Balkan Beat Box, Nu Med, JDub Records
Many years ago, a Hebrew school teacher explained that while the United States was a melting pot, in which people from all over the world came with the goal of blending together into a monolithic culture and achieving the American dream, Israel was more of a salad bowl.
People from all over the world came there too: they lived side by side, working and socializing together, but at the same time, each group clung tightly to its culture and traditions, continuing to speak their own language while learning Hebrew, preserving their traditional recipes, and praying in their national niggunim. Rather than further divide people (as appears to be the case in this country), it was this conglomeration of cultures which truly brought Israelis together into a unified whole, this teacher argued.
The same could be said about the internationally driven Balkan Beat Box. The self-proclaimed “nationless nation” band draws on an array of Israeli, Arab, European, American, and Latin American rhythms, melodies, and lyrics to produce an audio assault that challenges and delights the ears.
The New York-based BBB’s recently released sophomore effort, Nu Med (for New Mediterranean, JDub Records), opens with the bass and percussion-driven dance floor summons: “Keep “˜em Straight (intro).”
A few bars into the tune, the horns come in, swaying and dragging all at once. In the background a clarinet blasts a classic klezmer kvetch. The song then segues into “Hermetico,” which continues to push you to move while the hypnotic melodies encourage cautious and deliberate movements. And so it goes throughout the album, a constant tension that comes together to form a beautiful unit.
The lyrics, like the global rhythms and melodies, are offered in a variety of languages, including Hebrew, Arabic, and English. It is the Arabic offerings, however, that really carry the album. The semitically soulful “Habibi min zaman” features the seductive lyrical styling of guest vocalist Dunia. If the lyrics weren’t in the unfamiliar Arabic, I’d never be able to get this song out of my head.
“Pachima,” the other Arabic joint on the album, is a groovin’ call-and-response number that features BBB guest Gilber Gilmore.
Balkan Beat Box is hardly the only band featuring this global approach to popular music — Ozomotli is another that comes to mind. These bands’ international outlook is a sign of our times and this ever-shrinking world we live in, thanks in large part to technology, particularly the Internet. BBB, however, is also making more than a musical statement.
As the band asserts on its Web site, they seek to “erase political borders (as our ears don’t have them, why should we?).”
Moreover, they have succeeded in a way in which politicians and world leaders have failed. They have brought people and cultures together by recognizing, embracing, and highlighting their differences. While the world would be a more peaceful place under the BBB philosophy, in times of war, one can safely say Balkan Beat Box kills!
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DJ Socalled, Ghettoblaster, JDub Records
Josh Dolgin made his debut in the ever-growing Jewish hip-hop scene under the moniker Socalled in 2003 with Hiphopkhasene, a collaboration with neo-Klezmer artist Sophie Solomon. Solomon and Socalled based the structure and theme of the album on a Jewish wedding, symbolizing their union of hip-hop and traditional Jewish themes and music.
Montreal-based Socalled followed up a couple years later with a solo effort, The SoCalled Seder, which similarly drew upon Jewish ritual of rituals, the seder, and emphasized the fusion of styles with subtle references by to the long tradition of African Americans drawing on the liberation motifs of the Passover narrative.
In his third release, Ghettoblaster, Socalled has abandoned ritual and become more introspective —perhaps most apparent on “You Are Never Alone.” The joint opens with the clip: “And frankly, there’s nothing so unusual about being a Jewish cowboy,” seemingly likening the experience of a Jewish cowboy with his own experience as a Jewish hip-hop artist.
It’s a not an entirely solitary existence, but Socalled’s approach is pretty unique. He raps mostly in old Yiddish, creating beats from samples from recordings of Yiddish theater and cantorial music, and celebrates his comfortable suburban upbringing where the biggest problems he faced were skinned knees and finding a ride home after a party.
While the album clearly bears the mark of Socalled, Dolgin also draws on his ability to bring together a wide range of artists who help season the album, including avant garde klezmer and crossover clarinetist David Krakauer and independent MC C-Rayz Walz. Featured artist Fred Wesley, best known as James Brown’s trombone player and one of Socalled’s greatest influences, helps drive “(These Are the) Good Old Days,” one of the album’s many standout tracks.
Theodore Bikel, forever celebrated for the role of Tevye in Fiddler on the Roof, sings of shtetl life on “(Rock the) Belz,” and argues for the importance of preserving Jewish music in the soundtrack of world music.
With all these collaborators and charming vignettes of interviews and samples, it would have been nice if the liner notes had been a little more clear about sources (but that might just be my academic background talking). The only other real weak link here is “Let’s Get Wet,” which is not about a dip in the mikvah — in case you were wondering.
While the hypnotic beat and acid klezmer horns are appealing, the Peter Frampton-esque digitally manipulated vocals can be pretty annoying. The song, sadly, reappears at the close of the album as an extended “louder remix,” intended for a techno dance floor.
All told, the album is a winner, and it passes my newest (and most important) test. While I rarely ever get away playing anything other than Sesame Street or They Might Be Giants’ children’s albums in the car, the other day I put Ghettoblaster on after picking up my 2-year-old son from daycare. When looked up in the rearview mirror, I proudly saw Benjamin bouncing his head up and down singing “yabba bubbah bump bum bum.” It doesn’t get much better than that.
Purchase either album or download clips from the JDUB Records Web site at jdubrecords.org.