Artist: Jalilah Title: Jalilah's Raks Sharki 6, In a Beirut Mood; Pure Delight of Oriental Dance Label: Piranha Musik (www.piranha.de) The origins of Raks Sharki - or "belly dance" as it is commonly and erroneously called - are shrouded in mystery. Many believe it is the most ancient form of dance on the planet. The movement of this dance actually uses all sections of the body, with the hips the most important component. This famous "Oriental dance" impressed kings like Herod who offered half of his kingdom to Salome, the most famous temple dancer of the day. Raks Sharki originated in Mesopotamia. Artifacts of ancient dancers have been found in Anatolia (modern Turkey) dating back to 10,000 B.C. This dance form was part of various goddess cults like those of Ishtar, Astarte, Isis and Hathor. One of North America's finest proponents of the art of Raks Sharki is Jalilah. This unusual dancer's roots are German and Mexican. Born in California, Jalilah has continued life travels throughout the world - from Cairo to Chicago, from Frankfurt to Alexandria. The Montreal-based dancer releases her sixth recorded production, Jalilah's Raks Sharki 6, In a Beirut Mood; Pure Delight of Oriental Dance, on Piranha Musik (distributed in the US by Harmonia Mundi). This is the second collaboration between Jalilah and Beirut composer Ihsan Al-Mounzer. Jalilah became entranced with Middle Eastern music while in high school. The mesmerizing mizmar (an early double-reed wind instrument) captured her imagination, and a lifelong passion for the music, the dance, and the culture was ignited. Her desire to learn more about Raks Sharki was rekindled while living abroad in Germany. The legendary Roman "Bert" Balladine was the first master level teacher in Europe to teach seminars, and Jalilah was in the front row absorbing the technical nuances. Jalilah continued her studies by attending Arabic weddings and observing musicians and professional dancers as well as the locals in their social dance. In 1984, Jalilah made her first trip to Egypt and continued for over 11 years to visit the Center of Dance, studying with the well-known instructors Raqia Hassan and Ibrahim Akif. In 1987 she was hired by Royal Moroccan Airlines and acquired performing contracts throughout Europe. Her dedication and talent paid off in performing in five-star hotels in Agadir, Morocco. In 1986 Jalilah became friends with the "Saidi/Nawar" (Egyptian Gypsies), visiting them regularly to learn about their Ghawzee dancing and music. Soon she was hired to perform with singer Metqal Qenawi and Les Musiciens du Nil (Musicians of the Nile) in Florence, Italy. Her magic carpet of life then took her to the Meridian Heliopolus in Cairo and the Venizia in Alexandria in 1995. Jalilah's life took a twist when she joined her husband in Sana'a, the capital of Yemen. While there, she observed locals in their qat chews, tafrutas, and weddings, studying their body nuances and musical interpretations. Today, like a true mosaic Oriental carpet, Jalilah's dance has grown into the uniqueness that has now become known as Jalilah's style. Aside for being known for her dance expertise and her sharp, creative mind, this delicate beauty has also extended her talents into quality music production. Producer of six CDs of Egyptian and Lebanese music, this artist now brings the dance and listening world another work of art. Jalilah's proficiency in English, German, French and Arabic, her extensive knowledge of musical rhythms, and her wish to bring thrilling dance music to both dancer and dance aficionado have pushed her into the "Who's Who"of Oriental Dance. Back to top

Artist: Solomon and Socalled Title: HipHopKhasene Label: Piranha Musik (www.piranha.de) It’s the pinnacle of every Jewish family: a giant traditional Jewish wedding. This marriage however has a unique twist to it: the khasene, or wedding, of the microphone to fiddle. Solomon & Socalled's new collaboration HipHopKhasene pairs the two in a unique exploration of klezmer music with a hip-hop backbeat. Solomon & Socalled, two prominent forces on the klezmer music scene, are united for the first time on their new release HipHopKhasene from Piranha Musik, released in the US on July 8, 2003. This union has already been called "the phattest wedding yet" (nowtoronto.com). It invites the listener to join in an ancient Eastern European wedding ceremony with a stomping hip-hop twist. The alternative klezmer wedding suite takes the listener through the ancient wedding rites -the ceremony, the ritual, the weeping of the bride, and the seven blessings. Sophie Solomon, the so-called bride, is one of the leading young exponents of klezmer violin, fusing the traditional ornamentation and phrasing of the “fidl” technique of Eastern European Jews with a truly modern sound that incorporates the latest in electronic effects wizardry. She has been playing the violin since age two and for a period of time spun ragga jungle at raves and festivals in Europe as DJ Starets. It was her father's influence, after spending a year in Moscow, that drew her back to a more traditional style of music. Solomon is also known as the founder and member of the cutting-edge BBC Music Nominees Oi-Va-Voi, with whom she tours extensively. Solomon was revered as the "the revelation of the Krakow Festival of Jewish Culture 2002" when she played in front of a crowd of over 10,000 people live on Polish television alongside Klezmer Madness, The Klezmatics, and Brave Old World. According to Lifestyle Magazine, "Sophie Solomon is on the brink of what promises to be a wildly successful career." Solomon's soon-to-be husband is Canadian DJ and hip-hop producer DJ Socalled . He mixes in comedy albums, Yiddish theater, and a variety of samples. Socalledís first album, The Socalled Seder, was hailed as "one of the greatest works of Jewish music in years." Socalled isn't a DJ in the technical sense; he doesn't spin turntables, but instead explores beats. "I'm more of a producer. I got into collecting records because I wanted to do beats and you need them to do sounds. And collecting records, that's what got me into klezmer," Socalled told The Jewish Week. "That was my in to that whole sound and culture. No one else is sampling that stuff. Everybody is taking beats from James Brown and Parliament-Funkadelic. Nobody else is sampling Aaron Lebedeff and Moyshe Oysher." David Krakauer, clarinet virtuoso and best man, was the mastermind behind the project and introduced the couple to each other. Solomon had been experimenting with blending the two genres and Socalled provided the perfect backbeat to add to her klezmer violin style. Also making appearances in the wedding party are: Frank London The Klezmatics and Klezmer Brass Allstars, Smadj DuOud and Ekova, Michael Alpert, Nik Ammar, Sol Gunner, Don Headgear, Elaine and Susan Hoffman-Watts, MC Dick Van Myke, Phillip Shaw Bova, Cantor Sam Weiss, and Zev Feldman. Back to top

Artist: Sevara Nazarkhan Title: Yol Bolsin Label: Real World Records (www.realworldrecords.com) The history of a lone woman singing and accompanying herself on a string instrument is ancient. It is a familiar image in manuscripts and miniature paintings from Iran, Turkey, the Middle East, and China, the countries and regions of the legendary Silk Route. In places that evoke the exotic Iike Bukhara and Samarkand - the cities of modern-day Uzbekistan - music was advanced and courtly. A female singer and instrumentalist epitomized high culture. Sevara Nazarkhan, a twenty-five-year-old Uzbek singer, songwriter and musician, is a direct descendent of this past. Her instrument is the doutar, a fifteenth-century two-stringed Central Asian lute that is plucked, not strummed. The doutar has a warm, dulcet tone. In Sevara's hands and voice an ancient tradition breathes. Her album Yol Bolsin (Where Are You Going?) is a meeting place between the old and the new. This dichotomy exists within Sevara's own oeuvre. In Tashkent, Uzbekistan's capital, she's a pop star. Her first group in 1998 was a soulful women's quartet. During this period she also sang in the city's popular arts cafe, Taxi Blues. A year later, she released her debut album and established herself as a solo singer. Despite her choice of Western musical forms, her roots are apparent. From 1998 to earlier this year, Sevara studied voice at the Tashkent State Conservatoire, where folk music is a rigorously taught and transmitted musical art under the countryís formidable singers and ethnomusicologists. It is not unusual for Sevara, a slight, striking woman with long dark hair, to be stopped on the street by her fans, who thank her for her music. These are the people who will be surprised by her choice of material - folk, Sufi and peasant songs - on Yol Bolsin. The first track, Yor-Yor, is a traditional song to a bride about moving into the home of her husband and his parents. According to custom, this songës lyrics are improvised, but Sevara sings a popular version, which advises the new bride not to feel like a stranger. If music is a social document, songs like Yor-Yor represent the halfway point between the city and the countryside. Other songs on the album are dominated by natural imagery: the white snake in Sevara's favorite song Goldir, or the steps that become flowers in Yol Bolsin - symbols for heartache and freedom. Most of these songs are rooted in the Near and Middle East, where the instrumentation, whether a doutar or doira (a woman's small flat drum), follow patterns of vocalization. Yet Sevara, the pop star, is no stranger to popular music trends. With samples, electric guitars and keyboards, YoI BoIsin didnët fully begin to flower until record producer Hector Zazou from France immersed himself in the tastes and smells of contemporary Uzbekistan. Sevara jokes that she forced Zazou to eat, drink and dress Uzbeki - and pure tradition is always central to this experience. For the album's doutar-playing, Sevara borrows the hands and experience of Toir Kuziyev, a master of instrumentation. The results arc a collection of evocative songs recorded in Tashkent and Paris and finally mixed in Real World Studios. Yet YoI Bolsin remains outside time and essentially Central Asian. It is a never-ending Mˆbius ribbon of emotions, sounds, and ideas. Back to top   This website: Copyright © 2003 Dream World Media, LLC. / Urban Mozaik Magazine. All rights reserved. This website/publication, in whole or in part, may not be reproduced without written permission from the publisher or the previous publisher of original republished materials.