Blending cultures
The rich vocals and invigorating beats of Israeli-American band Yemen Blues are soon to entertain audiences at Sydney's Metro Theatre.
YEMEN Blues lead vocalist Ravid Kahalani and his exuberant band fuse Middle Eastern flavours with pulsating West African rhythms in a powerful musical representation of global harmony.
Coming off the back of their new album Insaniya (an Urdu word meaning “humanity”), which was created in collaboration with the legendary producer Bill Laswell, Kahalani describes the music of his band as having a “danceable, high-energy, intense groove kind of vibe”.
The lead singer’s impressive vocals span a three-octave range.
For his Australian performances, Kahalani will be backed by Dan Mayo on drums, plus Brian Marsella’s memorable melodies on keys, Edo Gur on trumpet, Shanir Blumenkranz on the bass/oud. Kahalani also plays the gimbri.
With talented musicians from Yemen, New York, Israel and Uruguay, the energetic group merges different cultural forms and represents music as a universal language.
Having been raised in a Yemenite Jewish home, Kahalani infuses his eclectic music with traditional chants from his ancestry.
“I grew up very much on Yemenite songs and prayers and melodies that can be very soulful and similar to blues and gospel … Each of our members bring their own influences, background and culture,” Kahalani told The AJN by phone from Israel on the eve of the band’s debut Australian tour where it performs at Sydney’s Metro Theatre and the Melbourne International Jazz Festival.
Although Yemen Blues’ music represents a crisscross of varying cultures, people come to listen to something that sounds like a complete whole, explained Kahalani.
“You are not really travelling between countries or cultures when you are listening to Yemen Blues.”
Since the band’s entry into the music scene in 2010, Yemen Blues has been touring the international music scene, performing at more than 300 shows during the past four years.
Yemen Blues was named the #1 World Music ensemble by Montreal’s Le Devoir and got the honour of best album for 2011 by CVS Sweden.
In addition to the wide-ranging cultural influences, Kahalani is inspired by many musical forms and muses.
“One of the greatest artists that I am influenced by is Prince, also Stevie Wonder, funk bands, jazz musicians, classic music and punk,” he commented.
Yemen Blues performs at the Melbourne International Jazz Festival on June 6 and at The Metro Theatre on June 8. Bookings: www.yemenblues.com.
SOPHIE DEUTSCH
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