Caspian Hat Dance: Masters of the Face-guitar and Smack-smack-drum

Hey Keith...Here's a return volley.

Yesterday you turned me on to Den Flygande Bokrullen. Another foot stomping band I've been wanting to hoist pints in honor of is the Caspian Hat Dance. You can here lots of sample tracks at their Myspace Page, YouTube & their home page. In particular, check out the fine "Russian Hora" on MySpace page. According to their website, the Caspians play "original and traditional gypsy music, klezmer music, misbehaved drunken village wedding music, southern italian pizzica, and pretty songs sung in Roma on Bolivian mountaintops." Yeah. that.
Caspian Hat Dance - Russian Sher [2007.2.3 utrecht]


So, as I've demonstrated many times, I love bands self-indulgent self-descriptions. They do absolutely nothing to convey what a band sounds like, but speak volumes about how a band thinks about their music and what they want us to associate with their music. The Caspians have one of the best I've seen lately (this is swiped from their Myspace page)..

You arrive just as the sun is setting and the landscape is getting dark. You wonder briefly how you ended up at a remote village wedding in Rumainia but can't seem to remember. Half the guests are crying, half are laughing, most are drinking and every last one is dancing. The bride is delirious, the moon is gently relentless and the tambourines are spinning you around and around. The musicians play for hours on end, stopping occasionally only to suck on a bleeding finger. At first it looks like chaos. On closer inspection, it's irresponsibly happy, carefully painful music. On closer inspection yet, it's really just chaos. You are vaguely aware of someone's legs getting tired, and it doesn't seem to matter any more that your memories are sad. Just before you pass out under a tree, you hear yourself mutter a phrase you never heard before: 'Caspian Hat Dance' ..."

That's poetry that is. Where's my bottle of Gentleman Jack?

DJ Typsy Gypsy Balkan Hotstep Mixtapes

I've always loved mix tapes. It's always a trip to see how a musician or music fan hears music. What goes with what and where do you go from there. It used to be that I'd trade mix tapes with friends on cassette tape (yep. I'm that old. sigh) Today, the internet is filled with mix tapes put together by DJs for parties and clubs. A lot of them are pretty tedious. Let's be honest...a lot of club music is made for bumping and jumping to, not listening to. But every once and a while I hear one that gets a fast track to my iPod. Today's are the DJ Typsy Gypsy Balkan Hotstep mixes.

"Balkan beats! So So Hopa! Typsy Gypsy from Belgium mixed a double sided mixtape full of Balkan, Gypsy, Klezmer and everything over 150 bpm! Together with Sam Rabam Typsy Gypsy forms the dj collective Balkan Hot Stepsoundsystem. 'Balkan Hot Step' makes you go hopa!!"

Yeah. So there. The Klezmer shows up in a number of tracks, but takes center stage in two Amsterdam Klezmer Band remixes. Great stuff. The rest is kick up the heels Balkan horn madness mixed and remixed. You can check out the tracklistings on the 'T Nieuwe Werck blog. You can listen to them and download them right here...

Download Balkan Hot Step Part 1 Here


Download Balkan Hot Step Part 2 Here


hat tip to Boing Boing

Balkan Beat Box

I know I've mentioned Balkan Beat Box before. The BBB guys are a crazy hip-hop horn band party machines from New York and Israel. There are a bunch of BBB videos on YouTube. Mostly concert footage. And this video, which is part concert recording and part band interview.

Balkan Beat Box Live@Gebäude9 Cologne


I like listening to bands talk about their musical vision. There is supposed to be a longer version at http://www.eyelense.com/, but I haven't checked yet.

Recent and Upcoming Albums

RECORDS

New Socalled album "Ghettoblaster" out on JDUB Records.

"The Montreal Renasissance man, SoCalled is back with the follow up to his 2005 SoCalled Seder. Ghettoblaster spans multiple genres, from rock to funk, Jewish and Jazz, all the while returning to and grounded by SoCalled's collage-like hip hop beats. This brilliant, eclectic album features a vast palette of musical influences, with guest appearances by underground MC C-Rayz Walz, James Brown's trombonist Fred Wesley, David Krakauer, hot shot producer Gonzales and many
more. "

I picked this one up already. It's a blast, though it didn't grab me as much as The Socalled Seder. Still a worthy album.

New Sara Aroeste Band album "Puertas" available at CD Baby.

"With Ancestral roots in Spain and Greece, American-born Sarah Aroeste has worked to reinvent Ladino and Sephardic music. The Sarah Aroeste Band is known for its style of mixing traditional Ladino songs with rock, funk, jazz and blues. Combining Sephardic folksongs from around the Mediterranean with contemporary sounds, their second album, Puertas, presents an updated take on traditional Ladino songs. With 10 tracks on Puertas ranging in sounds from funky pop beats, to flamenco-style strumming, hard electric rock riffs and driven Middle Eastern rhythms, “Puertas” is truly a unique blend of what is traditional and new in Sephardic music. "

"Ethnic eclecticism from a sultry warbler of Greek ancestry...(Shakira eat your heart out!)" -Village Voice

"Sarah Aroeste isn't just out to entertain, she wants to redefine "Jewish music." -The Forward

I haven't heard this one yet but I really enjoy her first album, A La Luna.

New Pharoh's Dauther album "Haran" available at Oyhoo.

"Turkish hash bars meet Hasidic Brooklyn juke joints with ‘70's era psych rock well in tow. That is the perfect description of what's in store for a listener of the magical journey subtly titled "Haran". Raised among a religious upbringing, the bandleader and vocalist Basya Schechter evokes images of rebellion with her love of Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, and the Rolling Stones. But its those rock heroes who've graciously lent their wisdom to her willing ears and lead her to help fashion one of the most beautiful and awe-inspiring worldbeat albums of the year. - J-Sin"

I haven't heard this one yet but I really enjoy two of their previous albums "Daddy's Pockets" and "Out of the Reeds".

Reboot Stereophonic to re-release Fred Katz 'Folk Songs for Far Out Folks' on July 10.

"Much like Gershon Kingsley, Fred Katz has had one of the more extraordinary, if offbeat, careers in contemporary music. A vet of Army bands and Hollywood orchestras, plus sessions with Lena Horne and Carmen McRae, Katz made his biggest mark by bringing the cello to the forefront of the jazz repertoire. He did this best as a member of the Chico Hamilton Quintet, the ever-experimental ensemble that dropped Zen, a Pacific jazz gem of Katz compositions. Of course, he also did all the arranging for Harpo Marx's Harpo in Hi-Fi LP, Ken Nordine's classic Word Jazz project, the original score to Little Shop of Horrors, and the ever-popular Sidney Poitier Reads Plato record. He did an A&R stint at Decca before settling into a longtime academic gig as a must-take music professor. The most admired (if under-discussed) Katz album is probably this one, which is dedicated to the idea that all jazz is born from "the roots of people." The roots explored here are folk songs--American, Hebrew, and African. "Baal Shem Tov" and "Rav's Nigun" feature guest appearances by Paul Horn on sax and legendary LA jazzman Buddy Collette on flute. The tracks, from 1959, sound prophetic--an avant tackle of jazz and Jewish tradition. "

Gail Javitt releases "Like a Braided Candle: Songs for Havdalah" available at CD Baby.

"A unique collection of songs from the Jewish ceremony of Havdalah, which takes place at the end of the Sabbath. Spans the centuries and the globe with songs both traditional and contemporary, in Hebrew, English, Yiddish, and Ladino."

You can find out more about Gail Javitt and "Like a Braided Candle" at her web site and in this Washington Jewish Week article.

Voices for Israel releases "Keeping the Faith"

"VOICES FOR ISRAEL: KEEPING THE FAITH unites over 100 women from four continents, joining their voices for Israel. This ambitious double album and video brings together Jewish women of all backgrounds, from all over the world, to support Israel.

As with Voices For Israel's tremendously successful debut album, “Chazak Amenu: We Stand As One,” the objective of KEEPING THE FAITH is to express support for, and solidarity with, the people of Israel during these trying times, and to promote a global sense of Jewish unity and community.

VOICES FOR ISRAEL: KEEPING THE FAITH is a historic 2-CD compilation of 40 songs, in English and Hebrew, relating to Israel, Jewish unity and the enduring hope for peace. The CD set also includes an uplifting music video – put the CD in your computer and watch! – in addition to an informative 20-page booklet packed with full color photos of Israel. Profits benefit survivors of terrorism and war in Israel."

The Afro-Semitic Experience releases "Plea for Peace"

"After months and months of talking about it, it is finally here. We have just come out with a new recording, Plea for Peace and it is our strongest effort yet and really a group effort. On this album we ofer a program of pieces that encompass a wide range of sounds and styles--there are original compositions along with our distinctive arrangements of synagogue songs, gospel songs, hymns, West African, Cuban and Puerto Rican drum beats, jazz songs and cantorial music. We are a band that is proud of our religious and political message. Plea for Peace is a politically charged and spiritually centered cry for peace, world wide spiritual unity and communication."

Mare Winningham releases 'Refuge Rock Sublime' on Craig and Co.

"Academy Award nominee and two-time Emmy winner Mare Winningham blazes a trail into the world of Jewish country bluegrass music on 'Refugue Rock Sublime', her first major CD release. Mare delivers a unique take on traditional Jewish themes in a voice with the smoothness of Alison Kraus and the edge of Aimee Mann, and a backup band that sounds like it could have come straight out of 'O Brother Where Art Thou?'.

I really like this album. Check out my review.

Blue Frige releases 'Whole World Lit Up' on Craig and Co.

"With record-breaking CD sales and scores of sold-out performances, Blue Fringe is fast establishing itself as America's favorite Jewish rock band. Arranged, written, and recorded over the course of several months, 'The Whole World Lit Up', Blue Fringe's highly acclaimed third album, features a ten song collection of innovative approaches to traditional Jewish tune. Weaving familiar melodies with original lyrics about anti-Semitism, the ongoing war in Israel, and the Jewish response of prayer to 9/11, the album infuses new perspective into ancient liturgy and promises to be theirmost successful release yet.

I like this album, though if found it a bit flat in spots. Check out my review.

Konsonans Retro release 'A Pdoloian Affair' available at CD Babya>

"Konsonans Retro are a pretty old wedding brass band from Odessa region, Ukraine, and possibly the coolest and freshest new world music act to come out of Eastern Europe. For generations - and through countless hot nights - the Baranovsky family and their in-laws have been passionately playing the wild and sweet wedding music of Podolia, a powerful and soul-stirring blend of Moldavian, Ukrainian and unique Jewish tunes. And they sing - everywhere they are. That you have to hear for yourself…

Somewhere in 2005, the band met Berlin-based master clarinetist Christian Dawid (some think it was in Vienna). Soon plans were made – since then, the new Konsonans Retro have been performing for thousands of listeners at the Krakow Festival of Jewish Culture, at Vienna’s excellent Klezmore festival and have been touring through Germany, Switzerland and Ukraine.

Konsonans Retro have received enthusiastic response from audiences and fellow musicians alike. Illustrous artists like Steve Bernstein (Sex Mob), SoCalled, Lorin Sklamberg (The Klezmatics) or DJ Gurzhy (Russendisko) are raving about the band. Cosmopolitan cult singer Alec Kopyt (Poza, Amsterdam Klezmer Band) even called them ‘the best klezmer band in the world’. Not necessarily thinking of themselves as a klezmer band, they certainly party on every stage they play. Davai!"

Beth Schafer soon to release 'A Build That Bridge'

"Songs that inspire hope, that rock with an undeniable spirit and that speak to listeners of ANY faith. Special guest, Larry Hoppen, wrote and recorded the title track with Beth. A MUST HAVE for listeners seeking positive music who want to be HAPPY!"

Beth is the winner of the American Idol Underground competition. She sent me an advance copy of the album and I'll be reviewing it soon.

Aviva released 'Songs for Carmen'

"Songs For Carmen is inspired by George Bizet’s internationally acclaimed opera, Carmen. Many scholars believe the tale of this famous Gypsy was derived from the legend of the Petenera, a Jewish temptress who, because of her seductive power, was reported to be the “damnation of men.” These and other folklore have their origins in southern Spain at a time when the cultural and artistic alliances of Jewish and Muslim communities flourished. The language on this album is Ladino — an ancient form of Spanish spoken by the Jews of the region and nearly decimated after the expulsion of the Jews and Muslims in 1492. No Jews or Muslims were harmed in the making of this album."

'Out of Babylon' released on Celestial Harmonies

"Babylon became the spiritual centre of Judaism and was to remain so for over a thousand years. This legacy of Babylonian Jews was so profound that their descendants many of who migrated elsewhere yearned for Jerusalem in their prayers but considered Bagdhdad their home and that is where their culture took shape. There are fewer then 20 Jews left in Babylon ( Iraq) today. The songs in this compilation were chosen from field recordings collected separately by Professor Marageret Kartomi and Dr Sara Manasshe. This CD compilation is one of the outcomes of six years of research investigating a rare case of musical heritage maintained over two chains of migrations over the past 200 years or so, and focused on situations of culture contact in a series of Diasporas across a continent to Asia in the colonial era and eventually across several continents to Asia, Australia and North America The songs were recorded in a variety of acoustic environments, as dictated by field opportunities."

Recent and Upcoming Albums

RECORDS

New Balkan Beat Box album "Nu Med" out on JDUB Records.

"BBB's new record, Nu Med is a musical vision of what the Mediterranean would sound like if borders were removed, as BBB makes connections that politics often keep separate. Jewish, Gypsy, Arabic, and American are united by hip hop beats and dancehall toasts. BBB's musical hitch-hiking continues as they mix things up with dub and electronics, juxtaposed with ancient Moroccan and Mediterranean melodies. The band?s uncategorizable sound gives equal weight to soulful acoustic timbres and digital rhythms creating a uniquely organic sound with electronic elements. With their fusion of Middle Eastern melodies and Balkan brass-band stomp with hip-hop, reggae, and electro beats, this internationally acclaimed collective is out to prove that the entire world is, indeed, their stage, and that we are all Gypsies."

Balkan Beat Box is one of my favorites and I'm counting the days until "Nu Med" shows up for download on eMusic.


New Crakow Klezmer Band album "Rememberance" out on Tzadik Radical Jewish Culture.

"The last release by this spectacular ensemble. Formed in 1997, the Cracow Klezmer Band has been a phenomena. Through their spectacular combination of impeccable musicianship, imaginative arrangements and passionate performances they have developed into one of the most successful groups in Radical Jewish Culture. This exciting live CD marks their dissolution after ten years and captures them performing an exciting program of colorful new music and a few of their compositional classics in their home of Warsaw, Poland."

New Transkapela (klezmer – carpathian music) album "Over The Village" available through the Transkapela website.

"The OVER THE VILLAGE record is the continuation of the musical imagination about the times of Klezmers from the Carpathians. Musicians of TRANSKAPELA, once again reaches to the roots of the Carpathian music, searches once more for the trace of the village klezmers and musicians splendour, who separately and together played on village weddings, religious holidays and festivities.

This time, it is a sort of metaphysical story about the Carpathian village. Village, like in the old days, inhabited by Bukovina highlanders, Hutsuls, Jews, Gypsies, Polish, Romanians, Hungarians and many more from the abundace of the Transcarpathian cultures.

New Rita Glassman album "Journey to Shabbat" available through CD Baby.

"Rita Glassman is the Cantor of one of the most historical synagogues in the Northwest. She is also a singer/songwriter with four CD recordings. Her "Shema" on the "Sacred World Chants" CD-with Deeva Primal and others has become well known in the World/New Age/Spiritual music audience. Listen to Rita Glassman and the music of "Journey to Shabbat" takes one on a journey to the heart that will want to be repeated again and again. This is the music of the mystics, songs and prayers that transcend time and space. These are contemporary songs for meditation, celebration, inspiration and renewal. An album introducing the joy and peaceful harmony that comes with the Sabbath. A sacred and soulful experience connecting us all to the One who is love and is beyond all."

Zvee Scooler: "Der Grammeister" available through Living Traditions

"From the 1930s until his death in 1985, Zvee Scooler (aka “Der Grammeister”) thrilled tens of thousands of WEVD radio listeners with his pithy, exciting and timely verse. Here, reissued for the first time, are six of Scooler’s most memorable performances — plus a Bonus Track — which best exemplify the Golden Age of Yiddish radio."

More info on Zvee Scooler can be found at http://www.livingtraditions.org/docs/scoolercd.htm

Y-Love and Yuri Lane: 7 Songs for Sefira" available through Modular Moods

"Y-Love and Yuri Lane. Count it. 7 songs for Sefira. Rhymes and Beat Box. All Accapella!! Y-Love (Yitz Jordan) is an MC unlike any other; he converted to Orthodox Judaism in 2000, and later took on the traditions of Hasidism (the mystical branch of Orthodox Judaism). He is among the most innovative freestylers on the scene, weaving seamless polyglot rhymes in English, Arabic, Yiddish, and Hebrew. Most unique is Y-Love's revival of Aramaic, the language used to discuss Jewish Law and Kabbalah. With each word he spits in the tongue of ancient Babylon, Y-Love breathes new life into hip-hop, one beat at a time."

Listen to tracks from the album at their myspace page.

Hava Nagila in the Balkans

I've had a Jewish music blog for a couple months now and never once posted about Hava Nagila. What's there to say? It's an uplifting lyric and catchy tune that has been so ruined by overexposure that it's hard to hear without wincing. I usually hear it at Christian weddings in between the Chicken Dance and YMCA. It's a pity, because it is a great song. And one, it seems, that's become a staple around the world. Not just American weddings.

After my post on Balkan group Jewish-Ukrainishe Freundschaft (J.U.F.) I received a question from "ezequiel from Argentina" who was looking for a Balkan Hava Nagila. It turns out that Hava Nagila is a staple for bands playing in the Balkan traditional and brass band music communities. These groups draw music from a lot of different cultures, though I'm not exactly clear how an Israeli Zionist folk song written in 1918 with music lifted from a Chassidic niggun got added to the mix. But it did. ( There's a great history of Hava Nagila and links to other recordings at MyJewishLearning.)

To help out Ezequiel, I found online recordings from three different Balkan groups. And you've got to hear them. They're a totally different musical take than the sentimental folky arrangements I usually hear. Kick up the speed add some crazy horns and lets party!

The Folk with Dunav website, an Israeli resource for Balkan Music and Dance, has a recording of the Boban Markovic Orchestra, a leading Balkan brass band. The Dunav site refers to Markov playing Hava Nagila at the Guca brass band festival in Serbia and Markovic has recorded Hava Nagila for his "Live in Belgrade" album so I'm not sure where the Dunav recording actually comes from.

I also found an Italian group Municipale Balcanica. They mix Balkan, klezmer, and Italian styles and come up with a fairly distinctive sound (at least, I've never heard anything quite like it). Their first album, Fòua, has a nice recording of Hava Nagila. Finally, I found Jova Stojiljkovic & Orkestar. Stojiljkovic is from Yugoslavia (not sure which part) and offers up a pretty spicy Hava Nagila on their album "Blow Besir Blow!". You can hear a Stojiljkovic sound sample on Amazon.

Ezequiel, I hope this is what you were looking for. If not, let me know and I'll do some more digging. I know I was pretty fascinated by this and plan on doing some more listening to groups making the Balkan - Jewish connection.

One last thing, while researching this post I ran across a moving story about a young woman's experience hearing Hava Nagila in Belgrade. I'll end with a short section, but you should go read the whole thing:

"For all anyone knew, we were typical American teenagers, invading the restaurant with our raucous chatter about what club we would go to that night—Freestyler? Or maybe that one with that waitress with the American boyfriend?—when suddenly a group of gypsy musicians encircled our table. Defying our protests ("we have no money; come back later") they began to play Hava Nagila. At first we all quieted down and some of the Jewish students chuckled in amused embarrassment. But the gypsy musicians just kept on playing and after a few moments, the Palestinian students began to belt out the words so loudly that one would have thought that they were the Jews and the Jews were the Palestinians. Their singing got so passionate; their infectious energy wrapped and sealed our table so tightly that it became for a moment impenetrable. For a moment that world, the world of Belgrade, the world where the Israeli is the enemy of the Palestinian, the world where conflict seems never-ending, passed away and we all sang and clapped and danced in our seats until we laughed, and laughed so hard that our laughter verged on tears."

Jewish-Ukrainishe Freundschaft

Where to start? With a swawking horn. Honk. Grind. Bump. Wail. Let's go....to a Gypsy part of town. Kick in the horns. Grind. I smiled at the world, there'll still be no changes...Lets go!

Jewish music has been bouncing off of it's neighbors musics for a long time. In Eastern Europe and the Balkans, klezmer musicians and Rom (gypsy) musicians regularly shared tunes and techniques (as well as bottles and stories). The tradition continues. JUF is an extension of the group Gogol Bordello. Ground Zero for JUF and Gogol Bordello is the Balkans as imagined by JUF and GB lead singer Eugene Hurtz that mixes gypsy, flamenco, klezmer, Turkish, dancehall, reggae and Rai with industrial rock and a punk ethos. JUF adds to a distinctly New York DJ club feel.

The Jewish connection to the music is understated but clear, showing up as scales and fills in song after song. The musicians that help bring out that connection are Tamir Muskat and Ori Kaplan aka Balkan Beat Box. Muskat and Kaplan have played in a number of my favorite Jewish flavored New York bands including BBB, GB, Firewater, and Shot'nez.

The Balkan Beat Box album is a thing of manic beauty is much more a 'Jewish' album, and I love Gogol Bordello albums. But this week's obsession is JUF. There is something about the freedom from song structure and a love for sounds (not notes) that a DJ can brings that can help a group loosen up and let go. This is the party I wish I was ever cool enough to be invited to and the club I look hard for and never found.