Stereo Sinai - Biblegum Pop

I got a note via Facebook this morning from Miriam of Stereo Sinai, a self-described "biblegum pop" band from Chicago. Biblegum? Yikes. Fearing great kitsch, I bopped over to their website and hit play on their video for the Lech Lecha G-dcast. I was quite happily surprised. No kitsch here, just a duo with a great crackly, bouncing sound and a lot of heart. I lost about 20 minutes listening to the 'cast and a bunch of their other tracks. Great stuff. Love their "Gideon's Song" and "Beautiful City."

Here's their bio...

"If Kelly Clarkson and Gnarls Barkley had been on the mountain with Moses, they would have come down sounding a lot like Stereo Sinai. Mixing conservation with innovation, the band is working to lend renewed relevance to ancient texts.

Miriam Brosseau (vocals/guitar/songwriter) and Alan Jay Sufrin (vocals/guitar/bass/producer/songwriter) had been making their own music for several years
before Stereo Sinai came along. They'd recently moved to Chicago, and the rabbi who welcomed them into the community had just had a son. Wanting to do something special for the rabbi's family and their new baby, Gideon, Alan and Miriam teamed up to write a lullaby in what would become their unique ancient/modern style. Stereo Sinai's "Biblegum Pop" is the flip side to Ray Charles' and Kanye West’s pioneering steps, fusing traditional gospel music with modern themes. Taking original Hebrew verses from the book of Judges and mixing them with a synthesized pop arrangement, the band's first single, "Gideon's Song," was born."

Here's the Lech Lecha G-dcast. If you haven't caught a G-dcast before, you're in for a treat. Each G-dcast is a short, animated story or song from the current weeks parsha. This one, Lech Lecha, tell of the struggles of Abraham and Sarah from Sarah's perspective. Fabulous.

Stereo Sinai's Lech Lecha G-dcast

Parshat Lech Lecha from g-dcast on Vimeo.

Stereo Sinai is pretty socially conscious, so much so that they don't want to issue resource consuming, landfill destined CD's. Just downloadable tracks, straight from them to you. Here's their current set, check'em out. And hit the Stereo Sinai website for more info and tour information. Rumor has it that they're hitting the East Coast this summer. Rumor also has it that Miriam and Alan are getting married (to each other, of course) on Tu B'Shvat. Mazel tov!

Update: I forgot to mention that Miriam and Alan get serious style points for their hysterical Kol Isha sticker. What makes this sticker perfect is that if you're a traditional Jew who observes Kol Isha, this is a perfectly legitimate statement. In fact, I've had one or two requests (which I'm not going to honor) to put something like this on my blog when I'm highlighting a female vocalist. To a liberal Jew who doesn't observe Kol Isha, and maybe downright offended by it, this sticker takes on a much more derisive meaning. It's all about your own perspective. Love it. Guess what Miriam thinks?