Irish Women in Jazz
The Irish Women in Jazz Podcast features members of the Irish Jazz scene as they share their stories in music with host, Jennifer McMahon
Irish Women in Jazz
In Conversation with ReRoute
Use Left/Right to seek, Home/End to jump to start or end. Hold shift to jump forward or backward.
Est. in January 2022, Irish Women in Jazz was created to empower, support and elevate female and female identifying jazz musicians in Ireland. It aims to be a place to connect and commune with fellow musicians, take part in educational and professional opportunities and advance a more balanced representation across the scene in terms of gender.
This podcast is an 8 episode series accompanying the IWIJ series at The Dublin Jazz Co-op curated by Jennifer McMahon in September/ October 2022.
Ahead of their performance at The Dublin Jazz Co-op, Jennifer spoke to ReRoute Duo, a Kildare based jazz duo comprised of vocalist Rufina Tishina and guitarist Emily O'Rourke. Often complimented on the warm and inviting atmosphere of their performances, ReRoute are best known for their intimate shows of lyrical, sincere music.
ReRoute played The Dublin Jazz Co-op on September 25th 2022.
Follow ReRoute for more:
https://www.instagram.com/reroute_duo/
Follow us for more:
https://www.instagram.com/irish_women_in_jazz/
Hello and welcome to the Irish Women and Jazz podcast. Irish Women and Jazz was created to empower, support, and elevate female and female identifying jazz musicians in Ireland. It aims to be a place to connect and commune with fellow musicians, to take part in educational and professional opportunities, and to advance a more balanced representation across the scene in terms of gender. This podcast is an eight-episode series accompanying the Irish Women in Jazz series at the Dublin Jazz Co-op, curated by myself. Hi, I'm Jennifer McMahon, an independent musician, singer, composer, and now podcast host. I'm also part of the Dublin Jazz Co-op, which is a musician-run weekly event in the Workmen's Club in Dublin City Centre. You can follow the Dublin Jazz Co-op on Instagram and Facebook at the Dublin Jazz Co-op. You can find Irish Women and Jazz on Instagram at Irish Women and Jazz or on Facebook at womenandjazzie. And you can find myself at Jenny McMahon on Instagram or Jennifer McMahon Music on Facebook. If you'd like to be featured on Irishwomenandjazz.ie, please feel free to get in touch. Send us an email to Irishwomenjazz at gmail.com and we look forward to hearing from you. We are coming up to week three of the Irish Women and Jazz series at the Dublin Jazz Co-op and are excited to present Reroot. I had a nice chat with the group's guitarist Emily O'Rourke and vocalist Rafina Tishana ahead of their gig to see what we can expect and to find out a bit more about the origin of the duo. Often complimented on the warm and inviting atmosphere of their performances, Reroot is a vocal and guitar duo best known for their intimate shows of lyrical sincere music. Brought together by a shared passion for exploring new music and a drive to learn, vocalist Rafina and guitarist Emily met through their mutual study of jazz and contemporary music performance in 2018. This exposed setting of only one vocalist and one guitar helps highlight the vulnerability and honesty of Re-Root's original compositions, drawing on their combined influences from jazz and other improvised styles of music, as well as Russian and guitar culture. I'm delighted that you're able to join me. Rafina and Emily Re Root Jew. Yeah, pleasure. Yes, yeah. I'm looking forward to your gig as well. I know uh you guys played a set back in March for this gig that we were talking about, the International Women's Day gig.
SPEAKER_02We also played as um we did a co-op gig.
SPEAKER_03I think we were first student uh yeah, we were the first ones as part of the collaboration between DCU Jazz and the Dublin Jazz Co-op. So it was ourselves, and then the following week was the Matt O'Connell trio. I'm not sure how I missed that one. It was peak COVID times. Uh we were in the cellar because everything was like really restricted.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, but it went great, and the room was nice, and we had a sound engineer. Can you imagine?
SPEAKER_04I know, what a novelty. I know that was amazing. And he was great. He was great. That's cool, and those cellar gigs went really well too. Yeah, that's the one thing we're missing, I think, in the vintage room is a designated sound person. But I guess it's kind of small enough that we can we can manage it ourselves.
SPEAKER_03And a lot of the sets are quite acoustic, you know. Yeah, you kind of play two of the room. Yeah, yeah. The sellers are very different, trying to fill that sound and so it's sort of being difficult.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, for sure. Well, I'd love to like talk about the very beginning of Reroot and where it came from and why the name and what what brought you two together, and yeah.
SPEAKER_03Well, I'm going to blame Rufina for bringing us together.
SPEAKER_02That's cool, I'll take it. Yeah, so I approached Emily because I wanted to play with someone. See, we started together with Emily. And I approached her uh during the first year. But we didn't really start it. Start and doing anything and I maybe into our second year.
SPEAKER_03Because we did uh we did a Billy Holiday tribute. Uh December of Christmas gig that December. So we'd been kind of starting to get stuff. We did a couple of open mics. Um that would have been the summer of 200. Um we were starting off, and then we went back into second year and we did a couple of things, and then March 2020 happened, and yeah.
SPEAKER_02We tried to do some online, we did our own recordings, and then uh it actually coveted in that regard, it helped us uh in terms of we approached you know recording and making tricks, whatnot, and we also collaborated with a friend of ours, Shoko. Oh, yeah, when she was already in Japan, Shoko Numao, she's a great vocalist, and she also graduated from uh um DCU pass course. She made an arrangement of a standard I'm old-fashioned, and we all recorded from our bedrooms. So that that was nice. That was nice. Um so she moved back. Yeah, she's playing numerous gigs. Uh it's online on YouTube, she posts regularly, and she also um adds her art to it. It looks very, very nice and and um authentic, I would say.
SPEAKER_03Okay, she's a really great and interesting composer as well. Like she has a sound that is very much her, but it's just beautiful to listen to.
SPEAKER_02Wow, yeah, as well as the voice. One more reason to visit Japan, you know.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, as if we need we need any more.
SPEAKER_02And so what about uh reroute name? So first we had a very long name, that's my fault. All names are my fault. Um we used our surnames, so it was Tishina or Ork. But then it w it was a kind of mouthful.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, it was a disaster as well, and then people would go up to Rafina and be like, Oh, you're Tishna O'Rourke. Oh, I think it was just that was silly though. Uh yeah, so in summer of 2021, we were like trying to kick things back off again, and we were like, we can't keep going with this name. So we sat down for ages and we took both of our surnames and we jumbled up the letters. Oh, I'm sorry, sorry, Rufina's very subtly uh hinting that it was not a we, it was a her. Because it was. There's no we in team. Yeah, no, it was Rufina's idea. Um and she came up with a a list of names, a list of uh words that came from letters.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, Emily agreed. Um and we actually were on holiday. We were on holiday in and she was very kind to come there. So we discussed the name, we played the tune, it was a lot of uh it was a very nice day in general.
SPEAKER_03That was uh actually now that I think about it, that was the first time. It must have uh actually been 2020 because that was the first time since the start of COVID, you and I saw each other in person and we were recorded uh Waltz for Debbie.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, and well it wasn't just a bottom recording.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, but it was still it was like the first time in months we we played together or with other people. So it was like a big kind of reset. What about these recordings?
SPEAKER_04Can we can we hear these? Because I just I heard um myself and Aleca were recording the Dylan Jazz co-op podcast the other day. We played one of your tracks, one of your original tracks. And that was the first original song that I had heard of you. So I was like, oh, this is awesome. I want to hear more of this. I don't know if you have is there like a central point where people can listen to your music?
SPEAKER_03Uh at the moment, Instagram. We have all our videos there. We uh having just finished college are in the process of trying to get the more uh MP3 versions of everything down, but we want them to be good quality before we release them to the public. So if you're not looking to just see what the crack is, uh Instagram's uh re root duo, uh remote underscore duo.
SPEAKER_04It is, I just typed it today.
SPEAKER_03It is, it is remote underscore duo. I've double checked that there. Yeah, so that that tune was by Emily it was Emily's tune. Mm-hmm. Uh Rufina did the lyrics right though. It was okay.
SPEAKER_04How do you how do you find uh I mean I guess you find collaboration easy, right? Because you chose to work together, but in these kind of settings where one person has written the the music and then somebody else comes and writes the lyrics, is that a very collaborative process or is it like this is your job and this is my job, or what is your approach to that?
SPEAKER_03I think it varies from tune to tune a lot of the time. Like Rafina, a lot of the music we play would be Rafina's more so. Um and she will like write write everything and then kind of bring it to me and be like, let's arrange it, and we would arrange it together. Um but then the tunes I've written most of the time I'll do the music and then I'll say to Rafina, make this work for your voice that you like and it will sit well for you.
SPEAKER_04Nice. This was a really open kind of um each person bringing their own strength. Yeah, so yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_02With this tune, um I think Emily she did a part of the lyrics and then she felt like she was a bit stuck, yeah, part of the tune.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, and it happens a little bit, and I was like, this is so I I I had named the tune because it was part of another tune I had written. So I sent like a tiny bit of lyrics and a name to Rafina, and I was like, take it wherever you think it should go. Nice.
SPEAKER_04I love that because it gives you so much freedom, but also not too much, because I feel like sometimes if somebody sends you something, they're like right over this. You're like, oh god.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, Emily's very generous in everything she does. This this I have come to know.
SPEAKER_00Why are we lying on podcasts and everybody knows one more breath. One more breath. Just one more breath. Stay one more breath. Just one more breath. Stay one more breath. Just one more breath.
unknownJust one more breath.
SPEAKER_00Softly on the sleeping breathing. I think I think it's just a hot happy smelting. Breathing in with a cuts up hot and heavy hair is melting on pre-suffering snow Living on Scorching Hidden.
SPEAKER_01This is half breathing of joy.
SPEAKER_04What about for the gig? Do you know what you're gonna play? Can you tell us what we should expect?
SPEAKER_02We will try to play as many originals um as we can because we love to play original music. I mean, we do enjoy playing standards as well, but since we um are composing actively and we would like to compose further on, um, yeah, so we would approach that from that point of view.
SPEAKER_04I'm wondering if um if you have like a collective shared uh influence. Because I imagine as like a singer you have influences and as a guitar player you have influences, and I wonder if there's like a shared vocal guitar duo or something like that that you both enjoy.
SPEAKER_03Puzzled looks it's a very good question, and I don't know why we don't have an answer.
SPEAKER_02It might just be no.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, yeah. I think we kind of have very different influences, like you know, Rufina's tunes, um not all of them, but some of them would have quite uh rhythmic complexities to them, and she would incorporate like she's a couple of tunes which are beautiful that have uh a lot of Tatar uh influences in there. And then yes I do, don't give me that face. I do a lot, a lot like Pentatonica and uh the Christmas song we did was also in Tatar. And then we have I forget the name of it now, uh the meditation song from your final performance. Yeah, and then like I wouldn't have that same sort of folk influences from like Ireland or anywhere else. It would be kind of jazz and kind of contemporary stuff that I would be listening to, and then we also just kind of pool to pull them all together in weird, very weird ways.
SPEAKER_02Yeah. Um lyrics and stuff. Um both write a lot about things around us. Um I think and also about um Emily writes uh a lot about self health or you know getting to know yourself and things like that. And um yeah, I write um I write a lot when I'm angry.
SPEAKER_03This is like your fire story the fire, fire.
SPEAKER_02The first time you sang. Fire, yes, fire. Um I we have a tune. Um and it goes like I'm on fire, but it's gold, it's only ashes, no color, blah blah blah. It's uh and a lot of my You say blah blah blah, like it's just you know, not the most intense lyric. Yeah, so uh a lot of my tunes would be maybe not exactly this kind of, but they would be written in a mood like that or something. Except if there's like a specific task at hand, like for example, if I want to use a certain harmony or I would approach it differently. But the lyrics might still be uh even if they don't seem like it, yeah. They might be influenced by something that is happening around me at that moment or happened.
SPEAKER_03What I really like about Rafina's lyrics is that they are completely and utterly honest, like she doesn't hold back, they're very genuine, they are what you see is what you get, and I think it's like it's it's used a lot in music, but I think Rafina definitely takes it to a new level where she's like this is how it is, these are the facts, and it's it's quite refreshing. I love that.
SPEAKER_02Oh, I can say the same, I can say the same. No, I sugar.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, somebody. different approaches. I love both of those things. I love and actually it's so cool that you you both come from different extremes. So like this joke to position of being like super honest and like blatant and there it is and then being a bit maybe sugarcoaty or metaphoric or veiled or something, you know, which is that's a pretty veil.
SPEAKER_03Veiled is an excellent word.
SPEAKER_04That's our job now for today. Little songwriting time. Put veiled into a sentence.
SPEAKER_02Sometimes I hear some lyrics and I'm like this is so abstract. And um I'm like I really want to do something like that.
SPEAKER_00So um I've been trying so we'll see maybe one day right maybe one day yeah absolutely da bum badida bum bad daida Bado Dida Bad do da Bada Bado da do da do da fashion I love the moonlight I love the old fashion things the sound of rain upon my window pane the star is that I pray this year's fashions are passing fashions but size holding hands this my heart understands I'm old fashioned but I don't mind it that's how I want to be as long as you agree to stay old fashioned with me Badid Show Baba did day Baba did da da da did Shad days Baba did days Baba days Baba did it for the Bada did that do that Should it Bata Baba fat it lift battle lip bada did little Battle day do Batti da babatus Baba fatas Babo body da da da didus Shadow Shadow Babu bate you do the dead boy that Lula do the do what do you think I'm fashion I love the fashion things the song upon my window being the stebriss that races fancies are passive fancies but size holding hands this my heart understands I'm old fashioned but I don't mind it that's how I want to be as long as you agree to stay old fashioned to stay old fashioned with me da do da Bada do dao da da Bada De Dao da Do da Bum Bum Bum Bado Bum Bum Badida Bum Bum Bum Bado Bum Bum did I guess I would love to maybe round things up with a question.
SPEAKER_03Maybe two questions first of all what are you guys listening to right now just out of curiosity I'm listening to you see I just played a gig with um as a part of a kind of new series um and Miles Renee um he introduced me to this album by Nate Smith there's a lot of super cool vocals there and I just love the vibe of this album as well and recently also I was trying to go through Betty Carter's uh discography and of course uh I listened to um Roamer's album Lows of Beast oh yeah what an incredible album I must say yeah uh yeah definitely check it out and it's so refined I I can't even find an another word for it it's great nice promo there cool thank you what about you Emily uh uh the two albums I I'll be totally honest since finishing college I listened to jazz for like two months and then I was like I need a little break yeah so I went back to listen to a lot of musical theater because I listened to a lot like college a lot um and that's a lot of fun so a lot of musical theater but also I uh started listening to Cecile McLaurin's album oh I love her yeah I had only seen like a couple of YouTube videos of her I hadn't listened to she's so theatrical yeah particularly her album Go Song is just very contemporary and kind of like yeah it was it was nice to get back into jazz as well with some of the more out there stuff and kind of go go back in. I'm always listening to Lester Young as well and uh Dr. Molly Miller who is a favorite guitarist of mine. Okay.
SPEAKER_04So they're they're the kind of three I'm bouncing between awesome great I'm gonna take all of those um some kind of rotation to get just get rerouted in my head you know re-rooted re-rooted oh listen you could use that in like there's definitely a marketing tool in there I have one more question and it's like I'm wondering if you have any any words of wisdom to give to maybe other students or I feel like you know that this is a question that gets asked of like you know peop people that are like five decades into their careers and they're like well in my or you know this is what I want to pass on or this is my legacy or whatever and yeah don't want to that that's not the intention you know it's more so just like uh you know probably the people that are going to be listening to this will be fellow Irish women in jazz and maybe just sharing experiences is is is great. So if you have any word of wisdom could be a story or something something encouraging.
SPEAKER_03Um one thing I would say about having just come out of college is the importance of being patient with yourself and trying to not see improvement day to day or even week to week like you have to look I always have to look term to term so like September to January and seeing that difference and then like first year to second year and because trying to look week to week doesn't get you anywhere. So be patient with yourself and try and zoom out get a bird's eye view of your playing of your practice and and take it from there don't don't zoom in on anything.
SPEAKER_02That is so valuable that yeah it is it is I I actually needed to hear that myself so yeah yeah we can get very like hyper focused can't we and then yeah if you don't see results oh I'm crap at this or this is never yeah but it's also such a demanding course and so um it's a lot of material to cover and then it can definitely happen for uh what Emily was saying so it's very good advice yeah and that translates as well you know I think not just to to the college experience but just to like you say the practice and experience absolutely yeah thank you we love that graphina I agree with what you're saying I think uh Emily more patient than me so definitely better source better source of wisdom that's for sure okay we'll we'll share we'll all bask in Emily's wisdom today God help you all look thanks so much for this it was so lovely chatting to you and I'm excited to share um to share this as well so that people can hear you and also that you're going to be playing in the in the co-op and people can come and hear you live and experience this great energy that you share together in person.
SPEAKER_04So I'm excited for that.
SPEAKER_03I think on behalf of Rafin and I we would like to thank you for all the incredible work. I don't think people really know how much work you do behind the scenes and in front of the scenes like you're you're everywhere and I think you know you should be praised more a lot more than you are.
SPEAKER_04So thank you for creating such a thriving scene for oh my gosh like I don't know if I can take any any I guess you can probably but well no thank you I I I appreciate that that means a lot um no thanks a million this has been lovely and all throughout September and October on on a Sunday evening in the Workmen's club you guys are going to be on the 25th so yeah it's gonna be great um thanks once again for this and we'll see you in the workmen thank you for having us if you enjoyed this podcast please tune in next time as always follow like share find us on social media get into it and I look forward to hearing from you