tuesday, February 22, 2011

cover story

theprovince.com

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Ravid Kahalani, co-founder of Yemen Blues, has captured widespread attention singing in Hebrew, Spanish, Arabic and occasionally English.

Bluesy sound wins a global rep

ravid kahalani:

Submitted Photo

Youll need dancing shoes to keep up to mix of music he helped create

In concert Yemen Blues
Where: Venue, 881 Granville St. When: Thursday at 8 p.m. Tickets: $30 adults/$25 seniors/students at chutz pahfestival.com or ticketsto night.ca

BY StuARt DERDEYn
staff reporter

irst it was the singer now its the entire Blues crew. The scene is last years Chutzpah! Festival, and Yemen Blues frontman Ravid Kahalani is belting out a tune in front of the Idan Raichel Project at the Chan Centre. It was then and there that festival artistic director Mary-Louise Albert decided she should bring the entire band over. Co-founded by Kahalani and acclaimed bassist player Omer Avital, the nine members of Yemen Blues are rapidly building a global rep for their blend of traditional Yemeni Jewish songs, Saharan blues, avant-garde chamber music and more percussion than you can

clap along to. Yes, this is a band you want to be wearing dancing shoes to see. Two years ago, I took two songs to Omer, who I have a lot of respect for, to see if we could put something together, says Kahalani. We were having fun right away and there was a feeling of something

interesting going on, but we werent sure what would happen. So I called up some Israeli and American musicians I knew, such as a cello player, a trumpeter, a trombonist, some percussionists and we became this really large group quite quickly. Going into the studio in 2010 to record a four-song EP and live footage in rehearsals, the group posted the results up on YouTube and the inquiries came in. The first gig the band played was at a major festival in France and offers didnt stop. The day after its debut, Womex in Central Park booked them. Its been nonstop since then, with promotion shows in different countries but no real tour yet. Its incredible, because these musicians in this band are so incred-

ible and so many are busy bandleaders on their own but they are really into doing this right now. Im lucky because Yemen Blues is as special for them as it is for me. We have this magical thing happen playing together, Kahalani says. There is no questioning the uniqueness of the groups approach. There is an initial world music groove thing associated with Kahalanis soaring, bluesy vocals and the polyrhythmic backing. But then there will be a sudden break where the strings step in and take the music in entirely unexpected directions. Singing in Hebrew, Spanish and Arabic, the band covers a lot of regional styles from Kahalanis Yemenite Jewish background. But hes also singing in

Creole, Arabic and occasionally English. I started originally writing without any message. But I came to realize that people want something to believe, to hold onto, that was like a personal politics and religion. Yemen Blues is that for me and for me to give to others, says Kahalani. Kahalani says the goal is for the music to touch you whether you understand the lyrics directly or not. Appreciating the music for what it is has the power to turn the world upside down and deliver a moment of the soul you can carry into everyday life. Yeah, its a bit hippie. But this band swings hard.
sderdeyn@theprovince.com twitter.com/stuartderdeyn