Album Notes

Sitar Shofar Chillout? Yiddish R&B? Jewish Flamenco Dub House? Electronic Bossa-Niggun? What was the recipe for these musical anomalies: It was a passion for Chassidut which temporarily drew Rabbi Shalom Pasternak away from his musical path of Jazz piano. Five years of the esoteric discipline later, Shaloms musical fire found a new, sacred form: Niggunim. Composed by holy Tzaddikim (righteous men), these melodies have the power to bring the light of the infinite directly into our hearts. The task of giving arcane melodies a fresh flavor seems daunting, but in Tzfat, the mystical city of Kabbalah, things have a way of revealing themselves. Enter Daniel Fries whose thirst for new musical direction led him through projects of diverse styles including Flamenco, Jazz, Funk, Indian, Afgan, Arabic, Persian, and African, and performances in America, Europe, India and China. His recent stint in Italy produced collaborations with the Italian dance label Motivo, and several co-authored songs with the Italian pop artist Laura including the hits Radio Star and Irraggiungible, which she sings at San Remo this year. From ethnic to pop to dance Daniel was ready to take on a project which would combine all his experience and talent, and he found himself in the vortex of Tzfat, surrounded by musicians, at the house of a rabbi bent on bringing Moshiach through music.