So what is real Jewish music? What does it sound like? Where, how and by whom is it played today? There’s no simple answer to this question. The Jewish people are spread all over the world. The majority have assimilated and adopted the culture of their homelands. The idea that a typical Jewish band of today originates from Israel and plays klezmer music is so far from reality as to be almost absurd.
The young Jewish musicians assembled on this compilation belong to the generation that came to prominence after the klezmer revival of the 1970s. They play punk and surf rock, ska and reggae, hiphop and drum’n’bass, intentionally spicing each genre with ingredients from their own culture. You may hear klezmer references, or a quote from a classic from the era of Yiddish swing, the ambience of a Jerusalem marketplace, or a lullaby once sung to them by their grandparents. The lyrics speak of the joy and the hardship of being a Jew. They are sung in Yiddish, shouted in Hebrew or rapped in English or Russian. Certain tracks are peppered with samples lifted from their grandparents’ collections of 78–rpm records.
Their attempts at innovation, striking a balance between tradition and the latest trends, may turn out to be cheeky or half – baked, but are at the same time exciting and revitalising. There are artists of Jewish descent who are re - engaging musically with their roots. As spectators and participators in this movement, we want to present the most thrilling tracks, not only from well respected stars, but also from the best up and coming artists. In our opinion these are the superstars of the global Shtetl.
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For this compilation 19 tracks have been selected and reviewed by Lemez Lovas (OiVaVoi) and Yuriy Gurzhy (Russendisko, RotFront).
The CD features unreleased material by Yuriy Gurzhy vs. Amsterdam Klezmer Band, Lemez Lovas, POZA, Pakava It', Daniel Kahn & The Painted Bird, alternative versions and mixes of the songs of OiVaVoi and King Django, as well as tracks of Solomon/SoCalled, The Astroglides, Boom Pam, Geoff Berner, Hip Hop Hoodios and others.
The CD is released on October 6th, 2006 by TRIKONT-Our Own Voice (www.trikont.com) and is available in Europe through Indigo Distribution (www.indigo.de), in USA via Other Music Mail Order (www.othermusic.com), and in Japan via Pop Biz Ltd. (www.popbiz.co.jp)
Could this be the soundtrack to that much talked-about cultural phenomenon, the New Kosher Cool? Compiled by Oi-Va-Voi’s Lemez Lovas and Yurly Gurzhy, the man behind Berlin’s Russendisko club night, this 19-track snapshot of contemporary global Jewish music is likely to come as something of a shock to those expecting musical purity or old time sounds.Yes, you will find traditional Klezmer here, you will even find passages from the Torah. But they are mixed up with punk, hip-hop, ska, surf guitar and drum n bass. In other words, this is Jewish culture doing what it does best — taking from and contributing to whichever part of the world it finds itself in. This is the music of the new generation who came after the 1970s klezmer revivalists (the last notable wave of Jewish music), young people unafraid of reaching back to their roots, but confident enough to draw on what is around them. Opening with Gurzhy’s reggae rockin’ remix of the Amsterdam Klezmer Band’s “Immigrant Song†(one of seven exclusive tracks here), the album moves from UK to USA, Israel to Russia, and all over Europe. Even those well versed in this music will unearth some worthwhile discoveries, such as US Yiddish ska merchant King Django and Holland’s Alec Kopyt. New converts can look forward to discovering such fine tunes as Balkan Beat Box’s “Adir Alam†(a funky dance-floor-filler built around a couple of chanted lines of prayer) and Canadian klezmer noir accordionist Geoff Berner’s typically smart “Lucky Goddamn Jewâ€.
/Jewish Chronicle, UK, 05/01/2007/
Amsterdam Klezmer Band feat. C-Mon & Kipsky & Yuriy Gurzhy, 8.03.2007, Berlin