Rita's Persian Album

As I've mentioned, I have hard time tracking Israeli music. So I routinely run into musicians that are described as "the most famous" in Israel, only to say...who? That happened again this week when I ran across the music of Rita whom, according to wikipedia, "is an Iranian-born Israeli pop singer and actress, notable for being the most famous female singer in Israel." Typically, I wouldn't bite on this sort of thing. Israeli pop is still pop and I usually don't find it that interesting. But Rita's new album "My Joys" is fascinating and, well, awesome. Like Ofra Haza's wonderful Yemeni music recordings, "My Joys" revisits Rita's native Persian language and the folk music her youth...both in a contemporary pop context. The album wen't gold in Israel and this video shows why....
Shah Doomad (Live From Tel Aviv 2012) - Rita


Rita's toured the US before, but not recently. I hope she comes around again soon.