Album Notes

"It is apparent just how integral Badawi is to New York's illbient scene - swinging the dub pendulum from dark and disturbing to tongue-in-cheek zaniness. He teases and mystifies us in the same spirit of Lee 'Scratch' Perry."-URB
Here Is What The Press Had To say About Badawi's "Jerusalem Under Fire"
Rootsworld: "What a joy to hear electronic dance music that has rediscovered insinuation and subtlety, and mixed it with a sense of place and time so lacking on most dance club menus."
Rhythm Music: "'Jerusalem Under Fire' shows him to be a musical master and a force to be reckoned with."
Paper Magazine: "is a work of unusual depth and subtlety. Clearly well-schooled in the ways of masters King Tubby and Augustus Pablo, Mesinai's technical and aesthetic grasp of the genre is both proficient and profound....The strength of this music lies not in it's technical accomplishment but in an informed spirituality that gently and persuasively appeals to the secular ear."
From AMG:
"Due to releases like Jerusalem Under Fire, Israeli percussionist Badawai (real name Raz Mesinai) has become one of the world's most renowned Middle Eastern percussionists. He's become an influential figure for the New York City trip-hop (or illbient) style of underground dancehall/dub music, a scene that has spawned the likes of DJ Spooky, DJ Olive, and a host of others. Amazingly, almost all the sounds you hear on Jerusalem Under Fire are played by Badawai himself, who handles percussion, flute, and effects duties, as well as supplying the string arrangements and remixing and rearranging the songs. Two other musicians (violinist Simi Sernaker and tabla player Karsh Kale) help fill out the already rich sound, while all of the compositions are entirely instrumental. Highlights are many, but the very best would have to be the constant violin swirl of "Soldier of Midian," and the percussion-driven opening track "Critical Combustion," and the traditional reggae sounds of "Kill the Messenger." - Greg Prato