ABOUT
Yemen Blues is a contradiction in plain sight. They’re a puzzle you unlock by finding the solution inside yourself. Solo voices in unison; a collective in many parts. On one level, it’s music at its most direct, it’s most emotionally emphatic. On another, it’s a spiritual quest, both enlightening and perplexing. A project that spans continents while preaching the universal, they obey multiple traditions while forging their own.
The first seed was planted by Ravid Kalahani – the founder, and talismanic audio guru behind Yemen Blues. That was back in 2010. In the years following, Yemen Blues have become a stamp placed on multiple projects, with many different voices. Rony Iwryn is one of the most persuasive – an Israeli artist from Uraguay, he’s been there for over a decade holding down the percussion chair, with an open heart, a thirst for salsa, and an ability to find strength in fragility.
Shanir Blumenkranz joined a long time back, his twin role on bass guitar and oud spanning different worlds, different sonic systems. His electrifying personality belies a zen-like calm; a giant in New York’s avant-garde scene, he’s worked on more than 150 albums, bringing together the twin poles of extreme noise and simple melody.
As each project was released, Yemen Blues adapted into different forms. The flavors varied, but the instinct stayed the same. Dan Mayo was the final part of the quartet to come into place, bringing a hip-hop crunch, a concentrated hunger for fun, a machine-like sense of the human groove.
There’s a certain magic to the way these four musicians interact. On one hand, their music is timeless, extending itself back through Millennia – you can hear the music of the desert in Ravid’s voice, and his compositions. But they’re also a radical break with the past, a four-part space where freedom is the only goal. Listening to Yemen Blues is like eating a rich, Middle Eastern soup made of only four ingredients – each flavor is profound, forever changing yet forever in balance. As Rony puts it: “Music that comes from freedom is the best form of music you can make.”
This year alone has brought their studio album ‘Shabazai – A Tribute To The Poet’, an evocation of the work of legendary Yemeni poet Shalom Shabazi. Working with alacrity, Yemen Blues are ready to spin the creative dials once more, and there’s no telling where it will land. “It’s beautiful and it’s fun and it’s smart,” says Dan. “It breaks the rules – there’s something different here.”
With a sense of the spirit in each note, Yemen Blues are worth comparing to spiritual jazz greats such as John Coltrane. Drawing from the great traditions of Jewish and Arabic culture in the Middle East, each note sings with a love for common humanity. “Spirituality unites us,” Ravid explains. “Love unites us. We move to extremes, but it’s soulful.”
Ever the purveyor of clipped, sage-like wisdom, Shanir puts it even more succinctly: “It sounds like today, somehow.”
Ravid Kahalani Vocal & Gimbri
Shanir Blumenkranz Bass & Oud
Rony Iwryn Percussion
Dan Mayo Drums
MUSIC
TOUR
GALLERY
BIOGRAPHY
RAVID KAHALANI
Vocal & Gimbri
There are individuals, there are truly unique talents, and then there is Ravid Kahalani. The founder and beating heart of Yemen Blues, he’s taking the desert vibe into the 21st century, creating new truths, and fresh traditions in the process. A soulful performer in the most honest and literal sense, his spiritual approach to music-making encompasses every aspect, every feeling of the human heart.
BIOGRAPHY
RAVID KAHALANI
There are individuals, there are truly unique talents, and then there isRavid Kahalani. The founder and beating heart of Yemen Blues, he’s takingthe desert vibe into the 21stcentury, creating new truths, and freshtraditions in the process.
A soulful performer in the most honest and literalsense, his spiritual approach to music-making encompasses every aspect,every feeling of the human heart.
As a frontman, he has a shamanistic quality. It’s his role to engage, tocarouse, to provoke – sometimes he’ll wear a dress onstage, at others it’llbe something traditional, moving from one extreme to the other.
Underneath it all, though, is a desire to break through to people, toengender some form of conversation in the format of a visual and auralextravaganza. “I’m connected to tradition, to spirituality. But I love beingextreme with my performance – I love confusing people! I love being theperformer that tries to break the rules.”
Everyone in Yemen Blues has a voice, a point of input into the project as awhole. Yet in this swirling cosmos, Ravid Kahalani’s gravitational pull isperhaps the strongest. He led the group at their very first live show backin 2010, and he’s befriended each musician who has joined the line-up.
The head chef of a world-class kitchen, the recipe behind Yemen Bluesutilizes a thousand ingredients, but it’s seasoned to perfection.
As the final taster, Ravid is able to forge something unified and coherentthrough disregarding the rules, and following his passion for miracles. Apusher of strange ideas, an explorer of emotions, he wants to gatherpeople together, confronting them with the beauty of our lives.
“Spirituality unites us,” Ravid explains. “Love unites us. We move toextremes, but it’s soulful.”
Ravid Kahalani is illuminating the soulful center of Yemen Blues.
SHANIR BLUMENKRANZ
Bass & Oud
Somewhere between the street level hustle of New York city and the infinite wisdom of Japan, that’s where you’ll find Shanir Blumenkranz. A wanderer in body and spirit, his work encompasses both structure and noise, careful discipline and trance-like levels of spirituality. Smart enough to play it simple, his adherence to melody and thirst for transgressive ideas lends his work an other-worldly quality.
BIOGRAPHY
SHANIR BLUMENKRANZ
Somewhere between the street-level hustle of New York City and the infinite wisdom of Japan, that’s where you’ll find Shanir Blumenkranz. A wanderer in body and spirit, his work encompasses both structure and noise, careful discipline, and trance-like levels of spirituality. Smart enough to play it simple, his adherence to melody and thirst for transgressive ideas lends his work an other-worldly quality.
A key component of what makes Yemen Blues so special, his appetite for living in the moment perfectly mirrors the group’s improvisational qualities. Shanir studied at the Manhattan School of Music, and the Rimon School of Music in Israel, and gaining a Bachelor’s in Performance from Boston’s renowned Berklee College of Music. With a solo and guest catalogue that extends to over 150 records, his in-depth experience – and his aura of innocence – shrouds Yemen Blues in a loving but firm creative embrace.
Defiantly non-mainstream, his Tao-like vision for unity moves between art-as-ritual and an almost scientific exploration in sound. Blending countless different aspects, Yemen Blues both embrace and challenge his outlooks. “Each person’s voice matters in the overall language of the band,” he says. “This isn’t any kind of tradition. I guess we’re making our own tradition.”
There is no confusion with this music — the intention is clear – it is a healing form of music.
A master who looks at each passing project from a fresh vantage point, he encourages those around him to stay focused, to stay fixed on their mutual ideals. Through this, he figures, confusion can be excised, and a kind of blissful logic imposed.
RONY IWRN
Percussion
Rony Iwryn is an Israeli artist and percussionist from Uruguay. His music is inspired by his roots and influenced by his passion for world music. He has played and recorded with some of the most well known Israeli artists such as: Ofra Haza, Idan Raichel, Yoni Reichter, Gidi Gov, David Broza, and many others.
BIOGRAPHY
RONY IWRN
There’s a pervasive, zen-like calm that surrounds Rony Irwyn. It’s in his aura, and it flows out from every word he utters. A percussive master who can play all manner of instruments, his dexterity – and the emotional pull of his playing – is in many ways Yemen Blues’ secret ingredient.
Hailing from Uruguay and part of the global Jewish diaspora, he lets latin voices flow through his playing, merging Middle Eastern textures and designs with the red-hot colors of South America. Capable of grappling with complex ideas with a fun sense of immediacy, he’s aware of the traditions that frame his work, yet refuses to be shackled by them.
With a completely distinctive style that runs from his hair to his playing, Rony Irwyn is a true individualist, building a tradition of his own from the ground up, working with his comrades to bring a unique vision into focus.
“Each one of us brings themself to the music,” he says:
For myself, I bring the language of my roots. And from there, we bring something new to the world.
A continual collaborator, Rony has a deep, ever-evolving catalogue, matching numerous guest spots to a continuing role in New Jerusalem Orchestra. For this musician, however, Yemen Blues is something special, something that exists outside of one person, yet somehow defines each voice is encompasses.
Breaking with the past while remaining respectful towards his elders, Rony’s approach has a brave fragility to it. Remaining rooted to nature, he views Yemen Blues as a space for freedom, a platform for individuality.
Music that comes from freedom is the best form of music you can make.
DAN MAYO
Drums
Dan Mayo is the epitome of a future rhythm machine. The most recent segment of the Yemen Blues puzzle, he blends human feel with an almost machine-like precision, losing himself in those endless waves of percussion. Approaching music with an air of positivity, he sits in that tight-but-loose pocket, blending Middle Eastern aspects with jazz, hip-hop, rock, and beyond.
BIOGRAPHY
DAN MAYO
Dan Mayo is the epitome of a future rhythm machine. The most recent segment of the Yemen Blues puzzle, he blends human feel with an almost machine-like precision, losing himself in those endless waves of percussion. Approaching music with an air of positivity, he sits in that tight-but-loose pocket, blending Middle Eastern aspects with jazz, hip-hop, rock, and beyond.
Capable of hushed moments of intimacy and scorching, he adds something subtle yet also profound to the mix. Perhaps that’s to be expected: Dan Mayo’s work incorporates many different colors, melding rhythmic attack with a broader sense of sound design.
Alongside Yemen Blues he leads the group Tartan, recently creating an entire audio world for the hugely successful Star Wars game Jedi Survivor. Taking players to another realm with his music, he also teamed up with the legendary Mike Shinoda from Linkin Park for the Post Traumatic Tour, playing ambitious concerts across the globe.
It’s this range of experience that first caught the attention of Yemen Blues. Initially, he was only recruited for one show – given two hours warning, he learned the songs during soundcheck. “And it’s not simple music to learn!” he laughs.
From show to show it got better… all of a sudden, this sound developed. We realized there was something special going on.
The newest voice within Yemen Blues, Dan Mayo’s drumming has lifted their spirits even higher, his hip-hop indebted potency lighting up the music with a range of different colors. Absorbing lessons from the mystical voices surrounding him, he can feel these experiences altering his own creative DNA. “It’s beautiful and it’s fun and it’s smart,” says Dan.
It breaks the rules – there’s something different here.
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New York Music Daily
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TimeOut Chicago
Interview
Daily Sabah
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