I was introduced to Raphael Groten's music when he sent me his debut album, Journey Home, to review in 2015. Since then, he has released a total of six albums and they are all quite different from each other. What remains consistent in all of the albums is Raphael's sincerity, gentle spirit, and outstanding musicianship. His most-recent album, Unity, was his first collaboration with Rebecca Kodis and was released in July 2024. Wanting to get to know Raphael a little better, I suggested doing an interview. And here we are! Enjoy!

KP: Hi Raphael! How are things in Vermont?

RG: Hi Kathy. Things in Vermont are beautiful. Cold and snowy at the moment, but warm by the woodstove.

KP: Before we get into the music, I have to say that I just love all of your album covers. Does the same artist do all of them?

RG: I have always worked with Vermont artists for my albums, but have mainly collaborated with Gabriel Tempesta, who I commissioned for Star Lullaby, Happily Ever Now, Great Blue and Unity. He is currently working on the cover for my upcoming release, Inner Sanctum. The cover for Potential I actually found for sale in a local sandwich shop. It is an original pencil drawing by the sandwich maker himself! My son Oliver and I added the color to the eyes during the design phase.

KP: They are so distinctive!

You recently released a wonderful album with Rebecca Kodis called Unity. In my review, I said: "In these troubled and turbulent times, Raphael Groten and Rebecca Kodis have created a soulful and deeply heartfelt musical call for unity within ourselves as well as within the world as a whole. Incredibly powerful in its sincerity and honesty as well as the beauty of the music, Unity should be required listening for everyone on the planet!" Tell us about it.

RG: I am so grateful that you feel and hear the authenticity of our heart in this music. Unity is the culmination of Rebecca's and my partnership over the last four years. It represents our healing and spiritual practice as musical prayer. We place our intention on healing and in a sacred way send it through our fingers and strings and out into the world.

KP: I really think that comes through the music incredibly well! When did you and Rebecca start playing music together?

RG: Rebecca and I met playing a Kirtan (community devotional call and response chanting in the Hindu tradition) on Leap Day, February 29th, 2020. A few months later we reconnected and began playing as a duo. As our music blossomed, so did our love and partnership.

KP: I know you recorded parts of the album at Imaginary Road and Will Ackerman (guitar), Eugene Friesen (cello) and Michael Manring (fretless bass) appear on some of the tracks. Have you recorded all of your albums at Imaginary Road?

RG: I recorded Journey Home, Star Lullaby and Unity at Imaginary Road Studios. The rest of my discography has been recorded in my own Humming Bird Studio.

KP: You composed all ten of the tracks on the album. You sing on a few tracks as well as playing guitars, flutes, a variety of drums and other percussion, bass, kalimba, chimes, nature sounds and a bowl of water(!). How long did it take to master the water part?

RG: Hahaha. The bowl of water is perhaps the most delicate of instruments. I began studying it at age 2 in my bathtub. Seriously, the bowl of water was first introduced as an instrument while recording “Wander” for my album, Potential. It found its way back into my studio for the song "Hands in the Water,” which you can find on my family album, Happily Ever Now. I’m always looking to incorporate nature sounds, and playing the bowl of water feels like I’m playing nature.

KP: How many instruments do you play altogether (not just on this album)?

RG: That’s hard to say, I’ve never counted. The truth is, I consider a plate and silverware or a ball jar with water in it to be an instrument. I play anything I can get my hands on. When it comes to traditional instruments, I would include guitar, bass, flute, percussion, handpan, and kalimba to be my favorites. When it comes to sound-healing instruments, I enjoy rattles, medicine drums, gongs, crystal bowls, chimes, and bells.

KP: That's really an impressive and diverse group of instruments!

Let's talk about some of the specific tracks on Unity, which was released in the summer of 2024. It sounds like "Feathers" was in the works for several years. Tell us about its history.

RG: I first improvised the guitar part for “Feathers” at my friend’s wedding in 2017. I enjoyed the melody so much that I kept a voice memo recording of it. Years later, the main theme developed into the song “Union” and listeners can hear the similarities of the first phrase of these two songs. As I was looking for a more ambient song to begin the album with, it felt like a perfect fit.

KP: It seems like a lot of instrumentalists have to show how fast they can play and how many notes they can cram into a musical phrase. So much of your music is quite the opposite of that - very spare and heartfelt. The pieces called “Ease” and "Good Medicine" are two of those. Tell us about them.

RG: I’ve never really “practiced” the guitar, only played it. I read an article on Miles Davis years ago where he said that he realized he was never going to be as fast or technically masterful as many of his trumpet playing peers. Instead, he focused on hitting the sweetest notes in the right places. This always inspired me. The music I’ve been releasing for the last ten years has had a central focus on healing and relaxation. Songs like “Ease” and “Good Medicine” found their way onto Unity because they bring me ease and feel like good medicine.

KP: I agree!

What does "Rainbow Tribe" refer to and what do the lyrics mean?

RG: The title “Rainbow Tribe” refers to the Indigenous prophecies of 500 years ago. It is well-documented that the medicine people throughout the Americas foresaw the coming of their “pale brothers” from across the sea. They also foresaw that their cultures would be nearly destroyed and that they would need to protect, by keeping secret, their wisdom and ways of living in balance with the earth and all life. They said that there would be a period of 500 years where humanity would fall out of balance with and be in separation from nature. These prophecies were received as visions in North, Central and South America and came to be. It was said that at the end of this 500 years, there would be signs that it was time to share their wisdom and assist in bringing humanity back into balance with themselves, each other and the earth. These signs began to arrive in the late 1960’s and since then, we have seen an increase in global awareness and consciousness. Humanity is being called back to nature and to living in balance and unity with all life. There are many prophecies that tell this same story, but perhaps the most fascinating and compelling one for me, is that before the end of the 500 years of separation, it was said that all of the colors of the earth’s peoples (red, yellow, black and white) would come together on Turtle Island (North America). These people would have children, and their children’s children would usher in the coming of the next age of peace. We are living in that time. We are witnessing the resolution of these prophecies. The rainbow warriors are waking up and hearing the call to return to sacred balance with all life. This is happening across the entire planet. We are the “Rainbow Tribe.”

The lyrics for “Rainbow Tribe”, “heyena heya” have no translation or association with any language. It is a medicine song that came to me while I was playing my guitar one day.

KP: That's really interesting!

What’s the story behind "Old Home," and how did Erik Satie's "Gymnopédie No. 1" get in there? It fits in perfectly!

RG: “Old Home” was written in 2019 as my childhood home was being sold. The last night I was there, the house was empty and I played some guitar in the middle of the living room. It was a beautiful goodbye which brought peace to the transition. Beyond my childhood home, I feel a nostalgia in the chords and melody of this song and it brings me back to a simpler life, perhaps in another time, when life was slower.

As I played “Old Home,” I recognized the influence of Erik Satie’s "Gymnopédie No. 1,” a piece which has always touched me. To tip my hat to him, while recording I asked Rebecca to quote the melody as an outro.



KP: That's been one of my favorite pieces since Blood Sweat and Tears recorded it more years ago than I will mention!

The album ends with the title track. Tell us about that one.

RG: “Unity” was written on New Year’s Eve of 2020. At the time, I had yet to meet Rebecca and was enjoying a quiet night to myself. Soon before midnight I fell upon the simple chords and prayerful lyrics. “May all life be unified. May all life know peace with me.” I played and sang this song until two in the morning, resting deeply in the prayerful state which it brought to me. Four years later, I was called to entitle the album Unity to honor the message of this song and to have it be the foundation of Rebecca and my offering. Our musical prayer for this time.



KP: I'd like to talk a bit about your 2022 album, Great Blue. That album is a collection of eleven channeled flute solos with eleven different, mostly Native American-style flutes. What was your inspiration for that album?

RG: I have enjoyed playing the flute as a meditation and invocation for over 20 years. In that time I have collected many flutes - some are traditional Native North American-style straight flutes made of wood and many are South American style straight flutes made of bamboo. Some of these are transverse flutes (played like a traditional silver flute). The one heard on “White Bear” is a 3-hole ocarina made of clay in the shape of a polar bear. They each have their own voice, key and scale. As I continue to share my music with the world, I am inspired to highlight my many voices, styles and soundscapes. The actual moment of inception came as I picked up the double flute heard on “Hermit Thrush” to consider purchasing it. When I played this flute in the store, my old friend in sound healing exclaimed, “you gotta record an album of solo flute!” Both the flute and the album concept left the store with me that day.

KP: Isn't it amazing how and where inspiration can hit? Since you refer to the eleven pieces on Great Blue as "channeled," I assume they were created spontaneously. Is that accurate?

RG: Yes. When I play the flute, I mostly improvise. I do have some themes that have run throughout my playing over the years, but I don’t play “songs.” The experience of recording Great Blue was that of being a channel. I waited for a flute to call me from the rack and then made myself a vessel through which their voices could express themselves. As I enter a trance state, removing myself from influence, the character of each flute tells its story and brings its message. The recording was completed in one day, with each flute being played for quite some time. Over 170 minutes of flute music was captured. I then chose the sweetest and most notable parts to distill into each track. It was a magical process.

KP: Did you record that album at Imaginary Road too? It seems like it would be difficult to get into the right frame of mind to create something like that in a studio.

RG: You are so correct. While I love recording at Imaginary Road Studios, I decided that recording Great Blue on my own would be beneficial for the creative process and the cost of production. I recorded Great Blue in my living room with my dear friend, Krishna Bright, in the engineer’s chair. This allowed me to close my eyes, let go of time and space, and be clear to channel.

KP: We should also mention your charming and uplifting album, Happily Ever Now. Quoting my review of that album: "From the charming cover artwork to the thirteen original kid-oriented songs, Happily Ever Now is one of the sweetest albums I've ever heard." What was the inspiration for that wonderful album as G'Raph?

RG: For many years I worked teaching music in schools, daycares and local libraries. When the lockdown hit in 2020, I was unable to continue my weekly music classes with kids and decided that it was time to produce an album of the kids music I had written for and with my students over the previous 15 years. I had so much fun recording that album! I composed, performed, engineered and mixed it in my Humming Bird Studio at the same time I was producing my album Potential.

KP: Do you plan to do more albums like that?

RG: Every now and then I have a new song or idea pop up and I think, “that’s for the next kids album,” and I file it away. I imagine another G’Raph album is in the future, but it will have to wait in line, as I have a few different genres to highlight before coming back around to kids music…

KP: Let's get to know you a little better now! Where were you born and where did you grow up?

RG: I was born in Philadelphia, PA, but we moved to Poughkeepsie, NY by the time I was two. I grew up in Poughkeepsie and left for the University of Vermont in 1992. Vermont has been home ever since.

KP: Has music always been a big part of your life?

RG: I imagine I heard a lot of music in utero. My father’s vast record collection included lots of classical and jazz, bossa nova and Latin music. My mother played guitar and sang and was steeped in the 1960’s folk revival. We listened to a lot of music throughout my childhood - any time of day. My father also played harpsichord for a number of years. I love that sound! We would sing rounds and harmonies on car trips and have multiple guitars out at family gatherings, singing all the folk classics. I remember my early music lessons. The recorder and elementary school chorus classes. I began playing the alto saxophone in 4th grade and continued through 10th grade by which time I was playing the tenor. My mother and sister taught me my first guitar when I was 13. Music has always been present!

KP: When did you start writing songs?

RG: I started writing songs with my guitar as soon as I could play it. They were folk songs with some finger picking, but mostly strumming. I had a few friends I jammed with and we would collaborate on lyrics.



KP: Did you play in bands when you were growing up?

RG: I mainly played folk and singer-songwriter type songs throughout high school and college. I would either play solo or have a friend sing along, but rarely was I playing with a group of musicians. I formed my first band, Saudade, as I graduated college. It was a 10 piece Afro-Cuban, Brazilian, funk, jazz band. I put the band together in ’96 and wrote and recorded two albums by the end of ’98. I took a break at this point and began my family. My next band, Gua Gua (also a large Latin Jazz band) was formed in 2002. Although I left the band a couple years later, they continue to play in Vermont.

KP: Did you have much training in classical music?



RG: I studied classical music in college and graduated with A minor in music. I suppose a
C major in music might have been more appropriate and uplifting, haha. While pursuing my degree, I took particular interest in composition and arrangement. I also took one semester of classical guitar, which, along with my folk picking, became the foundation for my finger style (note to interested readers: I added my pinky to the mix and encourage all finger players to give it a try).

KP: Do you still teach music?

RG: No longer publicly. I still teach guitar lessons, but mostly to friends and family, and for free. I joyfully engage in all conversations of music and share what I have learned whenever possible!

KP: Who and what do you consider to be some of the primary influences on your music?

RG: That is a good question. Here’s a short list: All of the great classical composers and all of the great folk, blues, rock, funk, jazz, Latin, world, and reggae artists. If I try to narrow it down to the classics, I might say Robert Johnson, Pete Seeger, Simon & Garfunkel, Cat Stevens, Michael Hedges, Led Zeppelin, James Brown, Bob Marley, Antonio Carlos Jobim and all of West African music. I believe that all the music we hear influences us and I have been through many phases of deep diving into artists and genres. Eventually I hear them come out in my writing and playing. This may seem like a strange list based on the acoustic recordings I have released, but many of the genres that I love have yet to be represented in my releases…

KP: Something to look forward to! As I'm sure you've figured out, I really love music that doesn't fit neatly into one genre or another.

Much of your music deals with its healing powers. How did you discover or experience this initially?

RG: In 2001, when my second son was 4 months old, he was in a near fatal accident. It was a miracle that he only spent one night in intensive care and is a healthy 22-year-old today. After the accident, our young family was in shock and I was called to compassion and healing, gratitude and forgiveness for the drunk driver who had nearly killed my son. The first night he was in the hospital, my instincts had me bring my guitar. I sat alone with him in his room. He was sedated and resting. With the first notes I played for him, he opened his eyes and smiled. At this moment I knew he was going to be alright. The next day, a harpist came into our room to play for us. The music brought us to tears and I felt a deep release of fear and was filled with light. For the first time I experienced and knew first-hand, the healing power of music. And beyond that, I learned the importance of living a joyful life, full of gratitude.

KP: What an experience!

How did you come to work with Will Ackerman originally?

RG: For many years, I have spent time outside every night, praying and listening to my inner voice and the voices of the spirit guides in the unseen world. It was in 2014, in the quiet of my nightly prayers, that I received a direct message to contact Will Ackerman and send him my song “Black River.” I was “told” to go inside and email him right then. It is funny that I hesitated and said, “but it’s Saturday night?!" Yet the message persisted and so I went in, found Will’s contact online and emailed him a humble message about recording a solo guitar album for healing and sent him a rough recording of “Black River.” To my surprise, he responded the next morning and we met a week later at Imaginary Road Studios! It is important to share that I did not have a single recording of Will’s, nor was he on my radar as an artist (sorry Will). His name came from Spirit. I share this story to inspire people to practice praying for a vision, listening and following through with the message. I am truly grateful to Will for opening his heart and studio to me and my music. When we met I felt a genuine kinship. It is a wonderful footnote to the story that 10 years after we produced my first album Journey Home, Will included “Black River” on his recent guitar compilation release, The Gathering ~ Guitar. It has come full circle!

KP: What are you planning for your next project(s)?

RG: I have an upcoming production list that is quite extensive. As we move into 2025 I plan to begin recording and releasing more frequently. I have a lot of music that is waiting in the wings to be recorded! Currently, I am finishing up production for my April release Inner Sanctum, a collection of ambient, contemplative electric guitar. Soon, Rebecca Kodis and I will begin recording a vocal album comprised of songs rooted in folk and soul. After that we have an instrumental Latin/world album planned as well as another album for healing. On a different note, 2025 will also see the release of a funk/pop album that I have written, produced and recorded with my eldest son, Oliver. This album will be released under the name Leo & the Goat and will share a side of my music that has only been touched on through my kid’s album, Happily Ever Now. Stay tuned!…

KP: Can't wait!

If you could have any three wishes, what would they be?

RG: I pray for peace, unconditional love and forgiveness.

KP: Is there anything else you'd like to "talk" about?

RG: I would like to remind the readers that we are living in unprecedented times. Many of the spiritual teachings guide us in understanding that we are in the last breath of darkness before the light of love illuminates the world. These are trying times for each of us and we are being called to remember what it means to live in balance, both personally and globally. May we all find the light within and shine it for all to see. May we slowly begin to make choices that clear our minds and hearts. May we practice being in sacred relationship with all of the Earth’s creatures, especially our human family. I am so grateful for your questions Kathy. Thank you for giving me a platform to share my story and voice. Sending love and blessings to all!