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Thursday Dec 21st |
AFRO-SEPHARDIC AND LADINO MUSIC |
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BALAGAN BOOGALOO |
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DJ Rekha  |
Born in London, raised in Queens and Westbury, Long Island, Rekha Malhotra (aka DJ Rekha) is one of the pioneers of New York's South Asian music scene. As founder of Basement Bhangra, Bollywood Disco, Beat Bazaar, and co-founder of Mutiny club nights, she has been instrumental in introducing the sounds of Bhangra and British Asian music to North America. Considered by Jane magazine to be "among the genre's most important players in the United States" Rekha has also been pivotal in forging the international network that sustains Bhangra and other contemporary South Asian music. Accordingly her DJ itinerary includes not only New York and numerous cities across the U.S but also Bombay, New Delhi, Montego Bay, Toronto and London. |
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Nat Rahav aka DJ Busquelo  |
Nat Rahav aka DJ Busquelo is a DJ, producer, & percussionist blending urban dance music with various traditions of improvisational and folk music from around the world. Seeking soulful sounds, unearthing priceless musical gems, and weaving an eclectic path through the global diaspora of funky music, he taps the healing and elevating power of music and movement. www.busquelo.org | ||||
dj handler  |
The brains behind Modular Moods and many of the hyped parties in and around NYC, dj handler's music defies stereotypes. He frequently includes collaborations with non-electronic musicians, creating textural fusions of live and recorded sound. He references Ashkenazic cantorial music, traditional Yemenite melodies and hip hop. dj handler is a multi cultural maestro that spins a mix of Baile Funk and Afro Beat blended with 80's free style and hip hop, which gets the most famous US clubs to resemble the craziest festivals abroad. Erez (dj handler) currently runs Modular Mood Records, an independent record label that produces a variety of hip-hop, rock and klezmer-jazz bands. Modular Moods began in Washington, D.C., but has since moved to New York City where it continues to thrive and collaborate with other artists and organizations all across the board, such as The Workmen's Circle, DJ Rekha, MC Paul Barman, Daniel Carter, and Heeb magazine to promote the arts, and specifically a variety of cultures fused with a modern edge. London Radio's 104.4 FM called him, "One of New York's hottest Jewish musicians" and Heeb Magazine listed him in their "Top Hundred Heeb". He resides and maintains his label, Modular Moods, within the auditory heart of Brooklyn. www.modularmoods.com/djhandler |
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VJ Nico  |
As part of (Projectile Arts) a collective of filmmakers, editors, cross-faders and image junkies, nico (aka Nicole Jaquis) has boiled the process of screening images down to high art. Telling stories through the juxtaposition of raw footage, rare documentary films, and other global sources, this TV turntablist tempts our visual taste buds with treats of impressionistic unpredictability. Nico has performed her live-mixed video projection installations at festivals and clubs throughout U.S. and India. | ||||
| Afro-Semitic Experience |
The Afro-Semitic Experience began performing in late 1999 as an off-shoot of the creative work of African-American pianist Warren Byrd and Jewish-American bassist David Chevan. In 1999 they were asked if they had a band that could perform their brand of Jewish and African-American music. As much as they liked the idea of expanding the duo to perform large ensemble versions of pieces of sacred music, Chevan and Byrd were also interested in finding a musical setting where they might be able to explore not only the sacred sounds of Jewish and African-American music, but the secular as well. At the time they both belonged to the New Haven based jazz group, Bassology. It was not before they began adding new material to the Bassology set lists. Soon the group was jamming on Klezmer, Gospel songs, spirituals, and Yiddish songs along with their usual assortment of jazz and world music pieces. People in the New Haven area were thrilled to hear a group that could encompass such a wide range of musical styles and languages. Pretty soon it was obvious that a second band had emerged and that it was no longer Bassology. This is THE AFRO-SEMITIC EXPERIENCE. | ||||
Sarah Aroeste Band |
Sarah Aroeste is the founder of the NY-based Ladino Rock group, the Sarah Aroeste Band. American-born Aroeste, with family roots in Spain and more recently in Salonika, Greece, launched her band to help bring Sephardic music to a new generation. Most influenced by the music and language of her Spanish origins, Aroeste grounds her music in Ladino, an ethnic form of Castilian Spanish developed by Spanish Jews after their expulsion from Spain in 1492. Although this mysterious pan-Mediterranean language has, unfortunately, been fading away, the musical legacy of Spanish Jews highlights the strength of an oral tradition that spans many centuries and crosses many geographic boundaries. Determined to help keep Ladino music alive, Aroeste updates and reinterprets the tradition by fusing it with more modern sensibilities. With its unique Ladino Rock sound, the Sarah Aroeste Band (Sarah Aroeste: vocals; Yotam Bary: electric bass; Yoel Ben-Simhon: oud, piano, backup vocals; Yaron Eilam: electric guitar; Liron Peled: drums, percussion) takes traditional Ladino music from across the Mediterranean and combines it with contemporary influences such as rock, funk, and blues. Since Aroeste launched her band in 2001, she has toured and amassed a loyal following across the nation and abroad, and has worked hard to bring an updated, exciting new sound to Ladino and Sephardic music. www.saraharoeste.com |
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The New York Sephardic Music Festival (NY-SMF) seeks to increase interest in and awareness of the Sephardic culture, including Mizrahi, Yemenite and Ladino traditions, highlighting the diversity that exists within the Sephardic branch of Jewish culture and history. The latest Sephardic musical talents in the U. S. will be showcased, working to reinvigorate the thriving Sephardic culture that exists and is waiting to be re-discovered. Our goal is to give people the opportunity to learn and enjoy this rich, sensual tradition that has the power to make hips shake and souls soar. |
NY-SMF |
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CO-SPONSORS |
Sephardic Music Festival © 2006