After spending two years writing and perfecting his debut EP, 'All Through The Fire, All Through The Rain', we were finally given a delectable taster after the title track was dropped earlier this week.
Due for official release on 27th April, the track has an alluring harmonium protecting a rare purity that divulges from the onset.
Introducing the track with an array of buoyant chords, Ross slows the song's momentum to reveal a fascinating instrumental that coos with his transcendent vocalism. An ingenious addition of keys convey a much more wholesome vibe compared to that of the computerised chart-toppers of today - allowing the tune to fully develop into superb virtuosity. Concocting folk mysticism within an acoustic bubble, Ross has developed a contemporary variant of the perfect chill out soundtrack.
With a pending EP launch at Leaf Tea Shop and Bar, The Music Manual got an in-depth interview with Rosenblume to find out what the future holds...
How did you come about the name Rosenblume?
In the early 1900’s before the war, there was a massive Jewish community welcomed into Liverpool due to them being persecuted in their own countries. They came and made a new life for themselves over here setting up their own furniture making shops and tailor shops etc,. Liverpool was thriving. Among them was my great grandfather Samuel Rosenblume who was a tailor on Norton Street, as well as being a piano player. Later on my grandfather had the surname changed like many of the people did back then for one reason or another. So Rosenblume is in fact my rightful surname. When the decision came to come up with some kind of stage name rather than using my own, Rosenblume just seemed fitting.
You've had a lot of coverage on radio and online websites, is this the best way to get coverage for musicians today?
I think it depends on a lot of things. Genre is a huge factor within music and coverage; it entirely depends on what type of music you’re playing and what type of audience you’re aiming to cater for. I do think it is a great way for musicians to get coverage. But it does have its flaws; it’s so easy now to make music and release it online and in turn the music listener is spoiled for choice, making music so much more disposable. I think this has devalued how much people actually appreciate music now.
20 or 30 years ago the only way to hear music was to physically go out and buy an album giving the listener more incentive to really care about the music they chose to listen to. Meaning that the music lover would really invest themselves in an artist making the music much more valuable. I think that has gone with the online generation, which is sad. But the fact that someone can hear a song and access the rest of an artist’s works within seconds by pressing a Shazam button is a fantastic tool for finding new music.
It's exciting for new artists definitely, there are pros and cons. But I also think other media outlets are still important for artists. A lot of my target audience doesn’t necessarily actively go looking online for new music to listen to. They may discover new music by attending a folk festival or a concert where they go to see music they like and new artists just happen to be sharing the same bill. I also think mainstream radio and television are still a huge part of gaining covering for musicians particularly of this style and genre. Although the online culture is growing in terms of audience accessibility the musical competition is growing with it. Therefore making it harder for an artist to be more valuable and less disposable. It’s catch 22.
All Through the Fire, All Through the Rain hit over 1300 plays within the first 24 hours of it's release, how's the response been so far?
It’s been really great, a lot of new people are discovering the new music, which is amazing for us and I can’t thank everyone enough who has gone out and shared the new song. It’s been less than a week and we’re almost hitting the 3000 mark, which is brilliant. Hopefully this will continue and those who are enjoying the music will come out and show their support when we do the launch night next month.
Do you think your influences have played a heavy part when you were moulding the track?
I think they did yeah. I’ve been a huge Simon & Garfunkel fan since I can remember, my dad always used to have them playing in the car growing up and so the sound of vocal harmony and acoustic guitars have been a love ever since. I’ve also always loved their delicate sound and making something so big but by being understated. I think with this particular track and the rest of the EP I tried to do something similar, but at the same time put my own stamp on it.
Are you tempted to use any unusual instruments in future material?
Absolutely. I’ve been really interested in using a Harmonium, which is like a small Indian type organ. It has a lovely sound, but I know that’s been used within new folk music in recent years. I’ve also been interested in using a Sitar too. I’m such a George Harrison fan. One of the first songs I learned to play was Norwegian Wood and so using a Sitar on a track in the future would be great. Maybe on the next EP! On this EP however we did have an octave fiddle or a bass fiddle as some people call it. It’s basically bigger than a viola and smaller than a cello. It has a really cool resonance. It made the strings sound a little more unusual than your standard string sound.
You have your EP launch in April, what should we be expecting?
Well with it being a special night I figured it would be great to gather a lot of the talented musicians that I know and create the best possible sound we can for the launch of the EP. So as well as the standard band line up of Drums, Bass, Keys & Acoustic Guitar I’ve also got some extra musicians to come and add even more colour and textures to the performance. Including Rob Taylor on Fiddle, Mandolin & Banjo, Jimmy Docherty playing Slide Guitar, Electric & Acoustic, champion harmonica player Mat Walklate on Blues Harp & Flutes and also Dom Hulse on Saxophone. The great thing about the night is we’ll be playing some other material that isn’t on the EP, which has a completely different vibe to it. So with the musicians on the night and the set list I’ve chosen we will definitely be taking the audience on a musical journey. There should be something everyone will enjoy... Hopefully!
If you could start over again, would you do anything differently?
Nothing that springs to mind. I think the only thing I would of done differently is worried less about whether it was all good enough and just enjoyed it more. I think musicians tend to put too much pressure on themselves by wanting it to be completely perfect. I can understand someone wanting it to be the best it can be because I’m exactly the same, however I think spending too much time worrying about that can put a dampener on things and cloud your vision. If the vibe is right and performance is good then people will get it. If you worry less about it being perfect and just enjoy it more it comes across 100% more because your spirit is in the game! Not sure if this even makes sense. It does in my own head!
Have you got any festivals lined up for the Summer?
We have a couple of things lined up for the summer including LIMF, which will be a great festival as always. We’re still in talks with a few folk festivals for later on in the summer but nothing is confirmed as of yet!
What should we expect from Rosenblume in five years?
More music! As long as I keep writing music then I’ll do whatever I can to get it out there to the listeners, providing they still want to listen of course. 5 years seems like a long way off. Everything is one step at a time for now. I’d hope within 5 years there would be a full album of some kind and Liverpool would of won the league by then! Ha… Who knows?
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