Jdub Records brings out new flavor in Jewish music
Non-profit New York-based record label that brought you Matisyahu, Balkan Beat Box, aims to continue providing platform for new Jewish expression
What is Jewish music? Is it only Klezmer? And the only song Hava Nagila?
Does modern Israeli music refer to “hallelujah”? When we ask these cliché questions we find contemporary answers in a new generation of Jewish and Israeli musicians and their North American Champion, JDub Records.
New York is recognized as one of the global hubs of Jewish culture, with its communities having a long and lasting legacy within the city’s identity. Amongst the established palate of salt beef, lox, bagels and dill pickles comes a new flavor.
If you imagine that Klezmer is the traditional pastrami on rye, then the ethos and recipe of Jdub Records is one of new fusions, seeking out new ingredients and flavors, with new taste combinations coming to the table everyday.
Sway. New ingredients and flavors (Photo: Scott Irvine)
I caught up with one of the record label’s founders Aaron Bisman for the low-down on the label, its conception and its direction. Although initially studying music business at NYU, Jewish music, per se, had not been at the forefront of his mind during his studies.
"My college friendship with Benjamin Hesse (other JDub co-founder), listening to him messing around with fusing Hasidic melodies and Hip Hop beats, gave me the inspiration to find a unique space in music that was distinctively new and Jewish."
It was this friendship and the experimental nature of these new hybrids that spurred the two of them to set out to start Jdub Records. In 2002, Aaron and Benjamin started the label, but it wasn’t until 2004 that they managed to publish their first record.
In the two years between, they had been managing events and promoting artists that would fit with this diverse new sound, catalyzing like-minded people in New York City to feel connected, be inspired and get productive.
Bridging religious, ethnic, and cultural boundaries
Seeking out new sounds, encouraging artists and providing a forum for their ideas to be heard has been the label’s main goal, with its working ethic being to produce, present and disseminate new and innovative Jewish music.
JDub Records is a not-for-profit production company whose mission is to reclaim the arts, with a focus on music as a valid and vital mode of self-expression within Judaism and as a means of bridging religious, ethnic and cultural boundaries.
With artists such as Matisyahu, Balkan Beat Box and Socalled already making waves internationally, JDub has introduced proud Jewish voices squarely into mainstream culture, and in doing so has offered young adults opportunities to connect with their Judaism in the secular world in which they live.
However it isn’t simply New York that is their sphere of influence. Across North America, east to west, from San Francisco and Los Angeles to the Eastern Seaboard and all the stops between, JDub has taken their perspective across the continent and beyond with a level of professionalism and devotion usually seen by organizations far richer and far larger.
In our conversation, Aaron brings my attention to the book ‘And you shall know us by the trail of our vinyl’ (Roger Bennett and Josh Kun) that looks at Jewish recorded music from the 1940’s to the 1980’s. Using this book's findings as an analogy, Aaron describes the state of affairs that Jewish Music and culture is presently in.
If music is to inform the culture, then the legacy of Cantors singing Christmas tunes, Hasidic Prog-rockers and Long Islanders doing the Mambo is a discography that may do well in reminding Jewish culture that it is not always using its own voice to express itself.
'Fusions that reflect Jews' historical experiences'
"As Jews we always moved to a country, thrived in their culture, absorbed elements of the host culture's music and arts into our own and then moved on (or were driven) from that country. From one generation and country to the next, we as Jews would take an ever-snowballing body and spectrum of musical influences and arrive in the new country playing a fusion and hybrid that reflected our historical experiences.
Dee Leon. Re-imagining ancient melodies (Photo: Brian Tamberello)
"Each bit of music claimed as our own was actually a musical chart of our journey of immigration and emigration that fused with Diaspora and expulsion. So in many ways to cross-pollinate other genres and form new hybrids is a more traditional part of the Jewish artistic expression than just playing Klezmer or formulaically doing Motown numbers in Yiddish."
There has been, in recent years, a new Jewish generation finding a voice with their own voice. Bands Like Oi Va Voi in London, Balkan Beat Box in New York, and Tomer Yosef in Tel Aviv, have been trailblazing into the global zeitgeist, making heads turn and people sit up and listen.
Yet, in the wider Jewish world there has also been an ethno-musicological reflection, with classical and historical styles finding a new voice. International stars such as Yasmin Levy and the up-and-coming Mor Karbasi as well as bands like Los Desterrados have been bringing the almost-lost world of the Ladino language, its stories, its liturgical song and wider Sephardi musical expression back from the annuls of history into a new revision.
For JDub, De Leon is their latest release as part of this modern expression within the Sephardi story. The band, named after 12th Century Kabalistic philosopher Moses DeLeon and front man Daniel Saks’ great-grandfather Giorgio, DeLeon, was conceived to reconcile Saks’ cultural journey with modern influences.
By re-imagining these ancient melodies as contemporary pieces, bringing the cross-pollination to life, fusing the ancient with the modern and keeping the thin golden chain that connects us all together with a new link to the now.
When asked where JDub intends to go, Aaron repeats that "JDub is not looking to be a media darling, but rather to continue the ongoing musical mission of providing a platform, facility and forum for new Jewish expression in new and exciting ways."
If you feel inspired and want to hear more about any of the bands, the artists or the organisation itself. Don’t hesitate to visit http://www.jdubrecords.org to get the latest and hear from them direct.
