A LITTLE HISTORY...
Simcha grew up in a New Jersey suburb and received a secular education at his local high school. Growing up, Simcha was involved with every type of music that he could find, from classical, to rock, to jazz, and even electronic. Playing over a dozen instruments during his high school career and recording and composing music on his small home studio, Simcha was sure that he was headed for the music scene. After graduating high school, the next stop was University of Miami in Florida for a degree in music recording. While in Miami, Simcha decided to go straight to work instead and headed back to NYC. After an internship at one NYC studio, Simcha landed a job doing music and sound effects for film and video.
OK, then what??
One night at a jam session, Simcha got involved in a late-night talk (which was his other favorite hobby) about what life is about, the nature of people, and the other things that people think about at three in the morning. It was during this conversation that Simcha heard about the Tanya, the basis for all Chabad Chasidic philosophy. Captivated by the concepts that he heard, he slowly began to (apprehensively) investigate the Torah and a whole world of Judaism that he had never heard of, which was much different then the limited Jewish upbringing that he had.
Fast forward to a few months later, and Simcha was living in Florida, freelancing audio jobs part time, and reading everything that he could get his hands on about Torah. He started keeping Shabbat and the kosher dietary laws, along with several other mitzvot. All this finally led him to enroll in The Rabbinical College of America in Morristown, NJ, which has a program for college-age Jewish students with little or no background at all to learn about the Torah from the original ancient texts. It was here that Simcha first became introduced to Chasidic music that later became the inspiration for his debut album "Wellsprings".
And the "Wellsprings" are opened...
After several years of intensive study, Simcha decided to return to his musical roots through the lens of Torah and the new perspective he had as a practicing Chasidic Jew. He began to set the "nigunim" (Chasidic tunes) that he had heard during prayer, contemplation, and gatherings to music, drawing from his past influences to create a new sound blending the old with the new. The result was a unique style of acoustic rock mixed with a Chasidic flavor that sets "Wellsprings" apart from the usual Chasidic music. Keeping with the teaching of Chasidic philosophy that one must infuse all one's physical actions with a higher purpose, Simcha tries to bring down true Torah spirituality into simple music that people can relate to.
The here and now...
Simcha and his wife Gittel now live happily ever after while Simcha continues his rabbinical studies and musical endeavors. Plans for a second album with original compositions and English lyrics are already in the works.
LINKS
Check out Simcha's web site @ simchakanter.com
BUY SIMCHA"S CD!! click here!!
REAL Jewish Mysticism... Click on "TANYA"
Get Simcha's music on iTunes click here to open iTunes!
