Album Details

• Artist: The Idan Raichel Project
• Album: The Idan Raichel Project
• Label: Cumbancha
• Year of Release: 2007
• ME Rating:
• Reviewed by: patchen on 2007-06-05

Israeli keyboardist/composer/producer Idan Raichel assembled a massive group of some seventy musicians from many countries and of various playing styles, and, in his basement studio, recorded this gem that mixes funk, soul, Hebrew and Yemenite folk vocal rhythms, Ethiopian pop and a little trip-hop. The result is both surprisingly coherent and powerful, managing to sound traditional and ahead of its time. This set features 12 songs, but I bet, since this project began in 2002, they have cut enough to release triple that.

Despite the stylistic variety, it is the vocal work that is the most arresting, with the meditative chorus on "Be’Yom Shabbat" and "Bo’ee" being the most compelling. Raichel said somewhere that his goal is to illustrate unity and brotherhood among nations and people. These songs are a fun, funky reminder of the common source of all music—the human spirit. If such a project can be done in one of the most violent places in the world, we in more calmer places have no excuse for not trying.

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