Biography

Hi everybody,

I have gone a long way as a drum player, accompanist and up to publishing this album.

A long way we have gone, he (the Creator) and me

It all started as I connected to my Yemenite roots.

Thus, I found myself going back to the Jewish synagogue, connecting to the soul through the melody of the prayers, which is some kind of a meditation, and then it started creeping within me as a simple idea, as a self desire to show myself that actually I can do it.

Time went by, the idea took shape, one step after the other the sketches were made and ideas started building up. Some of them were written late at night and the whole project started to take shape.

I knew exactly who would play in the album and realized I see everything straight forward.

Yet, it turned out that the great architect up there had other plans and things have changed along the way.

When the album was ready I understood that my idea was too small. One album is quite nice but I have only interrupted the Light in carrying my plan out in bigger terms, and a whole musical plan that contains not only one album or another, but rather a real personal and social musical mission with certain messages was revealed to me.

Most musicians I know and I am in touch with grew up knowing that Jazz is the most elite style, and he who doesn't play it is not considered to be a musician. This saying has restrained many musicians that while balancing and throughout intervals used to start a Jazz kind of jam session and by that they are moving between the desire to do one thing and the reality in which they live and act as musicians.

Add into this the lack of appreciation that Sephardic musicians suffer from and you will realize that there is a separation that prevents the music and musicians from going through their multi steps powerful development and growth that are deep and full of self fulfillment.

As an Israeli I have realized a long time ago that I live in a country full of cultural wealth of which music is only a part, and I haven't done anything with it.

In the last two years I have been exposed (as a married person) to Jewish Kabbalah which is based on:

Sharing as a mean for growing and receiving Light

Our ego as the ultimate barrier

Human equality - for other nations as well

The triangle - right, left and middle columns as a source of balance

The ability to influence - The way to be a channel of light

All these things live, exist and kick strongly within the content of the album. My desire to influence and to leave my mark - not from my ego, the desire to make a connection between a Western musician and a Sephardic musician, not from a place of feeling inferior but rather out of a desire to share the light and knowledge that is contained within the real eastern music and create something that is up-to-date and more real, something that no one can miss and does not leave any place for doubt. To let people raise each idea they have from a place of sharing and growing and create a conversation and cooperation in the deepest and co-operational sense that leaves each person a place to grow. To create the right and refined equilibrium within the music that intensifies and praises each musical instrument and sentence just from being what it is and not from any other reason.

To sum up, this is a mission that has an inner power and we are going to share it with each and every person that is willing to share it and will let us share it with him.

Enjoy listening,

Barak