For Ravid Kahalani of Yemen Blues, ‘Music Is My Religion’
Graphic by Angelie Zaslavsky
Crossposted from Haaretz
Singer Ravid Kahalani’s apartment in the trendy Basel neighborhood of north Tel Aviv is furnished in Moroccan style, and he’s Skype-ing in English with the mother of his daughter back in Finland. Next to a black piano stands a three-string bass instrument called a guembri, and the suitcases lying partially open on the floor give the place the appearance of a hotel room.
Kahalani’s songs are somewhat eclectic — largely based on lyrics in Yemeni Arabic in various dialects (along with Hebrew and some gibberish), against a background of traditional Yemeni music as well as blues, funk, soul and jazz. Nevertheless, the cultural mixture that constitutes the base for the music Kahalani creates with his band, Yemen Blues, is what spurs thousands of people from different cultures around the world to connect to his sound.
Why I became the Forward’s editor-in-chief
You are surely a friend of the Forward if you’re reading this. And so it’s with excitement and awe — of all that the Forward is, was, and will be — that I introduce myself to you as the Forward’s newest editor-in-chief.
And what a time to step into the leadership of this storied Jewish institution! For 129 years, the Forward has shaped and told the American Jewish story. I’m stepping in at an intense time for Jews the world over. We urgently need the Forward’s courageous, unflinching journalism — not only as a source of reliable information, but to provide inspiration, healing and hope.
, editor-in-chiefSupport our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
