BARBARA RUBIN Interview for Museboat Live channel

BARBARA RUBIN interview for Museboat Live Channel on Sunday, November 22th 2020 in TJ´s Muse Bridge show

Barbara Rubin is a musician, singer, violinist and songwriter. She attended and completed musical studies at Conservatoire (Piacenza-Italy) graduating in violin under the direction of Master F.Biondi (Europa Galante) In parallel with classical studies she started to cultivate love for rock, beginning to write songs very young, mixing classical and modern sounds.

Her name is well-known in the field of progressive rock across parts of Europe, UK and overseas as a lead singer of the band LoreWeaveR and also as a solo artist with her own projects like albums Under The Ice, Operauno, Luna Nuova.

When the perfection of the Music meets the human’s imperfection, there born an emotion

Barbara Rubin

This year she is coming with a new self-released album The Shadows Playground. This album speaks about many musical influences, life experiences, meetings with history, introspective journeys, reflections about the present that, along these past years, left marks with musical notes, like photographs giving the inspiration to create nine tracks. These songs show the love for classical instrumental music which well fuses with the prog-rock influences. The Piano sets the basis for the instrumental layers as well as the harmonies, also with several solo interludes. The subtitle "Piano Works" wants to be a dedication for this wonderful working instrument, able to make the musician's thoughts come true.

Thanks to a more individual and concentrated work about the recording techniques, "The Shadows Playground" has been composed, performed, mixed and mastered by herself. Barbara Rubin's music was and is played by many Radio Stations including Museboat Live and it's mentioned by many Magazines and Websites worldwide and we had the privilege to ask her a few questions.

Hello Barbara!

Hi TJ, It’s nice to speak with you and with Museboat listeners as well!

We really love your music on Museboat so we want to know what is behind all of that. Can you explain your music production process?

The process of my music is cared by me since the composition to the mastering and the publishing of my works. Many of my composition start to the Piano, that is the instrument that mainly give me the chance to set down my thoughts, my reflections about life experiences o the impressions about stories as well. The songs mainly begon this instrument and after this, I understand if they will be a vocal or an instrumental pieces, in english or italian language. Is the Music that make me understand it. I have my own studio and once I had recorded the piano and the vocals, I go on with the arrangements, playing violin, viola, sinthesizers and some grooves of bass and drums. This need lots of time 'cause I work alone and I can't finish one song till I done all the best I can. So I can proceed to the mixing and Mastering.



What do you consider to be your greatest success in your music career?

I had a lot of beautiful musical experiences in my life. I won contests, I had the honor to perform at the Cambridge Rock Festival but my solo music, my solo albums, are what I love most. And I love all the chances and all the people I knew thanks to them! Before the "Under The Ice" release, I was quite unknown. This Album opened to me a world of music lovers, magazines and Radios like Museboat, whom gave me hope as well as the courage to go on in composition. My first passion at all. About it, I have to say a big Thank You to my Maestro Fabio Biondi, who is an important musician worldwhide. I had the chance to study with him and he always encourage me to express my self, despite I was choosin a non classical musical genre, this helped me to be focused on my way to feel music and I understood that the only chance to make something different is to play what you are, being youself

The Shadows Playground title sounds to me almost mystericaly. What leads you to the name of this album?

"The Shadow Playground" seemed to me to be the right title for an album where shadows and lights dance together and it is the most appropriate metaphor for the life path I have faced in recent years ... in relationships with people, in introspection and in the continuous search to understand who I am and what surrounds me. It is a journey into the silence of the night that leaves place to a profound vision of the inner world, to end with the light of the dawn, which is a daily possibility of rebirth.

What do you think about Radios and Magazines whom are involved to promote independent artists?

As I previously told you, this been the most beautiful surprise I had after the release of “Under The Ice” in 2010. At that time I opened an account on Myspace and I discovered a big world of Music, artists, music lovers, Independent press and Medias as you. During these 10 years I noticed that this world grown up while the mainstream become always more small, and this mean that listeners are discovering it more and more, expecially in lockdown times where people had time to spent for themselves and their need to arts. I feel myself involved in a big family of musical lovers, whom spent their time in music with heart and mind. It meens so much for me!




We had broadcast your song "Under The Ice" lots of times during these ten years. What does this song mean to you?

"Under the ice" signed a change in my way to composing which since before that song, was more oriented to the italian traditional song. It’s also the first song I wrote in english, I felt the need to do it, because music was more fit for your language. This gave me also the chance to speak better to a worldwide listeners. In that period I was in a prog-band called Arcansiel which released an album which had a good succes. The leader of the band ask me to compose new stuff for them so i started in that style, new for me. The result was Under The Ice and I liked so much that I decide to keep it for myself. That new way to write music and lyrics involved me a lot, and that song became the first of an entire album, my first as a soloist, that you well know. That style became my style and I am still in love with it.

Which song do you prefer on your new album "The Shadows Playground" and why?

The song I prefer is "La Maddalena". It's a long 7 minutes track which I loved to write and sing. She's Maria Maddalena ...Mary of Magdala. Her Story to me, was love at first sight, a sudden spark, fired after choosing the Grail as a symbol of femininity for the song "Gradalis", included in "Luna Nuova", the mini album with three pieces against the violence against women, which is a big problem here in Italy. I started doing research by reading Apocryphal Gospels, she had own one, the Gospel of Mary, the Philip one, ending with the legendary tales that tell about her crossing the Mediterranean sea after the death of Jesus, to arrive in the south of France. I was amazed by the complicity between her and Jesus, the confidentiality, sharing and esteem between a man and a woman who share a philosophy, a new ideal of love.

How you had released it, who helped you in it?

I self released the album, from the composition of the music and lyrics, till the mastering. I have my own recording studio that I setted up six year ago to be really independent in my productions. My friend and singer Andrea Giolo gave me support giving some listening because, to work alone can be very stressfull sometime, especially for the ears. He recorded several vocal parts as well, infact he’s the malevoice you can listen in the songs “endless Hope”, “La Maddalena” and “Helens Word". In this last one you can also hear the voice of Veronica Fasanelli in the “Grand Choir”. The pictures for the album cover and booklet are made by the awesome photographer Simona Sottocornola who helped to work on the graphics with another friend of mine, Martina Donà. Everyone of them are very important people for me.

Which musical experiences mainly influenced your solo works?

Of course my classical studies, the complexity and the beauty of that music, especially the baroque one... Vivaldi, Scarlatti, Bach.. But also the hundreds of concerts singing music of Deep Purple, Whitesnake, Mr Big, Iron Maiden and Dream Theater as well! This last band teached me a lot about the progressive style and his difficult beating, but also about the beautines of its melodies. I also playing keyboards and violin in the band Arcansiel led me to write in this way. Every experience as a musician as well as a listener, teached me something.




You are a multi-instrumentalist, talk about each instrument and what it means for you?

The Piano is certainly the instrument that I mainly play when i compose .. it’s my "work machine" which allow me to travel with my mind, and speak when I'm not able to do it with words. It’s indispensable for many composers, it’s magical ... ancient but modern in the same time. Irreplaceable! Violin is a such of youthful love. It is the instrument with I have faced the studies at the Consevatory which gave me the chance to meet incredible teachers. I cannot part to this instrument! Viola is a new love. I started to play it because I neede it for the “Under The Ice” album arrangements and I build and incredible feeling with this ancient instrument. It has a such of unique voice, so similar to the human one! About the voice, the singing? I have to say that to sing, is like to fly ... It's freedom. For many persons is a real need, and it’s beautiful. It's the most natural way to make music but it's direct connection with the mind and soul.




What happened to you, musically, in these ten years between "Under The Ice" and "The Shadows Playground"

I was involved in other musical projects. In 2011 I released an Album with the band Loreweaver called “Imperviae Auditiones” and in the 2014 a second one with the same band called “Italic”. In the same year I recorded and publish an instrumental album for violin and Piano with the pianist / composer Veronica Fasanelli and in 2017 I released the mini-album “Luna Nuova” with 3 pieces against the violence on women. It’s the first work totally self released by me, in my recording studio.




What you do in life, as a job? Has it a role in your composing?

I am a musical teacher, I job that I love very much. Of course it influence me in my compositions and generally, in my studying, in my practicing and also in life. When you teach you learn a lot from the students, especially from the young ones because they have a way to play, to think, which is far from we are today in some way. They remind us the vision of the things that we had in the youth and could get lost, but it’s inside of us and sometime is important to remember who we was in past and how we thought.




Do you think that Covid19 changes something in the arts world, in negative or in positive?

I think that in the lockdown people had the chance to stop an sit giving time to them passions. They spent time to read a book, to listen old records, search new music… They stay together more time and cook, why not, sharing them passions and of course, arts as well. At the school we had many new students, families choosen the Music for them children this year. Music sometimes can be a good company, a hand to hold when you are afraid. And this happened in Covid19 era.

Can you tell us something in your language? First in English and then in Italian language, please.

So che Radio Museboat ha tanti artisti e ascoltatori dall’italia e mando loro un saluto speciale. I know that Museboat Radio has many artists and listeners from Italy. I send them a special greeting.

Is there something else you want to say to our listeners?

Don't stop to listen to Museboat because you have the same special heart. You are special as listeners because you search music that you really need, not what the mainstream medias choose for you. Thanks you for your affection in these 10 past years and Happy Birthday Museboat staff and listeners!

Thank you for the interview Barbara.


This interview was brought to you by
Taunjua C Clark
host to the TJ´s Muse Bridge show




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