By: Dave Sharpner

Anyone who’s been following the Jewish music scene over the last few years,will no doubt be familiar with the group called A.K.A. Pella.  This talented group broke out onto the music scene a few years back with their smashing debut album Premium Blend.  I remember hearing it for the first time, and I was like, “WOW! These guys are really good!”  They were combining secular intros with pop jewish music and doing it really well. Then along came Volume 2 which was even better than Volume 1. The next year was followed by ADAPTATION which really started getting interesting. They were now mixing and weaving secular intros with jewish intros, harmonies and instrument sounds so well that they had at this point already become one of the most anticipated CDs of the entire year.  Finally came along PLATINUM, which basically blew away any previous notions of what an AKA PELLA album could be like.  At this point,it had already become official.  AKA PELLA was now king of a cappella! Their groundbreaking and original lyric adaptions, intros,outros,harmonies,and realistic instrument sounds simply had to be heard to be believed.

I remember thinking to myself,there is simply no way in the world they would ever be able to top this. Well,top it they did! I have no idea how. But one thing I could say is this:  the combination of professional sounding good music and hilarious shtick is something I have never heard before in my life on any album.Period.

Okay, now on to the songs.

1.KULAM AHUVIM TELEPHONE. The song starts off with a dial tone and automated voice telling us the number can not be reached. I must say, I was caught a bit off guard. I knew there would be a lot of shtick in store, but I wasn’t expecting it right at the beginning. Once again very original! They then start off with Gaga’s Telephone intro to the words of Kulam Ahuvim. At One minute in,Avi Stewart comes on giving us a nice rendition of MBDs original low part. I’ve never heard his voice before but I would describe it in three words: Sweet and Crystal Clear, sort of how I like my chicken soup. Then we have C.D.Eichler, Shmuel Braun and Sholom Engel doing the high part. One thing I just want to add: I found the melodies and the harmonies on this song in particular blend so well together that it’s hard to even notice where they start and stop. Its just one long beautiful seamless harmony. I’ve always loved the original Kulam Ahuvim but I’ll admit,I found this version much more exciting! In fact the Gaga song and the MBD song blend so well together, that if I didn’t know better, I’d be convinced they’re actually one song.

2.TGIF MEDLEY. They start off with the usual (yawn inducing) AKA Pella “DumDums” and then suddenly they come on with Flo-Rida Good Feeling intro. “On Shabbos,I get a good feeling!(YEEEEAAH!!)That I Neva Neva Neva had before!!(OH NOOO!!)” Then Pitbull(A.k.a.Yaakov Eidelman) comes on and he does the rap part about Shabbos.  I must say Yaakov really nails it and if Pitbull ever needs to call in sick one day, he can always call on Yaakov. Special mention also, by the way, goes to Zevi Daniel for the funky and inspirational lyrics. At 1:20 they “Find Sholom Aleichem in a heartless place”(Originally Rhianna) and they go through the entire Shalom Aleichem.Then at 1:50 they do “Lchah Dodi on the floor.”(The sefardim I think,actually do it on the floor.  On a mat)  ,We then get some more rap,with Chris Brown’s “International Ashes Chayil”(I think that would help the shidduch crisis btw,if we had more international Ashes Chayils,instead of just marrying people from our hometowns.) I never thought I’d see a Chris Brown tune with King Solomon doing the lyrics, but here it is. The very first King Solomon/Chris Brown collaboration!

3.”Moves like Nilli Milli”(Say what?!) Okay guys.If you’ve never heard Yitzy(Spinner) before then listen to this! Yitzy,who btw was a major Miami soloist a few years back, really shines on this song, which starts off with the whistle of the original “Jagger” tune and then Yitzy comes on with MBD’s Im Ain Ani Li off Kulam Ahuvim.Surprisingly enough,this song actually goes on at this point for about a minute straight with just beautiful singing and no shtick.  Then Yitzy does a nice spin(pun intended)on the song and does it in English to the Jagger tune. At 2:52 Yitzy nails that high part as his voice soars to a really scary height and finally rounds it off with “And it goes like that!”Awesome Job Yitzy!!

4.Next up is Gertners 7th Heaven.(No he doesn’t really have a song called that, but if you listen to his Hashamayim,you’ll feel like you’re in 7th heaven!) Just a word on the original song.I am a huge Gertner fan and when I first heard the song on Say Asay,I was literally blown away! It gives you a  “soothing, floating” feel. They start off with the original Gertner song and I just love how they do the high part on the second Yihaaaaaalilucha, exactly like Gertner does it!!  10 points for that!  Then they do Shwekey’s Mimkomcha from Ad Bli Dai. Beautiful job, but still not like Shwekey’s original. Btw this is the first of the 2 slow songs on the album, actually 4 if you break up the songs in both medleys, and it is really beautifully done. If youre a “pure” a cappella person,than this song is for you.Its the only song with no fake music or shtick at all.

5.Back to the “DumDums” again, this time its Shea Rubenstein’s Tick Tock.WOW!! Really Really great drumwork btw!!(Ok,sorry.I should really call it mouthwork,but that would sound more like something that happens at the dentist)They start off with the “Smashing” (there really is smashing btw, later in the song) low part and quickly move on to Kesha’s revised version of Tic Toc.Love the part “Tonight wer’e gonna shteig til we see the sunlight!”, and then back again to Shea’s Tick Tock.(Which reminds me btw Hayom Kotzer,so I really gotta finish this review already and get back to my day job!) At 3;25 we get another surprise, it’s Katy Perry’s California and then back again to Shea’s TickTock. This song is just plain “CRAZY” with a Capital “C”!!Simply no other way to describe it!

6.MOSHIACH-MOSHIACH.This starts off with Yitzy saying something in fluent Spanish.I really have no clue what he said but I will ask one of my Mexican coworkers later what it means.We start off with Benny Friedman’s Moshiach.What could I say about this song that hasn’t been already said?Its just really really good and these guys actually do Benny justice! Trust me,it’s no easy feat but they do it.Then they do Miami’s Moshiach which is also a great song. At 3:23 we get Eglasias’s Bailamos and Gaga’s Alanjenro.(I think Gaga’s on this cd more than CDEichler himself)

7.NO LYRICS. Starts off with WRITTEN IN THE STARS and then Benny’s NO LYRICS and a bit of E.T. followed by “Watch You Burn” Guitar work. WOW! The blending of four different songs in the end by the way is just incredible!

8.PRUZ CONTROL. This song starts off with some really wacky stuff going on, surprisingly enough, and from reading the jacket,it seems to have something to do with Seinfeld.Then we get a nice lineup of four Pruz songs.The first is a nice rock track off his Pruzbul album called Taaseh Mitzvah.I like this song which has a nice repetitive and funky groove.They even do the digitized muffled voice thing which adds a cool touch. (Autotune?) Then comes BackStreet Boys Larger Than Life, which if I remember correctly,came out like 13 years ago. Then Litav Uvid. Nice trumpet work  at the end and also a nice job once again on the Kesha-Blow part! Next is another good Pruz song, Uray Vanim and I gotta admit,I like the secular shtick after even better than the song itself! Finally they end off with Zeh Lazeh. I  loved this song,from the first time I heard it on Shloime Kaufman’s Avodas Tzedakah album and I believe this is their second time doing something from that album. The first was Sunshine in the Rain, which they did last time around on Platinum.

9.Birchos Avicha.They start off with the typical Akapella Woohoo’s and then go right into Birchos Avicha from Dovid Gabay’s second album,Omar Dovid. It is a reall,y really beautiful and heart tugging song and the AKA guys do a stunning job! At 2:30 child soloist Gavriel Klatzko comes on and does Ohad’s Birchos Habonim.Iv’e never heard his voice before but it’s really sweet and pleasant. Then the adult soloist comes on with a much deeper voice doing the high part. WOW! Really really nice job! The contrast of child and adult voices on this song compliment eachother perfectly. Everytime I hear this song I can just picture Ohad standing there on stage,with all of his children standing around,and he’s dramatically spreading his hands, emotionally blessing them all. Just a word on the creativity in general on this albumand on this song in particular.The concept of combining Birchos Avicha and Birchos habonim is just brilliant. Not only do they go together perfectly in theme, but musically  they blend together perfectly and like every song throughout the album,is well thought out and very originally blended.

10.YAALILI.Before you read any further,I just want to give you a little disclaimer.No Sefardim, Ashkenazim, Misnagdim or Chassidim were harmed in any way in the writing of this review. And that’s how the song starts. The first thing that really shocked me on this song was the instrument sounds, particularly the guitar work,and some other Middle Eastern sounding instruments.(Sorry.Dont know all the names)  When was the last time you actually heard Electric Guitar work on a pcapella album? It is so real sounding that its actually kind of scary! At 14 seconds in, the song starts and basically what they do is go through different hilarious Ashkenazic Sefardic comparisons,like for example ‘Marlboro Reds,Ashkenazi, smoking hookah, oh Sefaradi.Boring last names(Weiss,Cohen,Katz)Ashkenazi, exciting last names, Oh sefaradi.(Actually that’s only the Syrians.) I don’t really know why.But I find the sefardim like this version more then the Ashkenazim! It ends off with someone sneezing!(I guess they didn’t catch that in the editing process.)

11.ARAVIM.Starts off with Rhiannas “NANANA C’MON! and then goes into Shwekey’s Aravim.At 1:39 theres a cool Yeshiva Boys Choir style autotune and then Bruno Mars comes on! (Don’t know how they got him to agree to be on the album.) Well, ok.It’s actually Shlom Kaufman, but he definitely sounds a bit like Bruno. First he does the Grenade lyrics.”I’d even catch a grenade for ya!” And then the AREIVIM lyrics and it really works, because ,to my mind at least,the definition of true Ahavas Chinam is being willing to catch a grenade for another Jew. Shira Chadashah choir comes on and does the high part and these boys are really good. Simcha Leiner also sings on this one and his vocal range really adds alot to this song. Look out for him in the near future, he’s really good!

12.NO LYRICS “OLD SCHOOL” 90’S ALTERNATE VERSION. Once again they really nail Benny’s No LYRICS on this track. This time they mix it up with a few interesting secular songs which I’m not really familiar with.I just love the Jamacian(?)song at 2:11.Really cool Mash-Up!

13.CUTTING ROOM OUTTAKES.First they start off with NO LYRICS beng overlapped with Written In The Stars and Watch You burn and E.T. All at once, which is really cool! Then comes EDGE OF YITZY, in which Yitzy does the lowpart of ARAIVIM and purposely goes really screechingly high. Hilarious! Then Yitzy advertises for MOZICA beer in a Spanish accent, “Be thirsty,my friends!” Next comes that “Seinfeld thing” with George’s parents – not really sure exactly whats going on there. Then a yeshiva bochur comes on and starts ‘TYNING” and finally we get Goofy himself.

In summary, there really is no excuse not to buy this album.It’s by far one of the most original and well done albums to come out in a long time.  My only complaint is that they don’t come out with another album Purim time. ENJOY!!!

New York – The lyrics of a recently released song by superstar Avraham Fried have become the subject of internet buzz (see original post here) in recent days as word comes that the lyrics in question were actually brought to one of today’s foremost gedolim in order to ascertain their origin.

According to Israeli news source B’Chadrei Chareidim, a Bnei Brak school was planning on basing its end of year production on the words of the song Kach Es Sheli from Avraham Fried’s recently released Keep Climbing album. School officials questioned the source of the lyrics, which state that the third Bais Hamikdash will be built by the tears of Klal Yisroel, and elected to take their question to Reb Chaim Kanievsky, asking him if the lyrics were of midrashic origin.

While R’ Kanievsky responded that the words did not come from any midrash, he suggested that perhaps they were brought out by some other individual.

In an effort to shed light on the matter, VIN News reached out to Fried to find out more about Kach Es Sheli, which was composed by, and features the lyrics of, Yuval Shtupel and was originally recorded by Israeli singer Yisroel Parnes.

In fact, the lyrics are based on the words of the Chasam Sofer as quoted in Sefer Ohel Moshe, according to Fried.

“A friend of mine sent me a quote in the name of the Chasam Sofer, where he writes that every tear we shed helps build the Bais Hamikdosh,” Fried told VIN News.

Ohel Moshe brings down a question in the name of the Chasam Sofer asking if all the tears that have been shed over the Churban Bais Hamikdash over the past 2000 years have been wasted, given that we are still waiting for the coming of Moshiach. The Chasam Sofer replies that although we know that the third Bais Hamikdash will be constructed out of fire and will descend from the heavens, it is our tears that create each and every stone of the celestial Bais Hamikdash, so clearly the tears that have been shed over the last 2000 years have not gone to waste.

Additionally, Fried pointed to another source that brings out the concept of our tears being the literal building blocks of the Bais Hamikdash.

“There is also a quote in the same Sefer from the Shla Hakadosh who writes that the reason that we push Tisha B’Av off to Sunday if it falls out on Shabbos is because it is our tears that build the Mikdosh. Since Tisha B’Av is a time for tears and the melacha of building (boneh) is forbidden on Shabbos, Tisha B’Av cannot be observed on Shabbos because the tears that we shed are the literal building blocks of the Bais Hamikdash,” explained Fried.

Yerachmiel has a new single, special for Shavuot. Produced and performed byYERACHMIEL this song was composed in 1927 by Yedidya Admon. The single is 99 cents, but as part of a special promotion, if you buy Yerachmiels new album “Bidei Shamayim” and then add this single to your cart, the single will be free.

Buy the single here and the all new album Bidei Shamayim here.

Aryeh Kunstler, has released two full length albums, “From the Depths“, and “Our Eyes Are On You“, plus two singles, “Nachamu Unplugged” and “Gam: The Remix“, his 3rd single is now available.

The new single is a cover of the Moshav Band’s “Don’t Give up” which was first released on the “DAYS” album, and then later on its BEST OF CD. (Hear original here)

iTunes: http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/dont-give-up-single/id525842518

Mostly Music:
http://www.mostlymusic.com/don-t-give-up.html

I like to start my reviews off subjecting my readers to a quick word about the artist/musician/singing group so here goes. Aka Pella has set off a musical explosion since they started releasing their material. This is by far the wildest acapella group in the Jewish Music World and their motto holds true. “So Good It Should Be Assur”. Lets get started

1.Kulam Ahuvim Telephone – The album starts with a cover of MBD’s Kulam Ahuvim. Although I am not going to go into detail on the tune that the song is mashed up with, they definitely have their sounds right.

2.The TGIF Medley II – I love the flow of this song, especially the rap towards the beginning. I’m am curious though why they used the same tunes as Six13′s “Good Shabbos” Video. Either way they really made the words fit well.

3.Moves Like Nilli Milli – I think its awesome that the theme for “The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly” starts off this track. Featured on this track is the multi talented Yitzy Spinner singing a cover of MBD’s “Im Ain Ani Li Mi Li” We’re only at the 3rd song and already they have covered 2 MBD songs, I can only assume that C.D. Eichler (the producer) is a fan. I still crack up when I hear Yitzy sing “I’ve got the moves like Modche”.

4.7th Heaven – This song featuring Avi Ganz (I’ve actually gotten the chance to play with him myself and he’s a great musician too) is a cover of “Hashamayim” originally performed by Shloimie Gertner. The song continues with a Cover of “Mimkomcha” Originally on “Ad Bli Dai” performed by Yaakov Shwekey.

5.This song takes the song “Tick Tock” from Shea Rubinstein to the next level. This is a great remix to the original song.

6. Moshiach/Moshiach – This track features a Cover of “Moshiach” off of Benny Friedmans first album as well as “Moshiach” From the Miami Boys choir.

7.No Lyrics – Another of the songs of off Benny Friedmans first album is covered here, the famous “No Lyrics Nigun”. There seem to many many Niggunim that pass through the Jewish Music World but this one has stuck around for quite a while.

8. Pruz Control – For those of you who recognize the intro to this song I think we can all agree that it is awesome!!  This song is a mashup of awesome songs from Michoel Pruzansky featuring the voices of Shloimie Kaufman (who is actually the original performer of Zeh Lazeh) and Simcha Leiner. This mashup consists of Taaseh Mitzvah, Letav Avid, Al Yisroel Shalom, and Zeh Lazeh. We all know that Simcha Leiner sounds good on slow songs (ex:Kol Berama) but this is solid proof that he can really rock a fast song as well.

9.Birchos Avicha / Birchos Habanim – This song features covers of Dovid Gabay’s “Birchos Avicha” and “Birkat Habanim” by Ohad. I like how Aka Pella made sure that the tracks that feature more than one song, incorporated songs that had a connection to one another.

10. Ya’alili – This song seems to be one of the most popular on this album and listeners can’t seem to get enough of it. Aka Pella took the original concept of the song “Ya’alili” and blew it completely out of the water. The group alternates through different stereotypical things normally associated with Ashkenazim and Sephardim (and as you’ll hear… Syrians) and pokes some good natured fun at them. There’s a little something for everyone in this song and it is sure to get you to crack a smile.

11.Aravim – As the name of the song suggests this is a cover of the song “Aravim” made famous by the one and only Yaakov Shwekey. This song features vocals by Shloimie Kaufman and Simcha Leiner as well as special surprise vocalists….. The Shira Chadasha Boys Choir directed by Nachman Seltzer from Eretz Yisrael. If you take a look at the booklet (when you buy this album of course) you will notice that Eretz Yisrael is just one of the many places this album was recorded in. I am a big fan of this approach. There are many musicians/singers/arrangers that can help add something to an album, and I appreciate when artists get input from others instead of doing it all in one place with the exact same people.

12.No lyrics “Old School” 90’s alternate version - If you thought that the “No Lyrics” Nigun was only going to get featured once in this album, you are incorrect. Aka Pella decided to give it another remix . This song features on some of the popular sounds of the 90′s. For those of you who “get” all the references, you might appreciate it more than those that don’t but the ones that don’t will still appreciate this fresh (but old school) take on the song.

13.Cutting Room Floor/ Outtakes – As if the album wasn’t enough, Aka Pella decides to give us a sample of some other tunes that could have potentially made it on this album as well as some hilarious outtakes recorded throughout the making of the album. In this track are 6 “sub-tracks” all of which have something which is so good, it’ll make you wish they had added it to the album. Even though they didn’t, luckily they decided to share this piece with us so we could at least hear a snippet of it.
All in all this CD may not be for the faint of heart (Just kidding) but it definitely is pretty wild (in a really GOOD way!) Regardless of your opinions regarding a cappella music during Sefira, this is definitely an album that belongs in your Jewish Music collection because whether or not you will listen to it during Sefira you will find yourself listening to it throughout the year. I definitely recommend this album and I’m excited for all the future Aka Pella albums although I have no idea how they are going to top this one.

Musician Hudi Greenberger is not only well known as Guitar Man Band, a one man guitar band, but also a much sought after guitar teacher in Lakewood, New Jersey who has taught hundreds of students.

Greenberger, who plays for several well known orchestras as well as his own Shir Chodosh Orchestra, is now making basic acoustic guitar lessons available for free on YouTube, with a series of eight lessons titled “Jewish Guitar Lessons”.

Check out Greenberger at GuitarManBand.com and his great new video series right here on JMR!

8th Day is back!

The follow up to their global smash hit “Chasing Prophecy/Ya’alili” is almost here. The album titled “All You Got”, will feature fresh new tracks with the same 8th Day lyrical and vocal touch that makes this band’s music so unique.

The album has song titles like “Didan” and “Mazel Tov” as well as such titles as “The Money Room” and “Bounce”.
“We are really excited to get this next installment from 8th Day out to the world”, says Aderet’s Sruly Meyer. “Everyone will be amazed at what these guys can come up with time and again.%

We have new music from Avraham Fried, Yaakov Shwekey, Yehuda Green, A.K.A. Pella, we bring you an EXCLUSIVE preview of Shloime Taussig’s exciting follow up to Modim Anachnu, you gotta hear it!

We also not only have a preview but are the first ones to announce breaking Jewish music. OHEL’s THE MUSIC WE LOVE concert is coming to Double CD & DVD! This concert was filmed in state of the art true HD, and will be introducing a revolutionary new concept to concert releases. We can’t tell you what it is yet, but we can play a preview from one of the songs. Hear Benny Friedman and Shloime Gertner sing a timeless MBD/FRIED medley. It’s just a taste but it will leave you dying for more!

We also play new music from Sruly Green, whos single was just released and an EXCLUSIVE full length track from Mendy Werzberger’s upcoming CD.

We update you on other new happenings and releases in Jewish music including new releases like Lipa’s new Leap of Faith, and 8th Day’s “All You Got”, announce some news in the world of female Jewish music and newly released youtube videos (including these from Neshoma Orchestra here and here and YStuds here.)

We also go down memory lane with 8th Day in honor of Lag Baomer, with their “Bar Yochai” track from their debut album.

Be sure to listen for the trivia contest. Send us an email with your answer and win a brand new CD. You can email us at DovandSruly@TheJewishMusicShow.com

iTunes link:
http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-jewish-music-show/id524230919

Direct link:

http://www.designsbysruly.com/TheJewishMusicShow/Shows/TJMS_Episode_2.mp3

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Join us on Facebook for tons of fun stuff.

You can also listen to the show below by clicking play.

If you are a producer or artist looking to send thier new release for our big upcoming post Lag Baomer show, please email us as DovandSruly@TheJewishMusicShow.com

Ari Goldwag does it again! This time in a capella format in time for Sefira and the 3 weeks. However, this isn’t boring like other Sefira albums without music. Ari puts his heart and soul into this album to lift up and inspire all listeners both young and old. He adds beautiful harmonies and human sound effects to complement the singing.

This is mostly a collection of songs from previous albums – his own, Sheves Achim 1 and 2 , and Sheves Chaveirim. However, he also put in a few new ones.

1.  Naya Niggun – Just as the name says, this is a new song or “nigun” because it’s without words. Some people would claim that this mimics the Neshoma Nigun from Carlebach. However, my feeling is that this is deeper and more leibedik and geshmak.

2. Mi She’ana – This is a slow, hartzige song from Sheves Chaveirim. The words are from Slichos and in my family this gets lots of attention around the Yomim Noiroim. Usually , a capella songs lose the intro. to the song, but Ari sings it and in some ways even nicer than the music. Yair Frohlich has a major part in this song and his voice is phenomenal! If he would have been in Miami Boys Choir he would have been up there at the top of the list with Ari Goldwag and Oded Karity or more recently Yossi Schick, Shaul Elson and Binyomin Ravina Hershkowitz. He sings a really high harmony at the last time around from the high part. It also features Ari’s son Moshe Dov. His voice is great especially for a 6 year old.

3. Sha’arei Shomayim P’sach – Another song from Sheves Chaveirim and it’s one of the real fast songs. It reminds me of Loi Lonu from the first Sheves Achim. This proves that a capella can be great even with a fast song. It also features amazing harmonies from Moshe Dov Goldwag.

4. Ki Nicham – A hartzige song sung by Ari himself with beautiful harmonies. The words are appropriate for the style of a sefira/3 week album. His range is just breathtaking in this song.

5. Finally Here – Originally sung by Ari himself and distributed for free on his website. It contains a potent and important message that gets us to introspect inside ourselves if we are truly yearning for Moshiach. Then it also appeared on Sheves Chaveirim. This time Ari himself sings the 3rd time around and you can tell he really means what he sings and his yearning to connect to Hashem. It sounds great even without the music because the voices and harmonies are outstanding!

6. Kah Riboin – One of Ari Goldwag’s all time hits that appeared the first time in Ruach U’neshama Band and later in Ari’s own album Lishuoscho Kivinu and in Shabbos Get Ready with Ari, Yitzy Spinner Oded Karity and Nochum Stark.

7. Ki Ailecha – An upbeat geshmake song from Sheves Chaveirim. The kids go really high and Ari does beautiful harmonies.

8. The Artist – This is the only song from Sheves Achim #2. The only difference is that Ari sings it himself. It’s a beautiful Mashal about how everyone is valuable no matter how small or insignificant he feels. Composed and lyrics by Dovid Klaver.

9. Kel Adon – A geshmake , haimishe nigun performed by Ari.

10. Superman – It’s from Sheves Achim #1 an English song about a kid who dreams about becoming Superman, while he ends up learning in Kolel and is indeed his family’s Superman. In this version, Ari himself joins in the last part of the song.

11. Ogil – from Sheves Achim #1 and originally from Shabbos Get Ready. A nice catchy song that can wake you up if you’re feeling a little groggy.

12. Aleinu – Originally from Ari’s album Lishuoscho Kivinu where he sings with himself as a young boy. This time he sings with his son Moshe Dov. It’s touchy how you see the generations m0ving and “giving over the mesora” from father to son.

13. Hashem Loves You – This comes from Sheves Chaveirim and it just came out in a music video as well available here for free:

http://jewishmusicreport.com/2012/04/26/hashem-loves-you-official-a-cappella-music-video/

Ari put in a special avodo into this song. He told me that he felt it was a great idea to compose a song where one can repeat the words to himself and be mechazek himself in Avoidas Hashem or just improve his well-being. This song fits that concept to a tee. Everyone knows that Hashem loves him, but many lack in internalizing that powerful, eternal truth. So by singing the lyrics to yourself, you can lift yourself up in every situation. The tune itself is very catchy and upbeat and fitting to the words. I carry a printout of the song in my pocket and take it out constantly to review the words and hopefully it will give me an experiential insight and sink in permanently.

I hope Ari is very successful and does very well with this album. The better he does, the better Klal Yisrael does because that means we are getting his message and growing spiritually. Also check out his website at www.arigoldwag.com and you will see that Ari is not just a singer, but rather a great Ben Torah with many fantastic shiurim. His audio shiurim are featured on Torahanytime.com and he has articles on Aish.com.

Three years after the release of his mega hit debut album Modim Anachnu, Shloime Taussig returns with his all-new “Taussig 2”, an album that delivers from the first track to the last, showcasing Taussig’s impressive vocal skills.

Taussig 2 includes twelve songs, with contributions from some of today’s best known composers including Yossi Green, Lipa Schmeltzer, Pinky Weber, Yitzy Waldner, Ruli Ezrachi, Eli Cohen and Motty Ilowitz. A bonus track, featuring all-new arrangements on Taussig’s extremely popular single L’Hashem Haaretz Umloah composed by Yitzchok Fuchs, adds an extra shot of pizzazz to this long awaited album.

Produced by Yossi Tyberg and Gershy Moskovitz of TeeM Productions, the album features a wide array of musical styles and takes a very upbeat direction with a large selection of leibidig songs, including Sasson V’simcha, a fresh new chosson kallah song done in a samba style, Hecher, a pulsating, energetic Hebrew/Yiddish song; and S’iz Git, an uplifting Arabic/Yiddish hora.

Also on board for this exciting project are arrangers Ruvi Banet, Shua Fried, Mona Rosenblum, Ruli Ezrachi, Eli Lishinsky, Yitzy Berry and Eli Cohen. A childrens choir adds to the magic, as does choir work by Motty Ilowitz, Avrumi Berko, Chilu Pozen, the Yedidim and Mezamrim choirs, and several of the arrangers.

Shloime Taussig became a household name with the release of his debut album Modim Anachnu. While hit songs such as Mi Shemamin, Yehi Yehi and Hareini Mizamen made the album a success, it was the title track Modim Anachnu that literally propelled Taussig into the musical stratosphere. Already popular on the wedding scene, with the release of Modim Anachnu, Taussig instantly became a fixture on the broader Jewish music scene, appearing regularly at events and concerts, both locally and abroad. Taussig also appeared in two star studded musical videos, Unity and Copyright, and his vocals have appeared on numerous albums and projects.

The new album is due out Shavuos time and will be distributed by Aderet Music.

By:  Sandy Eller

With the release of chasidic superstar/entertainer Lipa Schmeltzer’s new album just days away, Lipa is giving fans a small taste of what to expect when his new album, titled Leap of Faith, hits the stores in just over a week.

“This is just a short video preview,” Lipa told VIN News.  “But I wanted to give people a chance to hear a little bit of what I am hoping will be an unbelievable album.”

Continuing to blaze new trails in the Jewish music business, Lipa is turning Leap of Faith not only into a collector’s item but also into a giant raffle ticket.  Each copy of the CD will be personally autographed and hand numbered by Lipa.  The numbers on the album will be used for a raffle to be held several weeks after the album release, with two winners being chosen:  one will win a guest appearance by Lipa at an upcoming simcha, while the other will receive one of Lipa’s trademark bekeshes, worn by the singer at several shows.

Lipa’s signature will appear not on the actual disc, which has yet to be printed, but on the accompanying booklet that will be in the CD case.

“I literally spend hours every night signing these albums,” Lipa told VIN News.  “I wanted people to think ‘How did Lipa have time to do this?’  I want people to know that the amount of time it took me to sign these albums seems endless, but it still doesn’t come close to the amount of time it takes for an artist to produce an album.”

Lipa admitted that he has devoted a considerable amount of time every night, not in the recording studio, but in his home signing albums as a way of giving something back to his fans.

“I think my hand is about to fall off,” admitted Lipa.  “But I wanted to show my appreciation to every single person who supports Jewish music and have an even more personal connection with my listeners.”

Lipa’s decision to personally autograph each album is just another innovative idea from  the entertainer who is as well known for his out of the box thinking as he is for his colorful attire and ever changing glasses.

“Lipa always brings something unique to the table,” said Sruly Meyer, director of marketing and design at Aderet Music, distributor of the album.  “People love to have something special from an artist that they can actually hold in their hands.  What could be better than this?”

This amazing pop funky song was composed by Sruly himself

with music arrangements done by Chesky Breuer a new star in the music arrangement field.

the Recording, mix, and master was done by the one and only Ian Freitor at The Playground  Studios.in staten island NY.

This single is something fresh and new to the Jewish music world!

Download it for FREE!  listen and enjoy!

You can also download it from MostlyMusic.com here or at box.net here

No need to adjust your screens, one of most anticipated new albums of the year is coming at you, real soon! Check back here for a lot of exciting breaking news on this CD in the coming days!

Mazel tov to our very own Sarah Marshall, aka Just A Fan, upon her engagement to Shmuel Gayle.

May they be zoche to build their very own bayis neeman b’yisroel, full of music and harmony!

Matisyahu has announced the details of his fourth studio album today—Spark Seeker, produced by Kool Kojak set for release on his own label, Fallen Sparks Records via Thirty Tigers/RED, on July 17th, 2012. He recorded the 13-track album in Los Angeles, New York and Israel. Get the first single, “Sunshine” for FREE or for purchase on iTunes and Amazon.

Based on Reva Lesheva’s “Ahavat Yisrael”, The album is available to purchase for $9.99 from iTunes or Mostly Music . Directed by: Michael Ribalt and Ely Shestackm Cinematography by Mauricio Arenas, Mapunyc@gmail.com. Follow us on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Y-Studs/151020968272756

For best resolution watch in 720p HD or 1080p HD

Join Yisroel Juskowicz who will be performing with  talented singer/songwriter Emanuel Nueman on Lag Baomer night in Kew Garden Hills (Queens).

The new single is a cover of the Moshav Band’s “Don’t Give up” which was first released on the “DAYS” album, and then later on its BEST OF CD. (Hear original here)

Aryeh plans to release the single on May 13th, the Sunday after Lag B’aomer. It will be available for download. Check back here for updates on this new single. We at JMR are of course very excited to hear Aryeh’s interpretation of this classic song.

A few recent Facebook conversations about some older albums have gotten me started on a nostalgic music tour. I started (before sefirah of course) by borrowing the old cassette of Labele Heschel obm’s Mital Hashamayim, where he is the 2^nd person to sing the now famous Elokai Neshama (Dudu Fisher did originally release Moshe Laufer’s gem in 1985 and Labele released his album in 1987). Listening to the cassette (yes I still have cassette players) brought back many old and good memories. I started thinking back to the first cassettes that I personally owned, We Believe by Dov Levine, and Journeys 1. The person who drove our minyan van to school used to listen to Dov Levine’s debut album, Vechulom Mekablim, and therefore I had become a huge Dov Levine fan. I even got his autograph when he came to Chicago for a concert (it is on my We Believe cassette jacket). As a child I was obsessed with choirs, and loved Miami Boys Choir (Shabbos Yerushalayim was my favorite) and Tzlil V’Zemer Boys Choir (Aibeshter was my favorite, but their 1^st 3 albums all got a lot of play time by me). In those days, of course MBD and Avrohom Fried were big, but I loved listening to Michoel Streicher and thought he was on par with them. We had our child prodigy in Zohar, who besides for being one of my favorite Tzlil V’zemer soloists put out a couple of solo albums. I could go on and on, and I could even sit down and actually go through my old cassette collection, but these are the memories that come back to me. I am curious to hear what your nostalgic memories are!

After the tremendous success of the first 3 songs, NACHAS is set to release his 4th, all new, original song. The official release date is June 3rd. The song wil be titled “Hatoiv Vehameytiv. Composed by NACHAS and arranged by Yanky Briskman.

Since this is NACHAS we are talking about there will be an extra interactive portion to this release. You can get a hold of the song when it will be available to certain fans, at the pre release date of May 20th. You will need a special code for this. Make sure to follow NACHAS on his Twitter or Facebook for details how to get that special code.

In addition NACHAS will be releasing two seperate covers for the fans to choose which will become the official cover for this brand new song.

NACHAS will also be running a special $200 giveaway to the fans that will be making a video of themselves singing what they think the song will sound like.

Here’s how to enter!

1. Video yourself singing what you think NACHAS’s new songToiv Vehameytiv will sound like.

2. upload your video to youtube (your name) Toiv Vehameytiv and email the link , or email it to us at Nachasmusic@aol.com with the subject Toiv Vehameytiv Contest

BONUS: post the video to Fb and Twitter with the hash symbol #ToivVehameytiv (one word)and receive a pre release promo code for the song before it is released to the public.

* Winner will receive $200!

* All entries will be featured on nachasmusic.com

* Email nachasmusic@aol.com for questions.

* Toiv Vehameytiv official release date: June 3rd.

THE WORDS TO THE SONG ARE: Gidal Amar Baruch Hatoiv Vehameytiv

The contest ends june 3

Well Fans! It’s FINALLY HERE! By this evening ALL STORES on the East Coast will have the new album A.K.A. Pella V. You want details? What more can we say that hasn’t already been said. They do their own version of the worldwide craze “Ya’alili” highlighting in hilarious and typical “cutting edge” A.K.A.Pella fashion some of the more well known and laugh out loud differences within the cultures of Ashkenaz and Sefard. It has been said that for this song alone it would be worth it to buy the CD… but there so much here to talk about it’s difficult to cram it all in to this tiny little paragraph.

Five of the songs on this non stop, “somebody pinch me, I can’t believe this is acappella!” feature medleys (containing more than 1 song), each one with a unique chap or twist that tie all the song together. For example, for the TGIF Medley II,(all songs dedicated to different parts of Shabbos), A.K.A Pella uses 4 of the hottest songs out there today that will completely transfix you once you hear the first series of “drum” and insanely rhythmic “guitar” beats.

This song sucks you in and is so positively catchy it is addicting and we guarantee you will be listening to the entire song (and especially the aishes chayil portion of the song) again and again and again and again. With each track arguably better than the next you will be hard pressed to choose a favorite. And to add to the craziness, they have done something unprecedented on a Jewish music CD… outtakes! As well some hilarious bonus material that didn’t quite make it onto the album but that they still included for you to enjoy. So run not walk to your nearest Judaica/Music store/Website and grab your copy today! The album is available online on JewishJukebox.com.

Click PLAY below to hear the sampler

We are deep into Sefirah, and everyone is eagerly awaiting the release of the brand new A.K.A. Pella album. The most vocal fans [read as FANATICS] badger everyone who may or may not be connected to the project, “Nu, when will it be available???”.   While the original release date was a couple weeks ago,  like many a CD before it, it’s missed the original release date.

The good news is that when it does come out, we will all be so excited to finally get our hands on it that we will run to get our copy.  And an hour after listening to it people will move on to asking when A.K.A. Pella 6 will be out.

Which brings up an interesting topic of conversation.

It’s a conversation about Jewish Music Hype.

Whenever we hear that a new album in the works, whether a general release date is announced or not, we are already in “IS IT OUT YET???” mode and after a certain amount of time we start getting impatient, which may or may not be the fault of the artist. If the artist announces a date and for whatever reason that date comes and goes with no album release, then in a way, they are asking for it. Isn’t it facinating how our excitement almost turns into anger when an album is not delivered as promised?  I think this is a testament to the Jewish music scene, and if you are an artist, it’s a great reminder how passionate we fans are about our music.

The alternate scenario is where an artist announces he is working on a new project, but does not name a release date and in this case I can’t fault the artist for making us wait. While we are anxiously awaiting the album release, we definitely want the artist to take as much time as he needs to deliver the best possible product. We certainly don’t want them to cut corners and rush it the album out, simply because fans are pressuring for a new album.

Look at Avraham Fried. We waited five years between My Fellow Jew and Bein Kach, and six years till Keep Climbing. I would rather an artist take as long as it takes to do a high quality album then get inferior quality albums delivered more frequently.

Unfortunately, because of all the  hype associate with a new CD, the longer we wait, the higher the expectations are, which creates an almost unfair situation for the artist. On the other hand, if the artist himself is guilty of overly pumping up expectations, then I have no sympathy.

The relationship between the fans and the artist is very important, and I think both sides bear certain responsibilities.

The artist has a responbility to not over hype the CD unless they are completely confident that they can deliver the goods on time since if they don’t, they will undermine their own credibility for future projects. Artists also must realize that their fans may no longer be fans when an artist continuously fails to deliver as promised. We fans take our music very seriously and can be an artist’s best asset, since we are the once who spread the positive word of mouth that every artist so desperately wants.

With that said, I think we fans also have a certain responsibility to keep our expectations in check. If an artist has a track record of over hyping, we should take it with a grain of salt so as to not be disappointed.  And if an artist chooses not to name a release date, let’s not put extra pressure on them to rush the album just because we want it, because that can only hurt the production level.

Sometimes I wonder if we crave the lead up to the release even more than the actual release itself!

What do you think about this? Let’s hear it and get a nice thread going!