Barak Ben Zour
There is a discussion in history of music: what is the oldest instrument?
One opinion claims it is the voice that comes out of our throat…
A second opinion claims it is a certain noise…
A third opinion claims it is the drum…
When a child is born, the first thing he does is cry. This improves the voice matter. Yet, in his mother's womb he already has a pulse, and this is the rhyme in itself.
Anyway, it is obvious that rhyme is the common factor for everyone…
It influences the tune, the processing, the presentation, the melody and actually each and every aspect of music in our lives, whether we are musicians or not.
Rhythm is the basic foundation both in music and in life!
Being the first musical instrument ever existed or built, the drum went through the greatest amount of changes and transformations in all aspects since the Middle Ages; the days of Adam until nowadays.
It started in a shape of whole drum (in relation to state and place), the meaning has been changed, the type of music was different and the rhythmical concept was different from place to place, etc…
The drum started as a very old instrument and through development has become a very up-to-date instrument in the 21st century, as it integrates with electronics and computers that exist nowadays.
Barak Ben Zour, born in 1968; drummer, musical processor and producer, is a prolific personality well known as a drummer who naturally combines East and West, acoustic and electronic, comprises a composition of Rock and Ethnic music and global world music.
As a member of a Yemenite family, Barak absorbed at home all the significant musical influences, smooth transitions between major and minor, rhymes that are all asymmetric, as part of a whole culture that brings all the way from Yemenite a wide range of food, smells, clothes, colours and a significant and profound spiritual and artistic heritage...
At that time in Israel, integration of the exiles has been a natural act that created a small cosmos of global world music and such an act seemed to bring ahead the era of breakthrough of global world music all over the globe.
Barak joined other people and embedded all that have influenced him at home into what he was raised upon.
At that time in Israel, the immigration of people has also brought the music that entered into the songs reservoir, rooted in the synagogues and from there in families' joyful occasions. Actually, there is no field in life untouched by music.
The Yemenite music is unknown in the world, and after playing in a few different albums of Yemenite music, Barak decided to preserve it and make these miraculous melodies available to whoever wishes to listen to them by putting a first album as a producer and a leader of a band that paves its way throughout the world.
Information about the album is found at Barak's official site.
The album is issued by Magda Label that also has a universal mission.
www.barak-bz.com
http://www.magda.co.il
MAGDA Label 48 King George St. Tel Aviv 64337 Israel
+972505258554 or +972526993223
The Magda label is an ethnic music project identifying with the idea of the new Middle East. Its existence is based on the welcome possibility of Jews and Arabs of the region coming together in peace. The label's aim is to combine the musical expression of different cultures in this same geographical sphere. The human and political reality existing, the merging of worldwide ethnic groups and the meeting of the three major religions is conducive to a rich and fascinating musical expression. The process of conciliation and tightening of ties is the essence behind the artistic and creative inspiration of all Magda artists.
During the last decade, Barak has played in countless different projects, from different fields, starting with a Rock Band, then a Jazz Big Band where he played for 5 years, he played with lead singers, dozens of studio recorded CDs in which he played as a drummer and percussionist, worldwide productions such as Liel Kolet, and compositions for singers he recorded for, such as: Petty La Belle, Andrea Bocelli and David Foster. Zingale Band that plays Progressive Rock embedded with Ethnic influences, well known all over the world and other projects within the world of music in Israel as well as T.V. shows, theatre, teaching and producing, while playing both in Israel and all over the globe.
Apart for his musical career, Barak is an active member in a Kabbalah community that is committed to helping create a real peace in the world with the help of Kabbalah wisdom above and beyond religion, race or gender, as it is said in the Jewish morning prayer:" "And I have brought them to my sacred mountain and gladden them in my house of prayer, their burnt offering and sacrifice willfully at my altar, as my house, will be called a housed of prayer for all nations."
( yshaya : chapter 57 no.7)
Such real peace begins between us and selves, between us and our friends, families and between us and our neighbors – cousins the Moslem Arabs.
Among all his activities, Barak has graduated M.A. studies in jazz and Multi-disciplined music in the Faculty of Performing Arts at the Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance. This faculty is based upon co-operations between different fields of music, dance, classic music performances with Darbuka drums and a variety of compositions.
At some stage the project under the name of "Nashid (let's sing) Project" have been created and developed in addition to all his other projects. Music creates endless opportunities that exist in the Eastern part of the world together with the Ethnic and Authentic part combined with Western music.
The album is a celebration of cultural diversity that leads to a higher awareness between people as individuals and between different nations and their culture, acts in favor of integration and collaboration between musicians upon the basic human dignity, respect for music as an instrument that connects people and as the root of nations, all from a place of love, understanding, fellowship, peace and friendship, patience and appeasement.
Nashid (let's sing) Project
Ancient versus new, acoustic versus electronic, spiritual versus scientific, ethnic versus jazz, etc… All these combine the internal essence of the album and Ensemble. A keyboardist who plays an ancient beautiful piece accompanied by lots of Jazz harmonies, the Oud that harmonizes with them, the asymmetric rhymes are only some of the signs of the new sound created by the Ensemble and represent an important layer of the Yemenite music.
This is the first album (the second is in process) that paves the way for publishing and presenting these melodies. It is the beauty of the Yemenite sound that caresses the soul.
Nashid Ensemble is in the skilled hands of 4 professional musicians in their field where each of them is a producer by himself:
Piano and Keyboard instrument: Omri Mor
Bass: Idan Dayan
Oud and Violin: Yair Dalal
Drums and Percussion: Barak Ben Zour
Concert duration: about 75 minutes with a tour manager.
Workshop
The rhythmical concept in the East versus the rhythmical concept in the West (with a percussionist and a tour manager)
The musical texture in the East versus the texture in the West ( a lecture at universities with the Ensemble and a tour manager)
Special musical meetings with children and students (the meetings include two players and enjoyable workshop with children and students)
Music as a cultural meeting between different arts and as a social bridge.
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