A dialect is a language without a navy [found music post]
In Yiddish:
- George Szirtes on "Bay mir bistu sheyn"
- Golem: accordian-based Balkan-style punk in Yiddish. Read live review at Just standing there (scroll down two-thirds). Listen to "Warsaw is Khelm" at Instrumental Analysis.
- Abraham Inc: funk-jazz-klezmer-hip hop. Watch at blogTO.
- The LeeVees: a Jewish rock band from New York. Here's "Kugel" [mp3] live in 2007 from archive.org. They are on JDub records.
- I already mentioned DeLeon: Sephardic indie-rock, lifted from run-of-the-mill indie-rockness by a superb brass section, reminiscent of the mariachi/spaghetti western feel of Calexico or Blasco Ballroom. DeLeon're currently touring with Balkan Beat Box. Hear "Porke Yorach" at Instrumental Analysis, "Serena" at SoundRoots, and "Be Still, Angelino" at Friday Afternoon. DeLeon are another JDub band.
- I have also mentioned Antibalas before. Their tenor player is a member of an Arcade Fire- and Balkan Beat Box-related supergroup called Sway Machinery who are currently playing cantorial music for JDub with "Malian guitars, Saharan beats, Afro-pop horns and the B-L-U-E-S". Listen to "P'sach Lanu Sha'ar" at I Guess I'm Floating or at Quiet Color. And more on their own site. You can listen to their non-cantorial music - bluesy madness reminiscent of Captain Beefheart, late Tom Waits or perhaps John Zorn (and far too extreme for me) - at Vibromonk.
- Tomer Yosef is yet another JDub artist, one of the associates of Balkan Beat Box. His "Underground", a somewhat bland-sounding political folky/punky reggae song, is at The Tripwire.
- "Svefn-G-Englar" by Sigur Rós, Hebrew version at JP's Blog: dreamy and glitchy
- Italo-Disco version of "Hava Nagilah" at Best Foot Forward
- A bag of Hasidic hip hop at The Vinyl District
- Northern State, generally desribed as all-girl Beastie Boys, at Chez Lubacov
- Far out Balkan electro/hip hop from Budapest's Headshoyboyz at Boule a Facettes
- Watcha Clan's new Diaspora Hi-Fi seems to be in several languages, including their native (if that's the right word for these nomadic people) French. Listen at So Relevant, Instrumental Analysis, Comfort Radio, Anyone's Guess, Alankomaat. "Quinto Regimiento", from their mySpace, is in Spanish, a traditional folk song, also performed by the great Lila Downs, celebrates a Communist/Socialist volunteer militia in the Spanish Civil War. Watcha Clan play it straight, with some gentle turntablist flourishes in the background. "Marashtein", in Yiddish, is fun and dancey, with a North African/Gypsy feel and wacky vocals. Their website is very nicely put together. Highly recommended for fans of Manu Chao. To be honest, I think I would like them more if their vocalist, Sister Ka, had a less abrasive voice.
- Balkan Beat Box themselves can be heard at Get the Curse, Quiet Color and My Crazy Music.
- John Zorn live in 1997, at the of mirror eye
Comments
I also used to live in Tulse Hill and Forest Hill, and to be honest, am now missing South London very much.
Happy New Year to you too and I will look forward to reading your future posts ;)
Edie
I didn't like her introduction to the song about the needle-worker who regretted moving to America, but was otherwise, very impressed.
Here's a video of Milla Jovovich singing Mezinka in the movie "Dummy". I like it.
I'd like to see the film too (even though my friend told me it wasn't good).