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Balkan Beat Box
Boom Pam
Binder Krieglstein
Vesna A New One
Amsterdam Klezmer Band
Boom Pam
produced by Shantel
Essay Recordings AY CD 05
Magic surf guitars from Tel Aviv kicked by tuba & drums on an ecstatic Mediterranean spicy Balkan trip!
Forget the daily headlines and immerse yourself in Tel Aviv's vibrant music scene. If there's a sound you can't find here in this offbeat Mediterranean metropolis, it probably doesn't exist. The music brewed up by the BOOM PAM four is the acoustic equivalent of a high-energy drink. They already have a cult following in the Middle East, and now they have wowed European audiences as well in their gigs with Shantel at his Bucovina Club in Berlin, Frankfurt and Zurich. This CD, released worldwide exclusively on the Essay label, marks their recording debut.
It is hard to categorize their music. So maybe we should invent a new category for Middle Eastern surf rock with a pinch of Balkan, a touch of irreverence and a lot of groove. With their two surf guitars, minimalist percussion and distinctive tuba is a real ear-opener. The unique blend of Mediterranean, Balkan and Greek styles, sweetened with Jewish melodies and fattened up with surf rock and circus music is positively cinematic. But you certainly won't be staying in your seat for long.
Boom Pam on Boom Pam: "Our mix really describes Tel Aviv ... a place where people from all over the world meet. This sound is a sharp cocktail of all the different styles that collide here. And we try to bring them all together."
The musicians are fed up with the klezmer cliche that still tends to be associated with Jewish music. "Nobody listens to klezmer," they say in unison. "Klezmer is the stuff that's sold in airport shops as ‘the music of Israel'. Well, there is usually some klezmer in it, but that really isn't what's happening here… that's what's popular outside Israel, but it isn't what's happening here. And there's a lot happening here."
Producer Shantel was quick to recognise BOOM PAM's talent and he brought them along to shows in Frankfurt and Cologne. Wherever they performed, they really fired up the audience. In the Middle East they had already played the biggest venues and festivals. They headlined the opening of the Jerusalem Film Festival, creating a sizzling atmosphere at the legendary Sultan's Pool club for the premier of Emir Kusturica's latest film Life is a Miracle.
Following their work with Shantel, it is only logical for their debut album to be released on the Essay label. The recordings were made last year at the legendary Babylon Central Studio in Frankfurt using original 1964 Fender Twin Reverb amps. Sound engineer Marcus Darius helped to develop a classically warm, yet fresh and precise sound using old analogue reel-to-reel tape recorders, reverberators and generous helpings of vodka. "We met Shantel two years ago. With him and his label, we now hope to bring our music to as many people as possible all over the world." Colin Bass aka Sabah Habas Mustapha (of 3 Mustaphas 3 fame): Twanging guitars of Tel Aviv mix heady Eastern Mediterranean cocktail: At first was the word around the night-clubs and parties of the Tel Aviv music scene. Boom Pam. Two duelling electric guitars, pumping tuba and rocking drums. A Balkan, Jewish, Greek, Mediterranean mix-up bringing the crowds onto the dance-floor with the atmosphere of an alcohol-soaked wedding party. Word-of-enthusiastic-mouth brought them to Germany, playing alongside future producer DJ Shantel. Back home again, they continued playing weddings, bar mitzvahs, parties and clubs throughout the country, while their cover version of the Greek hit "Boom Pam" - with Israeli rock star Berry Sakharof - became a mega-hit. Success hasn't fazed them - they're still wild, weird and wonderful. Boom Pam to you. (from the WOMEX catalogue).
Boom Pam
Uzi Feinerman: guitar, banjo & vocals
Uri Brauner Kinrot: guitar, saxophone & vocals
Yuval "Tuby” Zolotov: tuba
Dudu Kohav: drums & percussion
The band's website: http://www.boompam.org
Videos: youtube
The tracks:
01 Wedding Song (Uzi Feinerman/Uri Brauner Kinrot)
02 Gross (trad. arr. by Boom Pam)
03 Souvlaki #3 (Uri Brauner Kinrot)
04 Otto Chiconi (Uri Brauner Kinrot)
05 Weijl (Uzi Feinerman)
06 Kova Plada (Uri Brauner Kinrot)
07 Let Me Touch (Uzi Feinerman)
08 Dalida (Uri Brauner Kinrot)
09 Lajdi (Uzi Feinerman)
10 Munt (Uri Brauner Kinrot)
11 The Souvlak (Uri Brauner Kinrot)
12 Love Song (Uzi Feinerman)
Bonus tracks
13. Hatul VeHatula (Uri Brauner Kinrot/arr. by Boom Pam)
14. Adi Adios (Uzi Feinerman/arr. by Boom Pam)
Bonus video clip
Hatul VeHatula directed by Asaf Korman
