Positive-vibes-only, Reggae, Jam band, Light Warriors, are stoked to premiere their latest single “Rise Above”. The track acts as a force for unification and peace, making a powerful statement against the senseless gun violence that continues to grip our world. “Rise Above” fuses mellow but catchy, Reggae guitar hooks with raw lyricism to awaken and inspire listeners.
Erik Rabaska leads the charge for peace and positivity with Light Warriors, having recently liberated himself from the corporate grind in favor of mindful, spiritual music-making.
Rise Above is a bare-knuckled response to the endless murder cycle and resulting family and community destruction by gun violence.” – Eric Rabaska
In this interview spotlight, we chat with Erik about influences, the latest project, navigating the fast changing digital world and more.
Full Q&A along with links and streams below.
Where are you from and what style of music do you create? (In your own words, not necessarily in marketing terms or by popular genre classifications.)
I’ve lived in and around NYC my whole life. The city is exceptional, exciting and challenging. It flows with creativity and industry. It’s an endless well of inspiration if it doesn’t kill your soul first.
Light Warriors makes positive music. The new album, Raise The Frequency, is blend of moods and styles that hopefully make us feel part of something outside ourselves. Production-wise, it’s maximalist with lots of tiny surprises of melodic interaction and sound tucked into the corners and moments of each song. Lyrically, I’m singing about these times. There’s a hopeful light trying to shine through even when I’m tackling heavy subjects like gun violence.
What led you down this path of music and what motivates you to stay the course?
I’ve had “normal” jobs and a career in advertising and was never happy. I quit corporate America three times to pursue music. It’s how I can best express myself. For me, music is the true universal language. It’s vibration, energy, healing, transcendent, spiritual. Music the ultimate weapon of truth. It’s a unifying force. And that’s the motivator, because when I am able to shut the ego down and simply flow with every note, word and sound, I continue to grow as a person and an artist. And ultimately, I’m able to make connections with people. At a recent solo acoustic show for Sofar Sounds NYC, someone said I made them cry. I apologized. She said it was joyful. That was the ultimate compliment and validation.
How is your new release different than previous ones? Did you set out to accomplish anything specific?
Raise The Frequency has more urgency than the first album, Survival Of Joy. The political climate and the breakdown of human decency along with the steady trickle of the earth’s destruction contributed to the emotion and energy of it.
The urgency also came from the recording process and the deadline I was on to work with Jim Scott of PLYRZ Studios. Over the summer I was committed to finishing an album for one of my side projects, Ecstatica (which is an instrumental experiment) and a collaboration with Intellectually Transmitted on a single called Two Party System. Along a with consulting job I had, it wasn’t until October that I could clear my head to focus on Raise The Frequency.
I had time scheduled in November with Jim, who was going to do the the mix. He’s worked with the biggest names in rock music. So I naturally wanted to push myself to that level. I only had 5 weeks to finish recording. So all of that excitement combined with national energy of the election was channeled into the album. It feels right for the times we’re currently experiencing.
Do you face challenges as an indie musician in a digital age? How has technology helped you (assuming it helps)?
Yeah, tech certainly has its pluses and minuses. The volume and speed of media consumption certainly makes staying top of mind a challenge. Most musicians face the challenge of being seen before being heard in a media environment where newsfeeds only provide milliseconds for a click of interest.
But, it’s amazing how technology has made recording, distribution and connecting with your audience so easy. Being a drop in the ocean doesn’t really matter when you’re connecting with people who are genuinely interested in what you do. So being heard becomes all about passion and hustle. It’s a marathon with lots of sprints.
I guess the biggest challenge I have is probably the inability to clone myself…there’s so much I want to do at once that I can’t get to it all.
Where can we connect with you online and discover more music?
My SoundCloud and Bandcamp both have the recent single, Rise Above, and will have the Raise The Frequency before the other online channels.
I deliver something a little different on each my social channels. Instagram is more live show and art focused. Twitter is more political. And my Facebook page covers everything.
Anything else before we sign off?
I’m just really psyched for people to hear the album. There’s something for everyone on it.
And thank you for the great questions. It’s a pleasure to think beyond the standard industry stuff.
