“Led Zeppelin and Mahavishnu travelling through the desert, stopping to have tea with Grace Slick” – With a strapline like that, how can anyone not lend an ear to sound these guys out! Think of Zep’s classic Kashmir – particularly the subsequent Plant / Page reworking on the album No Quarter – and you begin to get the flavour of this band. More desert rock than any others ‘masquerading’ under that banner, Rubi Ate The Fig combine a classic rock vibe within some hugely middle-eastern arrangements. They’ve just released a new album Gilgamesh, featuring what’s described as a “discovery mix” of seven previously released tracks and one new one, the title track.
Rubi Ate The Fig actually hail from the good ol’ US, although you’d never think that, and I believe they were formed around 2016. Their music is built around a middle-eastern core and groove, telling stories of the desert complete with sumptuous, mystical lyrics and exotic harmonies and arrangements. They aim to transport the listener to another (hotter!) world, and they certainly succeeded with me!
The seven piece outfit is led by singer, composer and guitarist Sharoón Eliashar, born in Jerusalem and raised in the low desert of California. Sharoón has studied Middle-Eastern music, classical composition, and has spent much of her time with the Bedouins of the Sinai Desert, who became a profound source of inspiration for her music and evocative lyrics. The band also features the considerable talents of guitarist and keyboards star Marc Mann, whose work with George Harrison, Oingo Boingo and System of a Down provides the heavier rock influence to the proceedings.
The core band also features Polly Tapia Ferber (a drummer that specializes in the hand percussion of the Middle East); Ali Paris (Qanun, a rare middle-eastern zither); drummer Danny Montgomery (a session man who has worked with Taj Mahal and Jerry Harrison of the Talking Heads); Souren Baronian (clarinetist, Duduk, tambourine); Adam Good (composer and Oud player); and Miles Jay (bass, Turkish saz, cello). Last but certainly not least is recording engineer, guitarist and production lead Rick Mouser. Rick is a highly respected production engineer / mixer who has worked with prog giants Transatlantic, Spock’s Beard, Dream Theatre, as well as a host of Indie bands.
Added to the above celestial ensemble are a number of guest musicians, notably Hasan Minawi – Ney (Arabic Flute); Emad Roshdy Ibrahim (Arabic Strings); Raed Oiweina (Middle-Eastern Percussion) and Haig Manookian (Oud).
The set opens with the title track, and what an impressive number this is. Straight away, the production and mix is peerless, immediately transporting you into a sultry, shimmering, desert vibe. A fantastic assembly of percussion, an excellent blend of ‘acoustic’ stringed instruments and underpinning electric chords, an intriguing rhythm, all topped by Sharoón’s expressive voice, I was hooked!
Most of the remaining tracks originally featured on their 2022 album Desert Electric, but they’ve been remixed and become fresher. The tent opens with a zephyr swirling outside your aural canvas creation, the song building in harmony with the described storm. It’s built around an interesting descending cadence of minor tones, again quite “Kashmir-like” sequences, all adding to the gently haunting atmosphere. This is the longest track and the most ‘proggy’, quite the little epic.
Breathe is more full-on rock in its composition, Sharoón sounding quite strident in her delivery, reminding me of the exotic Dutch band The Dame. The beat is a choppy syncopated affair, keeping one on tenterhooks and illuminated by some very tasty lead guitar. Tremor, by contrast, is slower, jazz-blues-like, again a lovely sense of rhythm driving the ensemble. This one washes over you, lulling you to bathe in the arrangement, even before the luscious, bluesy guitar solo steals the show.
In the Garden is full-on mystical middle-east, it’s that mesmerising combination of minor chords played on a mix of strings instruments; wonderful percussion from the assembly, and a lovely melody delivered by a dreamy, honey-laden voice. Enter a beefier soft-rock rhythm and eastern strings and you’re away with the (Egyptian) fairies… Salome starts with a fittingly darker rock vibe, and it hits me that these tracks keep reminding me of Richard and Linda Thompson on their 1975 epic Pour Down Like Silver – Sharoón has that same sense of simultaneously soft but somehow scratchy / threatening voice? The song itself sounds almost operatic in its chorus lines.
You Give starts quite simply, acoustic guitar and The Voice – the reminder of Richard and Linda is hauntingly evocative. This is an atmospheric ballad, a timeless love song that feels like its the soundtrack to some great desert-based cinematic epic. Very nice.
The song-set concludes with They Came with Stones, a pacey rocky intro nicely blending with the harmonies in the chorus lines. Again, I’m left drooling over the crispness of the mix and production, you feel like you’re stood in the centre of the band performing. This one fittingly builds to a multi-layered climax, quite simply an ensemble of wonderful musicians – see the video below.
Rubi Ate The Fig is a band that conjures a variety of esoteric, exotic references from Biblical to sensual. Their sound is lifted straight out of the sand-dunes, full of deft instrumentation, passionate vocals, stunning guitar work and enough Middle Eastern and prog-rock influences to captivate their audiences – do dive in!
