A Word With Idan Raichel

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The Idan Raichel Project changed the Israeli pop music scene in 2002 with their message of love and tolerance. Merge caught up with the guy, who started it all in his parent’s basement: IDAN RAICHEL.

 
What role did the military have in your development as a musician?
Like all young people in Israel, I had to join the Army when I turned 18. It is required service, but not all the people actually do typical military tasks. My job in the Army was directing the Army rock band, where I gained a lot of experience and met some of the musicians that I ended up working with in the Project, for example Cabra Casay,one of the Ethiopian singers in the Project. It was actually a good training ground, and I must admit it was a much better way to pass my army service! I travelled around to different bases entertaining the troops.
 
Hadassah Magazine recently had a huge write up on you and project. In the article by Ruth Mason, she mentions that the project is a work-in-progress and that it incorporates the talents of 70 musicians. Your CD sleeve must be like a small book!
Yes, it has a lot of information!

How did the project ever grow so large! It wasn’t intentional. I just kept inviting friends over to the studio I set up in my parent’s basement to work on different tracks. I guess I have a lot of friends! I enjoy the process of collaboration and learning that comes from working with musicians of different cultural backgrounds. For me, music is about discovery, and I always discover something new when I work with musicians from places like Ethiopia, Colombia, Rwanda or anywhere, and hopefully the feeling is mutual.  

How would you describe the project?
I would describe it as a collaboration between friends and musicians of many different backgrounds. Most of the musicians who have participated in the project reflect the diversity of Israel, which has many immigrant communities. More recently, I have begun to collaborate with artists from different parts of the world.
 
What influences your very unique sound?
I started playing the accordion as a child, and I was exposed to all kinds of different music, everything from Gypsy music to Argentinean tango, French waltzes, Israeli folk whatever. It taught me to keep my ears open to different sounds. I listened to a lot of different music growing up, from Miles Davis to Oum Kalthoum. I studied jazz in high school. I became interested in Ethiopian music when I was counselling some Ethiopian kids and started listening to Mahmoud Ahmed, Aster Aweke, Gigi and others. I also find a lot of inspiration in classic Israeli folk and popular music. I listen to a lot of jazz like Miles Davis and Keith Jarret, as well as music from Mali, artists like Salif Keita and Tinariwen, for example.
 
Where does the Ethiopian influence come from?
In terms of Ethiopian music in particular, I think the soul and spirit of the music attracts me. It has a very heartfelt and honest feel, like early blues. I think the rhythms and melodies are very exotic, yet there is something familiar in them as well. The main thing that drew me to the music, however, was the people. I started getting to know people in the Ethiopian community in Israel when I was working at a boarding school for immigrant teenagers. A lot of the teenagers had identity problems and were listening more to American rap or Jamaican dancehall. But there was a small group that stayed close to their roots and were listening to cassettes from Addis Ababa.
 I started to listen to the music of Mahmoud Ahmed, Gigi, Aster Aweke and others. I started to go to the Ethiopian bars downtown. It’s like another country in Tel Aviv. Nobody knows about it except the Ethiopian community. I started going to the ceremonies, weddings and the Ethiopian synagogues as well. Every community has their own synagogues, the Yemenite, Askenazi, Sefardic, and so forth. So I got to know a lot of the Ethiopian community and they became friends with many people. It was through these friendships that my association with Ethiopian music really began to develop.
 
I’m really interested in modern Israel its beensaid that the Project is a celebration of the Jewish Diaspora. Can you describe Israel’s social and cultural landscape - What is modern street Hebrew?
The sound of the Project really reflects the sound of Tel Aviv, a city with many different languages and cultures all living together. For me it was something very natural. In Israel I live along my friends, I’m not just doing music with Ethiopian singers; I’m doing music with my friends. In Israel, in every neighbourhood you can find people from all over, you just have to have an open mind. You can explore and respect the history of each neighbour of yours. It came very naturally that the Project was so diverse because my friends all come from diverse areas and have diverse backgrounds.
 
Of the lyrics Ive seen translated they don’t seem to be overtly political, is this a conscious effort? Actually, my music isn't overtly political, and the themes are always about love and other universal issues. The statement it is making is much more subtle then that, in that the nature of the project embodies a message which people are open to interpret as they see fit. Obviously, by the nature of how I work I believe in the need to respect other cultures and their beliefs and expressions, but I prefer to let my actions as an artistic collaborator make my statements rather then creating songs with obvious social or political themes.
 
 
Before working with and making music with your Ethiopian friends and showing Israel the richness of Ethiopian culture, what was the reality like for this marginal group?
As you can imagine, it is difficult for people with such a different way of life to come to a new country and be accepted. I would say in general, Israelis have been really interested and open in welcoming Ethiopians to be a part of he community, but like everywhere there is occasionally discrimination and racism. I think these reactions come from misunderstanding, not people just being evil, so hopefully, as we learn about each other these misunderstandings will become less and less. My music is a way to help with that.
 
When you travel the world, singing, do you look at the places you visit and compare them to Israel?
I don’t compare, I try to appreciate everywhere I go on its own terms.