Rafay Rashid talks New Ravi Shavi Record

In this episode, we dive into the creative process behind Rafay’s new record "Wild Rock Dove," the importance of groove and danceability in music, and how indie music continues to evolve in a crowded landscape. We also explore the challenges and opportunities Rhode Island’s capital offers for artists and the role of community spaces like Rec Room. This candid conversation reveals how artists adapt, innovate, and stay connected to their roots.

In this episode:

• Rafay shares the genesis of "Wild Rock Dove" and how shifting instrumentation influenced the sound
• The importance of groove, danceability, and physicality in modern indie music
• Insights into Rafay’s upcoming live show opening for Spoon and the significance of regional collaborations
• How indie music is exploring both minimalism and maximalism, with influences from ESG to Porches
• The current state of Providence’s creative scene and what might be missing for its full cultural potential
• Future plans for Rec Room, including community programming and artist curatorial opportunities

Timestamps:
00:00 - Introduction to Rafay and his new album "Wild Rock Dove"

00:37 - The songwriting process: from 2019 to the album release

01:36 - How changing instrumentation shaped the record’s groove focus

02:13 - Creating a unique sound with bass-driven tracks and minimalist influences

03:16 - Elements of danceability and physicality in Rafay’s music

03:43 - The role of groove in performance and audience engagement

04:11 - Upcoming show at Fett with Spoon and Providence’s musical ecosystem

04:56 - The path to booking meaningful regional shows through organic connections

06:10 - Enduring innovation in indie music and maintaining relevance with age

07:05 - Meeting Spoon for the first time and building community ties

07:47 - The current landscape of indie music: experimentation and diversity

08:17 - Exploring the influence of global and regional identities in the indie scene

09:46 - The impact of broader cultural scenes like Porches’ Mask

10:01 - How listener preferences are shaping the future of musical creation

10:28 - The state of Providence’s creative scene and its challenges

11:19 - Urban development and the potential for reinvigorating downtown Providence

12:26 - Future plans for Rec Room: community-centered programming, artist collaborations, and exhibitions

13:15 - Closing thoughts and upcoming initiatives at Rec Room

Transcript

Bill Bartholomew 0:00

Rafay Rashid, Ravi Xavi, welcome back to the Bartholomew Town podcast, my friend. It's been a minute and you've got a new record coming out, Ravi Xavi's highly anticipated new album. That's what it's described as here, right off the internet on Almost Ready Records. Wild Rock Dove. It drops on Friday, June 12th, which is the same day that this podcast will broadcast for the first time. And if you're hearing it after, you could probably find it anywhere you get music. Welcome back to the show.

SPEAKER_01 0:27

Thanks for being uh for having me, Bill. I appreciate it. And uh it's it's it's been a uh it's been a minute since we've seen each other. So I'm uh always happy to see you doing your thing.

Bill Bartholomew 0:37

Yeah, likewise. So the last time we spoke, you had recorded a solo record, which was it wasn't a solo, a true solo. You you were working um in collaboration, but it wasn't a Ravi Shavi record. When did you start writing this record and what was the transition point for you in terms of going back to making this music?

SPEAKER_01 0:57

Yeah, so I mean the the collection of songs on Wild Rock Dub, I would say they've actually I've probably first started being formed all the way back in 2019 because our last full-length Ravi Shovi record was 2020. Uh, so while we were putting that out, I had already started amassing material for whatever this next iteration would be. Um, I think, you know, like the the process for for the band Ravi Shavi has always been just to kind of play material, see what sticks, see what, see what kind of falls to the wayside, and just record the stuff that that stuck. So that that's sort of where we were. And then, you know, add in a couple two or three songs that we didn't really have didn't really play live that much, but that felt exciting.

Bill Bartholomew 1:44

Yeah, I've seen you play live in different iterations over the last couple of years as well. It was exciting to see you play in a trio or you were playing bass. That was like kind of the end of last summer. I think actually we played a show together or whatever. It was in one way or the other. It was in um in the building that I'm broadcasting from right now, we'll put it that way. But the different lineups, the different instrumentation, how did exploring with that kind of put you into a space that was sort of the voice, the creative engine behind this music?

SPEAKER_01 2:12

Yeah, I'd say like the newest songs on the record were born out of that changing up of instrumentation as far as like me playing bass, more locked into a rhythm. I think the idea was generally to uh really like focus on groove on this one. Um, so naturally that's where the bass ended up being the sort of guiding force for a lot of these songs that were written around the bass and drums as the starting point, um, you know, taking a lot of influence from more vampy type of like ESG to like more minimalist funk type of music. Uh that sort of that groove created a kind of bed for then Chuck to start playing his more dissonant um noise rock-inspired guitar, and something sort of felt like it felt um unique to us when those elements were brought together. So that's like Fresh Hell, New Brown Neighbors, um, and a couple of other tracks, peace of mind, which is the album opener, those who are more bass-driven.

Bill Bartholomew 3:16

Yeah. And it's it's you've always had this danceability to your music. No question, in my mind, that it would you you almost are in in some ways you could put a subcategory of dance in there. And exactly like songs like Fresh Hell that has that, it's really it's that punchiness where it just almost takes the concept and just puts it on, like almost owns the idea that you have a danceability to this body of music. Is that fair to say? I think so.

SPEAKER_01 3:42

Yeah. I mean, that's always been the the guiding principle for me in performance. So, you know, like m music that makes you want to move, and uh, that goes back to even just attending shows and just being out of show and being like, why do I want to stand here passively? Like, let's let's get into our body a little bit. And yeah, that to me is the physicality of music is important, let's say.

Bill Bartholomew 4:10

Yeah, you've got an upcoming show at FET on June 19th. This is opening for Spoon, who are um not full-time, but one member at least full-time transplants from Austin to Providence. I mean, they have a studio up the street from where I am right now, or Jimmy, you know, does the drummer. I was driving down Broad Street a couple of weeks ago, and like I was like, oh, that's Britt Daniel walking across the street, you know, singer of Spoon. So that's a cool ecosystem. So that's an exciting show. That feels like what a cool show for Providence. You know, two bands that have ties to the city in a meaningful way, um, that are so real deal. That feels like a the kind of show that's been missing for a while. How did that come together?

SPEAKER_01 4:56

Yeah, I mean, I think that their booking agent reached out to me on Instagram and it was kind of cool. Like, um, for a while, I just thought it was like, you know, uh um kind of an invisible hand that the or somebody's whispered to somebody that they should play with us. Um, and I don't know, I just felt that was validating. And then very recently, I um I somebody emailed me and it was uh Seth from Machines, and he had put our name in the mix. So I was like um very cool. Uh and he's somebody who I admire greatly and have always wanted to work with. So um to, you know, whether it was through the grapevine, whether it was through that, um, I'm really grateful that we have gotten the opportunity in our uh tenure in Rhode Island to open up for these national bands that are that feel also like kind of like a make sense in some way. You know what I mean? It's not just because they're big, big or whatever, you know, like uh we played with Charles Bradley, and that's when we were doing more soul-inspired stuff, and then Up Montreal was more indie stuff, and now um Spoon also feels like, you know, they carved their own particular niche with an indie rock, which is always something, you know, that I've that I respect and admire, that they're not just replicating a sound that already exists.

Bill Bartholomew 6:09

Yeah. Yeah, there's such a good example of a band that's endured and endured by playing to their audience. And granted, they had an advantage of gimme fiction in 2004 getting being an amazing album, but also getting into the pitchfork machine. So they they had a wider audience. They were in a moment where indie music was more amplified to wider a wider audience. Um, no doubt that has helped them sustain. But it's just cool um, like you said, to scan from a catalog standpoint, even if you don't listen to it every day and go, well, they yeah, they've been inventive throughout their career. And that's for especially for artists and like our age bracket, that's such a that's such a refreshing thing every time you see like, all right, adults continue to make cool music, which is like sometimes it feels defeating at a certain point. It's an ageist business, it's an ageist industry, and it feels defeating from a creative well standpoint. So it's exciting to be around that kind of energy.

SPEAKER_01 7:09

Absolutely, yeah. And the fact that, you know, we'll we'll be meeting them for the first time while we're playing together is cool too. Um, you know, because it's a it's been uh it's been brought up before that I should go check out Jim Studio. So you know, I would love to go check it out one day and it'd be a nice way to meet those guys.

Bill Bartholomew 7:27

Yeah. What are you seeing right now in terms of indie music as you put put this record out and start to prepare for um whether it's touring or you've got a really good regional presence in the in a lot of markets, but especially Northeast, you know, I think if you very much New York adjacent. So what but how are you feeling and what are you seeing right now?

SPEAKER_01 7:46

Yeah, um, I think it's it's cool to see um just like kind of a I feel like there's you're seeing both like minimalism and maximalism happening on both ends, and there seems to be like uh a genuine interest in exploring um the more experimental aspects of what pop music can be. Um I think uh yeah, somehow pop seems to be ubiquitous amongst, you know, at least the the scenes that I've been sort of traversing throughout. Um, just the idea of like writing a hook or a verse in a chorus, like those things are sort of taken for granted. But they do there, that's a decision, right? Um uh what's cool for me, I don't know, in New York, for instance, that there is a moment uh while Zoran is mayor, there's a lot of our uh friends who are um linked to us through the Kaminas and Shah Jahan's friends who are doing um, you know, music made by brown people uh in the indie realm that is not traditional like world music. So I think that's a really exciting little pocket. With we just played with um with a great band called Babas, uh featuring Sunny Ali and Karnare, who also plays with um downtown boys occasionally. Um and that was a great bill with Anand Wilder from Ye Sayer and like just having every like a room, like a small venue packed full of um a lot of I mean it was not just Pakistani and Indian American, but just like a just a full packed room with that shared sort of demographic. Um that was cool. And yeah, I mean, in general, I don't know. I I kind of I go in and out of paying attention to all the things that are happening. Uh my favorite new indie record that I've heard is um is Masked by Porches, uh, who's another SUNY purchase alum. So uh shout out to that record.

Bill Bartholomew 9:49

Yeah. And it's uh that's so interesting you mentioned on on the pop end. And yeah, I do agree that the maximalist and minimalist textures, they're sometimes colliding, but it almost seems like kind of like we're heading so the the people's preferences are becoming clearer and clearer, and maybe they understand them more as a as a consumer of art. And so maybe that's what it is too. It's just that you can kind of choose your adventure a little bit better, and artists are creating in a way that suits those different appetites. At least I feel that way. Absolutely. Yeah. What do what do you think is um as a Providence-based artist right now, other than the obvious stuff? Look, housing is a disaster for everybody, spaces are a disaster. Um, ever all the obvious stuff is like aside. What's missing right now from Providence? What what why can't Providence live up to this creative capital banner that Mare Lorza created and they still wave the flag of in any meaningful way? I mean, that that may be that's not true. There are creative people here. You're included in that. There's what there's I'm doing stuff I I so right here in real time, that is a lie. But it's barely a lie because it's so exaggerated and it's so much based on nostalgia from different errors of the past. What needs to change? What do you see? What do you think needs to change right now?

SPEAKER_01 11:19

Yeah, I mean, um, that's a big question. I I feel like downtown, you know, uh is is a big kind of just void right now, uh, in terms of things that you can like it's hard even to figure out a place to like go eat, you know what I mean? Like at a sandwich, let alone like go to um go find like a couple of venues in the same night that would be having programming, you know what I mean? Um so yeah, I mean, just like just thinking geographically, I would like to it would be cool if downtown could somehow um have a couple more things pop up and you know everybody laments Aurora and all that. So um, but you know, I'm not uh I'm not a city planner or anything like that. So I don't know. Um I don't know how to make those things happen. But I'm also always looking for more like uh recreational stuff. So that's what I try to bring to the table as far as my other projects going. Um and just like more communal kind of outdoor spaces for people to play and um gather.

Bill Bartholomew 12:25

Yeah, and that project rec room, we highlighted on a previous podcast, which if you search where you're listening right now, just type in any of those words, probably either your name Rafay or or Rec W-R-E-C-K. And it'll probably come up. Um, you can hear that in more detail. Um and and on that note, before we close out, anything coming up with with Rec Room in the in the near future.

SPEAKER_01 12:47

Uh we're just uh we're looking forward to the next phase. We've got a new studio at the um at a mill building nearby, and um we're just gonna be building out the programming for that, applied for uh some grants and all that. So, but there will be more programming, and we're it's it's entering a new curatorial sort of phase where it's not just um me and the the objects that I've put into space, but more allowing other artists to show work. And so we had um a video art piece by Osodraza recently, um, and we're gonna show some sculptural stuff coming up. So I'm excited to get that in the fold uh amidst the ping pong and the chess and the and the recovery meetings. Right. Yeah, awesome stuff, man. Thanks so much for your time today. Thanks, Phil. Appreciate you.