play music every single day and night. To me that’s amazing!
What are your next touring plans?
D: We are headed to the South and the Midwest now for about 40 days (no breaks). All of our touring schedule is posted at www.marbinmusic.com also you should join www.facebook.com/marbinmusic to get updates.
What do you prefer the most; touring (isn’t it obvious huh?!!) or being in the studio recording and why?
D: I like both. As long as I’m working on my own music I’m very happy!
How would you describe your music style to someone that hasn’t heard of you before? What would you tell them?
D: I would tell them that there is no such thing as the best music but we are one of the best!
Do you mind that the kind of music that you play doesn’t normally appeal to the large pop music masses? I guess you just play what you love and you follow your heart without carrying about anything else, huh?
D: I think that we are willing to extend a hand to anyone. It’s an individual choice of the people of the audience to take our hand. We make the best music we can and hope for the best.
What is overall goal that you want to achieve with Marbin?
D: We want to play for 2000 people every night on tour and keep making records.
D: First I’d like to thank you for taking the time to do this interview. Marbin has been doing great! I’m in the van right now as I’m writing you. We are playing in Paducah KY tonight and opened for Allan Holdsworth’s trio (Haslip and Husband) for the last couple of nights in Chicago. We’ve been touring a lot and are getting ready to record our fifth album in November.
I came upon Marbin with the album “The Third Set” and I didn’t feel that I was listening to a “live album”… I’m talking about the overall sound and the performances. I saw that the tracks have been recorded in different days/periods. How did that thing work? It’s amazing I must say!
D: “The Third Set” is very much a live album. We took Caleb Wilitz (the guy who engineered all our albums) on the road with us on tour for fourteens nights. And recorded everything. After that we listened to thirty hours of music and chose what we thought was the best 10 songs from that tour. I treat that album like a documentary of the band in 2013. We lived and played fast, dirty and intense.
How did the idea of recording a “live album” occur? Probably touring a lot would be the answer but is it only that?
D: For us a studio album is a creative journey inwards. We try to find the hidden ideas within us and bring them to the record. It’s a ton of work and the result is very colorful and thought out. A live show is where we just accept what we are at the moment and just play. We felt that the audience that we are developing in our tours wanted a recording that has what they see at our shows.
I noticed that only 3 tracks are from your previous three studio albums. “Crystal Bells” from your debut in 2009 and “Redline” & Volta” from “Last Chapter…” in 2013. So, the other 7 track are new compositions, right? That’s kinda weird and quite unusual.
D: We wanted to do those three songs again because we felt that the delivery of these live is somehow more powerful. As a rule of thumb Danny and I are against repeating songs that have been featured on previous records. The other seven songs have never been recorded before but we were playing some of them live for a while. We always liked these songs a lot live and this live record was the perfect opportunity to feature them because they need that kind of energy to shine and build.
Will those 7 tracks be recorded in a studio at some point or there will only be those “live” executions?
D: No. For these seven songs that’s it. We believe in recording and writing new material.
What’s “The Third Set” and how can it be related to the album cover? What’s this creature relic on the country field?
D: The name comes from a saying we came up with. Since we mostly play three sets per night. We named our set like this: 1) The first set: the accurate set, 2) The second set: the loose set & 3) The Third Set: The crazy set.
“The Third Set” usually starts around 1am after we’ve all been drinking and have each played about fifteen thousand notes during the first two. It’s when we let it all hang and all of the songs from the record we picked from the last set of the show. Brin Levinson made all of the album art (he did all of our albums). He is amazing!!
Apart from the 3 abovementioned tracks, do tell us a few things about the 7 new ones…
D: Each of these songs has a long story behind the name but you have to come to a show to hear me ramble about it! We name songs after things that happen to us on the road and to tell you about each you would have to make this interview into a book.
I bet there are some Greek folk/ethnic influences on the “intro” of the “Culture”. Isn’t it so?
D: Since we are Israeli I think what you are hearing is the Mediterranean Sea from the other side of the pond. (Yeap, it totally has Greek roots that’s obvious
)How is your typical way of writing music? Tell us a bit about it…
D: Danny and I sit together in a room and write (on paper) the best music we can come up with at the moment. After, we do one or two rehearsals with the band and then we go on the road and play the songs three hundred times. That’s pretty the recipe.
I saw 6 or 7 (excuse me if I’m mistaken) live videos, on your Youtube channel, which are from a specific live show at Auntie Mae’s Parlor in Manhattan, right? Out of so many live shows how did you choose that one to shoot those videos instead of shooting on different shows every time?
D: We hired a local film crew there. I wish we had a film crew with us constantly but it’s expensive. In retrospect that was not the best show to film! (lol)
How is touring so extensively? I mean more than 1000 (!) live shows in less than 4 years is a world record or something!
D: I love touring! It’s not for everyone but it’s totally for me! It turns your life to an adventure. You meet people and see places and get to play music every single day and night. To me that’s amazing!
What are your next touring plans?
D: We are headed to the South and the Midwest now for about 40 days (no breaks). All of our touring schedule is posted at www.marbinmusic.com also you should join www.facebook.com/marbinmusic to get updates.
What do you prefer the most; touring (isn’t it obvious huh?!!) or being in the studio recording and why?
D: I like both. As long as I’m working on my own music I’m very happy!
How would you describe your music style to someone that hasn’t heard of you before? What would you tell them?
D: I would tell them that there is no such thing as the best music but we are one of the best!
Do you mind that the kind of music that you play doesn’t normally appeal to the large pop music masses? I guess you just play what you love and you follow your heart without carrying about anything else, huh?
D: I think that we are willing to extend a hand to anyone. It’s an individual choice of the people of the audience to take our hand. We make the best music we can and hope for the best.
What is overall goal that you want to achieve with Marbin?
D: We want to play for 2000 people every night on tour and keep making records.
It’s time for our “weird questions”!!! I think the band’s name is a “collage” of Danny’s and your last name… but you know better… do tell us how you came up with it…
D: It was pretty intuitive: MARkovitch raBIN…
What do you think about this “Views, tweets & Likes” mania of our time?
D: I hate it but it’s a part of life now so I’m in it…
Which are the Top 3 prog rock/jazz-fusion albums of all time?
D: It’s not my bag. Top 3 albums for me is:
Astor Piazzolla – “Tango Zero Hour”
Pat Metheny – “Secret Story”
Leonard Cohen – “Songs of Leonard Cohen”
How do you see the “free downloading issue” of our time? What can a band or a label do to change that thing?
D: In my experience true fans support the bands they like. We sold over 11,000 albums already. I was born in 1985 so it’s always been a part of my life so I’m used to the concept.
Are funding platforms like Kicksatrter, Indiegogo etc. the answer to the “free downloading culture” of the 21st century? What’s your say?
D: We’ve never done it but we will if our van breaks…
Is music art? Or it used to be? How can those mainstream hit songs we repeatedly hear on the internet, radio & TV be taken as music art?
D: There is entertainment and there is art. We do art and it can be entertaining.
What’s your opinion about Alan Holdsworth? Do you believe that he is one of the most underrated musicians of all time?
D: He is a dear friend and we spent the last two days hanging out. His uniqueness as a musician is identical to his uniqueness as a person. It’s always funny to me to hear people that try to sound like him because if you are a “normal” person you can’t play like this. He actually hears those lines in his head. Imagine what kind of person you have to be!
I bet that you’re also a Frank Zappa fan, right? Do you think there will ever be other musicians with Frank Zappa’s musical genius & “insanity”?
D: I always liked his music but was never a Zappa guy.
Which character from the “Game of Thrones” would you have been – if you lived in the Seven Kingdoms? The other guys from the band?
D: (lol) IDK…
Which of the Seven Deadly Sins do you reckon is the one, that’s more likely to send you straight to Hell, in the afterlife?
D: I’m Jewish don’t believe in an afterlife…
Imagine that your girlfriend/wife is selling your whole album-collection just to buy an expensive ring for herself. How would you react? J
D: I would be impressed that she could find someone to buy CDs!
Thx for this interview Dani…
D: It was pretty intuitive: MARkovitch raBIN…
What do you think about this “Views, tweets & Likes” mania of our time?
D: I hate it but it’s a part of life now so I’m in it…
Which are the Top 3 prog rock/jazz-fusion albums of all time?
D: It’s not my bag. Top 3 albums for me is:
Astor Piazzolla – “Tango Zero Hour”
Pat Metheny – “Secret Story”
Leonard Cohen – “Songs of Leonard Cohen”
How do you see the “free downloading issue” of our time? What can a band or a label do to change that thing?
D: In my experience true fans support the bands they like. We sold over 11,000 albums already. I was born in 1985 so it’s always been a part of my life so I’m used to the concept.
Are funding platforms like Kicksatrter, Indiegogo etc. the answer to the “free downloading culture” of the 21st century? What’s your say?
D: We’ve never done it but we will if our van breaks…
Is music art? Or it used to be? How can those mainstream hit songs we repeatedly hear on the internet, radio & TV be taken as music art?
D: There is entertainment and there is art. We do art and it can be entertaining.
What’s your opinion about Alan Holdsworth? Do you believe that he is one of the most underrated musicians of all time?
D: He is a dear friend and we spent the last two days hanging out. His uniqueness as a musician is identical to his uniqueness as a person. It’s always funny to me to hear people that try to sound like him because if you are a “normal” person you can’t play like this. He actually hears those lines in his head. Imagine what kind of person you have to be!
I bet that you’re also a Frank Zappa fan, right? Do you think there will ever be other musicians with Frank Zappa’s musical genius & “insanity”?
D: I always liked his music but was never a Zappa guy.
Which character from the “Game of Thrones” would you have been – if you lived in the Seven Kingdoms? The other guys from the band?
D: (lol) IDK…
Which of the Seven Deadly Sins do you reckon is the one, that’s more likely to send you straight to Hell, in the afterlife?
D: I’m Jewish don’t believe in an afterlife…
Imagine that your girlfriend/wife is selling your whole album-collection just to buy an expensive ring for herself. How would you react? J
D: I would be impressed that she could find someone to buy CDs!
Thx for this interview Dani…