JEWISH MUSIC 101

Sukkos is the perfect time to enjoy some good Jewish music. Whether you play them at a small simchos beis hasho’eivah in your sukkah, or in your car on your way to a fun Chol Hamoed destination, and these releases will really get you into that Yom Tov spirit. Chag kasher v’same’ach, fellow listeners!

Sababa – Matt Dubb – After his collaboration album with Lipa where the Jewish music world got to experience some of Matt Dubb’s talents, he has finally released another single for us to enjoy. Sababa will have you dancing around the room!

Shira Chadasha – Yosef Kugler – While I’ve had the opportunity to work with a number of talented artists and musicians as producer and arranger, I often get minimal instructions from the artist; however, in this case I was pleasantly surprised. Yosef not only has a great voice, but his ideas and contributions to this track took it to a whole new level. Keep an eye out for Yosef, as there’s no question he’ll go far with his talents.

Nekudah Tova – Levi Cohen – From superstar producer Naftali Schnitzler comes the huge new talent that is Levi Cohen. Levi’s album features some amazing compositions by Pinky Weber, Yitzy Waldner, Sruly Green, Hershy Weinberger, and other amazingly talented composers. I have a feeling we’ll be seeing Levi’s name a lot more often.

Machar – Mordechai Shapiro – Kol Haderech Mordechai’s debut album had a huge impact on the Jewish music scene, and with the requests for Schar Mitzvah at many of my own gigs there’s no doubt that Mordechai is going to be giving us hits for a long time. Here’s his latest release! Machar is an exciting track with a great message and let’s be honest, dancing with umbrellas is always going to be awesome!

Hiney Anochi – Mendy Wax – For those of you who remember Mendy’s Debut Album Hodu Lashem, you’ve already experienced Mendy’s soulful compositions. For those who never got a chance to hear the album, you’re in for a real treat. I had the pleasure of producing Mendy’s latest composition with a crew of talented musicians and singers, including vocalists Yedidya Alper, Shlomo Golombeck, and Elimelech Adler, who is without a doubt one of the greatest harmonica players I have ever had the opportunity to record with. Mendy’s new single is available to download on all your favorite Jewish Music sites as well as on his website, www.MendyWax.com

Yeder Einer – Meilech Kohn – Pretty much anyone who enjoys Jewish music has become a fan of Meilech’s compositions whether Yoimum, Ein Trop Vasser, or the ever-popular Veohavta! Meilech has finally released his debut album produced by Gershy Schwarcz. Get ready to dance with some redone favorites as well as some exciting new tracks!

Ilu (the Remixes) – Shauli, Olturix, Azyon, DUVI, Dani Treisman, & Rogers Park – Every so often a popular song will be redone (typically with an electronic rearrangement) but for the first time in the history of Jewish music, there is not just one remix, but a full album of them! This project was undertaken by Moshe Ackerman (aka Olturix) involves some of the freshest music producers in the Jewish EDM (that’s electronic dance music for all of you still living in the last century) scene. In this project, all of the artists involved produced their own version of the single Ilu released by Shauli. As much as it you might think that an album full of the same song might be boring and repetitive, as someone who has listened to the album multiple times, I can tell you that there are so many twists and turns throughout these arrangements that you will start to think it’s a different song every time you listen to the next one.

Hillel Kapnick is a producer/singer/musician/DJ based in Monsey, NY. He owns and operates Uptop Recording Studios, and sings and plays at simchos with his orchestra and one-man band regularly. Hillel can be reached for questions, comments, or bookings at hillelkaps@gmail.com or through his website @ www.HillelKAPS.com