WTVS News

Cultural experiments have an endless fascination for me, and I don’t know if it’s appropriate to even talk about.  But I love to see people and ideas mix, and I love to see what comes of the mixing, and I understand this attitude isn’t really offensive to anyone.  However, I also get a very secret but palpable thrill when the mix fails utterly, and the experiment turns out to be a very bad idea.  I almost enjoy coming to Boston and staying at one of these just because there’s always plenty of very bad art that’s being made in the name of cultural understanding.

At the same time, this is exactly why performances by groups like the Idan Raichel Project are so rejuvenating.  This is a particularly raw blend of many influences, and in the hands of inexperienced artists, this is the sort of multiculturalism that can produce horrible results.  This, on the other hand, is absolutely splendid, and is a testament to the ability of all of his collaborators.  The list is very daunting, too, and at last count, he was working with over 80 performers from very diverse backgrounds.  When this comes to Boston in March, it will be a major event.

This is something that the audiences who are easily pleased already will be content to gush over, but it will also give the intelligentsia something to chew on.  Idan Raichel has a focus on Israel, promoting and developing music from this region, but striking influences here also come from Ethiopia and South Africa, along with gypsy and Arabic forms that give this electronic music a complex and powerful texture.  This will be something to tell the kids about, and it’s exciting to me to feel my own cynicism melt away under the influence of this remarkable sound.

No related posts.