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WORLD TOUR #18 PALESTINE & ISRAEL 2025 UPDATE
MEDIA PLAYERS

2024 World Tour #4 Palestine & Israel

2024 World Tour #4 Palestine & Israel

WORLD TOUR #18 PALESTINE & ISRAEL 2025 UPDATE
ALBUMS

Elyanna - Woledto
~Palestine Flag Circular

Woledto

ELYANNA

Released 12 April 2024

SALXCO

****-

Arabic pop’s rising star finds clarity and command in a coming-of-age statement.

Elyanna, a Palestinian-Chilean singer raised in Nazareth and now based in Los Angeles, blends Arabic lyrics with Western pop, trap, and R&B stylings. Mentored by Nasri Atweh and signed to Universal Arabic Music, she’s the first artist to perform a Coachella set entirely in Arabic, signalling a generational shift in global Arab music.

On Woledto (meaning "I Was Born" in Arabic) Elyanna carves out a confident and modern Arab-pop sound that balances diasporic longing with sleek cosmopolitan production. The album’s sequencing builds from moody, atmospheric ballads into assertive, rhythm-driven tracks, offering a textured narrative arc that mirrors a journey of self-assertion and transformation.

Standouts like “Mama Eh” and “Ghareeb Alay” showcase her velvety vocal control and a gift for melody that transcends linguistic boundaries, while “Al Sham” and “Ala Bali” reveal a willingness to incorporate folkloric echoes without retreating into nostalgia.

The breakout single “Callin’U,” a haunting Arabic-language rework of Natacha Atlas’s version of the classic “Tom’s Diner,” threads sultry atmosphere with urgent vocal phrasing, demonstrating Elyanna’s ability to reinterpret diasporic influences into sleek, contemporary pop.

Meanwhile, “Ganeni”, with its stripped-back percussion and chant-like hook, strikes a balance between vulnerability and allure, rooted in her characteristic blend of intimacy and theatrical poise.

The production, handled by Issam Alnajjar, Elyanna herself, and her long-time collaborator Nasri, is clean and cinematic, often pulling in reverb-heavy trap beats, dabke grooves and strings that nod to Levantine maqams without overexertion.

Rather than bending to Anglo expectations, Elyanna leans further into Arabic lyrical storytelling and personal identity, resulting in an album that feels regionally grounded and globally poised.

Woledto asserts that Arab-language pop, driven by diasporic innovation, can be both deeply rooted and daringly future-facing.

Read more... Elyanna

Saint Levant - Love Letters / رسائل حب
~Palestine Flag Circular

Love Letters / رسائل حب

SAINT LEVANT

Released 14 February 2025

SALXCO

*****

Where war silences voices, Saint Levant answers with radical tenderness and unapologetic presence.

Following the global attention following the release of Deira, Saint Levant continues to articulate diasporic Palestinian experience through an inventive blend of trilingual lyrics and global pop idioms. Rooted in Gaza and the Levant, yet shaped by exile, his work connects sensuality, spirituality, and displacement in a voice that’s poetic, media-savvy, and politically attuned.
Love Letters / رسائل حب is Saint Levant’s most direct and personal statement yet — a concise 6-track release that fuses romantic metaphor with historical memory.

Released on Valentine’s day, this is a compilation of new music by Saint Levant, each song representing an ode to different aspects of his world – triumphant, reflective, hopeful, and heartfelt.

Spanning two discs the songs are grouped:

an "A" side that expresses its love through Arab & North African styles; and a "B" side that has Levant adopt a western 80’s funk approach - his take on contemporary pop.

The album opens with “DALOONA / دلعونة”, a rousing collaboration with Palestinian folk-pop stalwarts Qasem AlNajjar and Shadi Alborini. Drawing on traditional wedding chant form but flipping it into protest dancefloor mode, it sets a defiant tone.

The hybridized club track “WAZIRA / وزيرة” follows with Levant delivering flirtatious praise for a powerful Arab woman, part fantasy, part iconography.

“KALAMANTINA / كلمنتينا,” perhaps the catchiest of the set, merges trap rhythm with dabke footwork, its layered double-meanings functioning as both tender affection and political allusion.

On “DIVA / بنت الذهبية,” Levant’s vocal restraint highlights a silky, R&B-influenced production. The instrumentation is minimal, allowing space for melodic vulnerability. “WAIN MAADY WAIN / وين معدي وين” slows the tempo dramatically, swaying between heartbreak and dislocation, with lyrical phrasing that echoes the ache of permanent separation.

Closer “EXILE / معاكي” is a standout - a romantic love letter steeped in the sorrow of diaspora, expressed in a mix of longing and resignation.

Released on February 14, 2025, Love Letters is as much an album about love as it is about survival. It was created during the Israeli assault on Gaza that began after the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack, events which cast a heavy shadow. While not didactic, every beat and lyric here carries the subtext of loss, yearning, and exile. The intimacy of these songs feels like a coping mechanism — sonic letters to beloveds near and far, alive or absent, real or remembered.​​

Read more... Saint Levant

Saint Levant - Deira
~Palestine Flag Circular

Deira

SAINT LEVANT

Released 7 June 2024

SALXCO

****-

Sensual, sorrowful, and self-assured, Deira is a trilingual love letter from the eye of the storm.

Saint Levant (Marwan Abdelhamid) is a Palestinian-French-Algerian-Serbian artist born in Jerusalem, raised in Gaza, and exiled to Jordan before settling in Los Angeles. A fluent performer in Arabic, English, and French, he channels diasporic identity, romantic intimacy, and political disquiet into a genre-fluid blend of trap, raï, alternative R&B, and spoken poetry.

Deira, released on June 7, 2024, is a compact, 8-track album that distills Saint Levant’s distinctive aesthetic: sparse, bilingual, emotionally charged and politically aware.

Just over 20 minutes in duration, it plays more like a cinematic suite than a traditional debut, each track building a mood as much a narrative. The opener “On This Land” (with Palestinian Sol Band) sets the tone: sombre, poetic and steeped in longing.

“Forgive Me” and “Galbi” follow with low-key production and Levant’s signature lyrical layering of romantic regret and cultural memory.

There’s real chemistry in the collaborations: Algerian raï icon Cheb Bilal adds gravitas to “Let Her Go” while Kehlani’s guest verse on “Allah Yihmeeki” feels remarkably fluid in its interplay between Arabic and English.

MC Abdul’s appearance on the title track “Deira” anchors the album’s closing with a generational reminder of Gaza’s resilience. The production (led by Khalil Cherradi) leans minimalist but rich, relying on subtle synths, ambient percussion, and the pacing of a reflective monologue.

Deira is fragmentary journal, a cohesive and moody offering from an artist stepping fully into his voice.
Though conceived in part before the October 7 attacks, Deira was released amid one of the most traumatic periods in modern Palestinian history. Saint Levant’s voice throughout the album is imbued with a palpable heaviness, an almost premonitory grief.

Read more... Saint Levant

Avishai Cohen - Brightlight
Israel Flag.png

Brightlight

AVISHAI COHEN

Released 25 October 2024

naive

****-


A radiant testament to jazz evolution: bold, poetic and rooted in global heritage. 

 

Avishai Cohen is an Israeli double bassist, composer, and vocalist whose career spans collaborations with Chick Corea and decades of boundary-pushing trio recordings. Known for melding jazz improvisation with Middle Eastern, classical, and folk motifs, he continues to shape contemporary jazz with quiet confidence and emotional breadth. 
Brightlight features Cohen’s core trio - pianist Guy Moskovich and drummer Roni Kaspi, alongside bassist and  vocalist Cohen - augmented by standout showings from saxophonist Yuval Drabkin and a broad support ensemble including flugelhorn, trumpet, trombone, guitar, flute and guest vocals. 

The album opens with “Courage,” a dynamic showcase of Cohen’s rhythmic bass drive, punctuated by Moskovich’s inventive motifs and Kaspi’s assertive drum crescendos, setting a tone of forward momentum. The title track “Brightlight” rides a luminous melodic arc, the trio weaving contrapuntal interplay that feels optimistic yet grounded. “Hope,” “Humility,” and “Drabkin” (named after the saxophonist) explore contrasting textures: meditative, soulful, and occasionally exuberant. “Roni’s Swing” is a tribute to Kaspi’s youthful energy, tight and rhythmically playful. Cohen’s luminous reimaginations of standards include a shimmering, ska- and Afrobeat-inflected “Summertime”, and a delicate rendition of “Polka Dots and Moonbeams,” where Drabkin’s saxophone and Cohen’s bass converse with graceful restraint. “Liebestraum No 3,” a nod to Liszt, further expands the trio’s expressive range. 

The album balances adventurous composition with emotional clarity: Cohen integrates idioms from classical, folk, and world music without sacrificing cohesion. moments of intensity sit alongside serene reflection. The ensemble’s interplay is supple, honed, and relaxed—proof of deep trust between musicians spanning generations. 
Though Brightlight does not engage explicitly with the political upheavals in Israel or Gaza during 2023-24, its release in late 2024 may be seen as an affirmation of artistic continuity amid regional turbulence. In a fracturing moment for Israeli Jewish artists, including Israeli jazz touring disruptions and controversy over performances in Russia, Brightlight reasserts creation and dialogue.

Read more ... Avishai Cohen

Nissim Black - GLORY
Israel Flag.png

GLORY

NISSIM BLACK

Released 14 August 2024

Marom Entertainment

****-

Hasidic faith meets cinematic energy, in an album born of purpose and perseverance. 

 

 

Nissim Black (born Damian Jamohl Black) is an American‑Israeli Hasidic rapper and singer based in Beit Shemesh, a city located approximately 30 kilometres (19 mi) west of Jerusalem and a center of Haredi Judaism and Modern Orthodoxy. A former Seattle hip-hop artist who converted to Orthodox Judaism in 2013, Black blends rap, R&B, gospel and spiritual introspection into a contemporary sound anchored in faith, identity and social resilience.
Spanning 17 tracks, Glory ranges through rap, pop, R&B and gospel-infused anthems. From the declarative opener “Take the Crown” to the reflective ballad “Inner Peace” and the climactic “Rejuvenation,” the album demonstrates Black’s confidence in both lyrical and vocal range. He sings subtly on tracks like “Love Me” and “Better,” while earnest addresses like “Ayeh” ask the timeless question: “Where, God, is Your place of glory?”.

“Speed Dial” functions as a central anthem, mixing devotion and urgency with a chant-like refrain urging listeners to connect with God in times of struggle (“calling you whenever they push me down”).
Originally slated for a November 2023 release, Glory was postponed due to the October 7 Hamas attacks and Israel’s ensuing crisis. Black chose to delay out of solemn respect but felt the album eventually needed to be heard for its message of light amid darkness.

Read more ... Nissom Black

Various Artists - Mitz LaMax
Israel Flag.png

Mitz LaMax

VARIOUS ARTISTS

Released 9 December 2024

Marom Entertainment

****-

An epic rap anthology: 71 artists, 16 tracks, one cultural movement. 

 

Produced by veteran hip-hop host-producer Tomer Gershenman (with Matan Sharon and Roy Doron), Mitz LaMax brought together 71 Israeli rappers spanning 16 new tracks featuring voices including Tuna, Ravid Plotnik, Peled, Sima Noon, Jimbo J, Kobi Oz, Eden Derso and Shaanan Streett, offering a panoramic snapshot of Israeli hip-hop evolution and state-of-play. 

 

Mitz LaMax unfolds as a celebratory mosaic rather than a single artist narrative, with  each song typically performed by multiple rappers. This results in dense multi-voice collages that oscillate between youthful energy and veteran lyricism. Listeners encounter trap, boom-bap revival, Mizrahi-infused flows and introspective spoken-rap, all delivered in Hebrew, with occasional English or Arabic phases.

The opening tracks set a bold tone, combining classic boom-bap rhythms with mashups of regional pop styles. Featured stars like Jimbo J and Tuna deliver punchy verses rooted in Israeli street vernacular, while Ravid Plotnik and Eden Derso add melodic flair. Though individual standout tracks vary by listener preference, the overarching effect is communal: the album feels like a live mixtape taped across decades and scenes. Production hallmarks include boom-bap drums, ambient synths, Middle Eastern percussion and occasional funk horns, giving textural breadth to the anthology.
Much of the material for Mitz LaMax was recorded ahead of the October 7 Hamas attack and subsequent conflict, but the project took a deliberate pause afterward out of respect and uncertainty.

Gershenman and team considered shelving it, but ultimately pushed forward, describing the eventual completion as cathartic, a collective release during Israel’s darkening backdrop. 

Some tracks reference the emotional undercurrents of wartime: lyrics touch on unresolved loss, solidarity, and the fragility of everyday life amid crisis. While never overtly political, the album’s timing and collective voice produce a subtle statement: Israeli rap exists, persists, and evolves even under siege. 

Read more... Times of Israel

Bedouin Burger (Zeid Hamden & Lynn Adib) - Ma Li Beit
~Palestine Flag Circular

Ma Lei Beit

BEDOUIN BURGER

ZEID HAMDEN, LYNN ADIB

Released 18 May 2024

Pop Arabia

****-
Ancient melodies and modern pulse converge in longing and belonging.

Paris‑based duo Bedouin Burger brings together Syrian composer-vocalist Lynn Adib and Lebanese underground pioneer Zeid Hamdan. Their debut album weaves Arabic folk (maqam, Bedouin lullabies, Levantine rhythms) with bold electronica and electro‑tarab aesthetics.

Ma Li Beit ("I Have No Home") portrays exile, memory, and musical freedom through sonic hybridity - a lyrical gesture of longing, intimate and expansive.

Lynn Adib’s vocals drift between the melodicly poeticicism of Andalusian muwashah, to Bedouin balladry, and Damascene melodies. Meanwhile, Zeid Hamdan’s production anchors tradition in a futuristic frame. It’s a meeting of warmth and edge, where plaintive poetry meets analog synthesis and irregular rhythms, becoming evocative of both folk lament and dance floor.

Opening with “Harir”, a silkily-textured lament originally crafted for film, the album sets a tone of elegiac beauty. “Taht El Wared” is the emotional centerpiece — Adib’s personal elegy is paired with beat-driven propulsion, the song’s title meaning "beneath the flowers" is both literal and metaphorical, drawing on loss and remembrance 
“Nomad” and “Ya Man Hawa” pulse with nomadic energy, the energetic of the guitalele and Yemenite rhythms merging with ghostly vocals into a restless, hopeful dance. The Omar Souleyman-like “Dabkeh” turns folkloric circle dance into electro‑hoedown, melded through synths and mirrored by flute and percussion. “Esha” features Bu Nasser Touffar’s rap weaving into Adib’s melodies, expanding the emotional palette.

Throughout, Zeid’s beats remain spacious yet muscular: minimally layered but deeply felt.

Ma Li Beit is nomadic, stateless music -  technical in sound and tender in spirit. The album's cohesion lies in tension: ancient forms meeting digital expression, sorrow confronting celebration.

Read more... Bedouin Burger

Faraj Suleiman - Maryam
~Palestine Flag Circular

Maryam

FARAJ SULIEMAN

Released 17 January 2025

Faraj Sulieman

****-
A brief yet potent song cycle where love turns to anguish under the weight of war.

Palestinian composer-pianist Faraj Suleiman (born Rameh, based in Paris) blends Arabic modal lyricism with jazz, rock, and folk. On Maryam, he steps into the singer-songwriter domain, collaborating with poet‑actor Amer Hlehel and vocalist Dima Zahran to narrate a fragile love story shaped by war and displacement. 
Maryam marks a deep tonal pivot for Suleiman, from instrumental jazz toward sung songcraft.

The album’s arc reflects life before and amid war: tracks begin light ("Packed Love") then shift toward grief, memory, and existential rupture.

Dima Zahran’s vocal contributions on “Packed Love” and “Fragments of Memory” lend fragile warmth over minimalist synth beds and echoed piano lines. 

The mid-album turning point is “Music of Black Finale”, the only instrumental, where dark trumpet and guitar motifs evoke a dream's end.

Vocally, Suleiman becomes more expressive, as “I Run, Scream, Mariam.” (lyrics by Amer Hlehel), articulates a visceral scream into silence, as an act of defiance. 

Sonically, Maryam straddles folk, Brechtian jazz and indie rock with synthesizer pulses, minor-key melodies and occasional rhythmic softly punchy beats. Themes of love, loss, fragmentation, and endurance are never explicitly political, yet the emotional weight is unmistakable. 

Read more... Faraj Sulieman

Nemahsis - Verbathim
~Palestine Flag Circular

Verbathim

NEMAHSIS

Released 13 September 2024

verbathim

****-

Unapologetic alt-pop as political and poetic testimony.

Toronto-based Palestinian-Canadian singer-songwriter Nemah Hasan (Nemahsis) uses candid lyricism and shifting genres to confront identity, cultural alienation and self-acceptance. Verbathim marks her debut as a pop provocateur, forged through political pressure and personal reckoning, under her own self-released imprint. 
The album unfolds as a tightly wound emotional journey, balancing fragments of self-doubt, resistance and reclamation.

“Old Body, New Mind” opens with lo-fi distorted guitar and hypnotic, minimal production, a metaphor for transformation. The refrain “I’m not supposed to be back here... My memories lead me back” hints at both alienation and return. 

On “You Wore It Better”, dreamy harpsichord and gentle percussion frame lyrics about self-comparison and insecurity: “these are 501 jeans, they'll look better on anyone but me.”

“Coloured Concrete” gradually builds from wavering electronics into a cathartic pop moment, an anthem of waking up into selfhood, grounded by lyrics about perseverance in everyday life. 

Mid-album tracks like “Miss Construed” and “Spinning Plates” employ artful wordplay and structural shifts, the latter (no relation to the Radiohead classic of the same name) features spoken-word and fragmented rhythms, a raw act of introspection that Nemahsis described as “the most truthful, courageous thing I’ve ever done.” 

“Fine Print” alternates compressed spoken word clips, creatively autotuned verses and  piano pulses and whip-snapping percussion as it builds to its crescendo and a lyrical refusal to let external judgment define identity: “I don’t wanna let in the outside.”

“Delusion” and “Dead Giveaway” push sharp rhythms against bold sentiments (“you could plead guilty and I will do the time”) all the while maintaining the album's narrative vulnerability. The album's most streamed song, “Stick of Gum” combines love song and personal anthem, set to a jaunty marching beat.

Finally, “Chemical Mark”, closes the set with a sparse loop of piano, guitar, synth and distorted vocals, inspired by a study that the artist read about how impacts of trauma induced stress can be passed down across generations - a lyric that is of course deeply disturbing and significant in context of the generation-spanning turmoil in Palestine.

Read more... Nemahsis

Avishai Cohen - Brightlight
Israel Flag.png

Brightlight

AVISHAI COHEN

Released 25 October 2024

naive

****-


A radiant testament to jazz evolution: bold, poetic and rooted in global heritage. 

 

Avishai Cohen is an Israeli double bassist, composer, and vocalist whose career spans collaborations with Chick Corea and decades of boundary-pushing trio recordings. Known for melding jazz improvisation with Middle Eastern, classical, and folk motifs, he continues to shape contemporary jazz with quiet confidence and emotional breadth. 
Brightlight features Cohen’s core trio - pianist Guy Moskovich and drummer Roni Kaspi, alongside bassist and  vocalist Cohen - augmented by standout showings from saxophonist Yuval Drabkin and a broad support ensemble including flugelhorn, trumpet, trombone, guitar, flute and guest vocals. 

The album opens with “Courage,” a dynamic showcase of Cohen’s rhythmic bass drive, punctuated by Moskovich’s inventive motifs and Kaspi’s assertive drum crescendos, setting a tone of forward momentum. The title track “Brightlight” rides a luminous melodic arc, the trio weaving contrapuntal interplay that feels optimistic yet grounded. “Hope,” “Humility,” and “Drabkin” (named after the saxophonist) explore contrasting textures: meditative, soulful, and occasionally exuberant. “Roni’s Swing” is a tribute to Kaspi’s youthful energy, tight and rhythmically playful. Cohen’s luminous reimaginations of standards include a shimmering, ska- and Afrobeat-inflected “Summertime”, and a delicate rendition of “Polka Dots and Moonbeams,” where Drabkin’s saxophone and Cohen’s bass converse with graceful restraint. “Liebestraum No 3,” a nod to Liszt, further expands the trio’s expressive range. 

The album balances adventurous composition with emotional clarity: Cohen integrates idioms from classical, folk, and world music without sacrificing cohesion. moments of intensity sit alongside serene reflection. The ensemble’s interplay is supple, honed, and relaxed—proof of deep trust between musicians spanning generations. 
Though Brightlight does not engage explicitly with the political upheavals in Israel or Gaza during 2023-24, its release in late 2024 may be seen as an affirmation of artistic continuity amid regional turbulence. In a fracturing moment for Israeli Jewish artists, including Israeli jazz touring disruptions and controversy over performances in Russia, Brightlight reasserts creation and dialogue.

Read more ... Avishai Cohen

Shai Maestro - Solo: Miniatures & Tales
Israel Flag.png

Solo: Miniatures & Tales

SHAI MAESTRO

Released 2 May 2024

naive / Sleeping Giant Music

****-

A bold emergence into pure solo expression, leaving ECM’s shade to define his own intimate space.

 

Solo: Miniatures & Tales marks a decisive new chapter in the career of Shai Maestro: this is his first entirely solo album and his first on French label Naïve Records after made his name with a series of landmark releases at ECM: as a former member of Avishai Cohen’s trio and as leader on a pair of acclaimed trio albums in his own - The Dream Thief (2018) and Human (2021).

He now embraces fully solo expression, balancing spontaneous improvisation and composition in equal measure.

The album is split into two parts: Miniatures (brief, spontaneous improvisations) and Tales (longer, structurally developed pieces).

Each section highlights his control of touch, phrasing, and form. Opening track “3 Colors” sets a rhythmic conversational tone, followed by inventive readings of standards like “All the Things You Are.” The longer pieces - “Gloria”, “From  One Soul to Another”, “Mystery and Illusions”, build organically, layering melodies into nuanced crescendos before receding into reflective silence.

Where ECM offered him chamber-like trio dialogue under Eicher’s production, Naïve grants him unfiltered autonomy. The result feels human, unpolished and deeply personal - qualities reviewers have noted as courageous and refreshing in the solo jazz idiom.

Maestro embraces silence, space, harmonic tension and release, revealing a pianist unafraid to leave the stage empty and let the music speak alone.

Read more... Shai Maestro

Oded Tzur - My Prophet
Israel Flag.png

My Prophet

ODED TZUR

Released 7 June 2024

ECM

****-

A meditative masterwork of restraint and breath, where spiritual jazz meets ECM’s hush.

 

Israeli-born saxophonist Oded Tzur is known for his serene, raga-influenced phrasing and breath-like tone. Now based in New York and signed to ECM, he leads a refined quartet featuring pianist Nitai Hershkovits, bassist Petros Klampanis and drummer Cyrano Almeida.

My Prophet continues Tzur’s search for musical mysticism through modal jazz minimalism by offering a suite of hushed revelations - an ECM recording in the truest sense, filled with space, precision and introspection.

Tzur's tenor saxophone tone remains as supple and haunting as ever, shaped by Indian classical technique yet applied with the restraint of a seasoned improviser. His melodies rise and fall like breathwork or prayer, rarely exceeding a whisper but rich in emotional depth.

Nitai Hershkovits, now a key ECM collaborator, continues to impress, offering delicate counterpoint and tonal shading. His phrasing on the title track echoes the quiet drama of Paul Bley or the harmonic spaciousness of Tord Gustavsen. Klampanis and Almeida are remarkably unobtrusive, but their presence is felt in the ensemble’s calm propulsion and careful dynamics.

There’s little in the way of overt drama here, but My Prophet rewards close listening. Tzur avoids harmonic clutter and thematic density in favor of micro-shifts in timbre and mood. The quartet functions less as a jazz combo and more as a meditative chamber ensemble, bridging modal jazz, spiritual improvisation and European art music traditions. ECM’s signature production bathes everything in reverb and stillness, an album that whispers its truths and trusts you’ll lean in to receive them.

 

Read more... ECM

Cinema Royal - Cinema Royal
Israel Flag.png

Cinema Royal

CINEMA ROYAL

NITAI HERSHKOVITS, REJOICER

Released 7 March 2025

Rhythm Section International

****-

A cinematic confection in which Afrobeat, jazz and modern classical are mixed in dreamlike accord.

 

Israeli pianist and composer Nitai Hershkovits joins forces with Rejoicer (fellow member of Apifera, the psych-jazz-electronica quartet known for blending improvisation with analog synths, for their first release under the evocative "Cinema Royale" moniker. This new alignment sees their long-running collaboration now pivot toward cinematic chamber-jazz mixing global acoustic textures with playful synths and Afrobeat-tinged percussion.

Cinema Royal is an understated marvel: an intricate collection that smuggles silky sophistication beneath a seemingly effortless veneer of airy charm.

Hershkovits’ piano leads with elegance and intuition, frequently delivered in single takes, while Rejoicer’s subtle programming and harmonic layering creates a frame that’s loose yet cohesive. It’s an album that delights in mood-building: opening track “The True North” sets a hushed, nocturnal tone, followed by “Food Bowl,” which unfolds like a second-line procession viewed through a cinematic lens, complete with horns and a sly rhythmic swing.

Global sonics are folded in with remarkable finesse. Zithers, mandolin, accordion, and Afrobeat percussion don’t demand attention but feel perfectly at home in the dreamy mise-en-scène. “Affair in Redondo” and “Apryl’s Velvet Dress” evoke 1960s European film soundtracks reimagined in a Tel Aviv jazz loft. There’s a whispered admiration for composers like Rota and Morricone, but also for Emahoy Tsegué-Maryam Guèbrou and the understated elan of ECM.

Rather than explode with innovation, Cinema Royal invites the listener into a world of quiet invention. Its restraint is its power, offering immersive, near-silent revelations.

Read more... Bandcamp

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