From Sudan to Jerusalem
The Idan Raichel Project
Deena Greenberg
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Amharic words and drumbeats filled the air of the International House auditorium. No one understood Amharic, yet the audience was on its feet and dancing within seconds.
Israeli musician Idan Raichel, twenty-eight, has emerged “Out of the Depths” to become an international sensation. His music, which fuses genres and themes from across the world, is a critical and commercial success. His first album, “The Idan Raichel Project,” was released in 2002 and hit Israeli platinum in four months. His lyrics are drawn from traditional liturgy, the Song of Songs, and the books of Psalms. He and his group are currently on a US tour.
The Idan Raichel Project performed at Penn on March 18th. Before the concert, Kedma spoke with the musician in his dressing room. With his dreadlocks pulled back in a ponytail, Raichel seemed relaxed and eager to share his thoughts.
Kedma: What in your background led you to this genre of music?
Raichel: I am an accordion player… As an accordion player, you play lots of world music—waltzes from France, gypsy music, Israeli folk songs. Basically, I heard lots of music from all over. At the age of twenty-one I was in a boarding school where there were immigrants from Russia and other countries. There was a great Ethiopian community from Addis Ababa. The Ethiopian community in Israel has lots of identity problems—they are very, very affected by the Reggae culture, the hip hop culture, and the African American culture. Many repress their own roots, but there are some who still embrace their own culture, their own music. So I started to hear a lot of Ethiopian music—pop music, but also the traditional tribal music of Addis Ababa. At that time, I was a production piano player for different pop singers in Israel. I started a demo of my work to upgrade my career in Israel—just to send it to different record companies to get hired as an arranger or producer. When I sent it to Pelican records they liked it and offered me to release a CD of my own. It’s very weird that it’s my CD but I’m not the singer.
Kedma: Who were the singers? Were they Ethiopians that you knew?
Raichel: No. They are not Ethiopians. This is the main point of the project; all the crew both of the first project and also of the second project—all are Israeli by definition. Also the Ethiopian singers, they are Israeli. This is the main point of the project. This is what Israel is all about. I’m not calling my drummer my Iraqi drummer and I’m not calling myself the Russian player—I’m Russian myself. This is the key question, how do you define yourself.
Kedma: Is that reflected in your music?
Raichel: They are all Israeli—they immigrate from Addis Ababa, from the camps of Sudan. This is what the project is all about. Our percussion player immigrated from Uruguay, and our drummer is Iraqi, we have members from the camps of Sudan and members from Addis Ababa.
Kedma: How did you get people to be in the band?
Raichel: Just from traveling in Israel. I think if you open your ears and your eyes on every block you can hear music from Yemen and from Spain. It’s all on one block. Your neighbor is from Addis Ababa and another is from Uruguay. I think it’s the same all over. I think integration is not about changing your neighbor but accepting him as he is—it’s about respect. I also think we are not dealing with political issues, but social statements. I think it’s about people. At the end of the day it’s about people.
Kedma: What has been the reaction among Israelis?
Raichel: We are very proud that it became a best-seller. It’s mainstream music even though it’s world music. I think it’s because everyone in the street can hear himself, all cultures and flavors—Yemen, Moroccan, Ethiopian, Horrah and folk.
Kedma: How many people are in your band?
Raichel: About seventy people. We cannot travel with seventy people; we chose eight people, including me. Everyone fills the stage with their own presence. People can sing and play piano. We sit in a half circle—no one takes the front. It’s not a band—it’s a project. It’s not a band because people come and go.
Kedma: How is it performing at different venues—in Israel and internationally?
Raichel: We are performing all over— we are very happy to be singing in our own language—in Hebrew, Arabic, and Amharic. In Israel, Hebrew is the main part. In Addis Ababa, Amharic is the main part. It’s world music. Even without the language you can hear the same vibe.
Deena Greenberg is a freshman in the College of Arts and Sciences. She works as a beat reporter for The Daily Pennsylvanian.