Jacob Ware, better known as Rapt, is back with his first release in what he is calling a series. What is a series, you ask? Well, what Jacob is essentially doing is taking the pressure of making an album off himself and letting his creative juices flow. Rather than make 30 songs and cut them down to 10 or 12 for an album which has a theme, he is going to get creative and just release songs until he feels that his collected works can be seen as complete. Then he will press tapes and vinyls. He said this could take a year, or it could even take 2; only he will know.
I think this is an excellent idea, as much as I respect the art of putting together an album and giving the audience a concise piece of work that usually has a theme or a concept. I sometimes find myself wondering, well, there were probably 20 other songs that they had and were forced to cut. Hopefully, with what Jacob is doing, we may get the best of both worlds, where we get a theme of where he is in life and then where he goes in life. In a way, I think this will sound like a concept album when it’s all said and done.
The first offering of this series is a song called Ocean Lay Straight. If you are at all familiar with Rapt’s music, you know that it is overall beautiful. This song is a quiet, simple, romantic piece that has arpeggiated classical guitar, cello, and Jacob’s voice. Which, if you haven’t heard already, I recommend going to his Bandcamp, putting on your favourite pair of headphones and listening to his previous album Until The Light Takes Us from front to back. I promise you won’t regret it, and you’ll know just how beautiful his voice is. The first time I listened to that album was like the first time listening to Grace by Jeff Buckley. Ocean Lay Straight is one of his shorter songs that is about the fragility of love, using the stillness of the ocean horizon as a measure of truth.
I am excited that Rapt is releasing new music. This first song is fantastic, and I can’t wait to see where he goes from here. I’m looking forward to seeing this series of music continue to evolve.
Written by Ethan Jacob
