Raphael Roginski Zaltys

The new album by Polish guitarist Raphael Rogiński is named after the grass snake Žaltys, a revered household spirit in Lithuanian folklore, and explores themes of Eastern European mythology and nature. As a conduit of cultural exchange, "Žaltys" connects with Rogińsk’s previous work, most recently his critically acclaimed 2023 album "Talàn".

"Žaltys" is deeply rooted in the rolling hills of the Suwałki region, in the northeast of Poland, where Rogiński spent childhood vacations and became intrigued by the music he heard from nearby Lithuania. Later, it was on the border with Dzūkija in Lithuania that he bought his first electric guitar, recording soundscapes on a four-track recorder in the forests; he returns to those techniques on this album.

Yet while Eastern European folk music is a constant, enigmatic inspiration here—the track titles derive from various Lithuanian plant names—"Žaltys" is (like all of Rogiński’s work) impossible to pin down, drawing on jazz, American primitivism, and a pervasive mysticism. Infused with a specific culture and place, the album contains a sense of memory, time passing, wonder, and loss. The music, Rogiński says, “is a return to the moment when my brother and I laid down in a boat near the Lithuanian border, floating on a lake at night and looking at the stars in the sky, which always seemed closer to us there.”

Working with Warsaw musician and producer Piotr Zabrodzki, Rogiński created what he describes as “guitar piano”. Rogiński and Zabrodzki made the whole studio resonate while recording, to achieve a sound “as if the wind was playing the strings”. He continues, “We connected some low-voltage effects to powerful old amps and a Leslie speaker, and put unusual sets of strings on the guitars.” For the first time on a solo album, Rogiński employs overdubs to create layers on several tracks, while other compositions are pared back, variously stark, harsh or simply beautiful, exploring his deep relationship with his instrument.

Making a guest appearance—including on the first single “Šilinis Viržis”— is musician and singer Indrė Jurgelevičiūtė, a member of Merope, a band which draws more directly on Lithuanian folk forms. The two artists have been friends for years, but had never managed to record together, even though they share similar inspirations (and recently performed live at Unsound and Ephemera). Now Jurgelevičiūtė sings and plays the kanklės—a Lithuanian plucked string instrument or chordophone closely related to the zither—on two songs on the album. Zabrodski also plays piano on “Šilinis Viržis".

Rogiński has turned the mastering over to Joe Talia, a frequent collaborator of Oren Ambarchi who is known for his skills with guitar recordings. The cover is by Marcin Janusz, a Krakow painter who, like Rogiński, finds inspiration in nature and the human body’s relationship with the world.