Turkish music is interwoven and not from today, in Israeli music, sung and played by creators and senior musicians such as Miki Gavrilov, Shlomi Shabat, Ofer Levy, Zohar Argov and others, and not only. It also fosters fruitful collaborations between Turkish and Israeli musicians.
Music, it is evident, does not recognize borders, governments, security alerts or political interests. She is alive and kicking in the studios and concert halls of Izmir, Istanbul and Ankara as well as in Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, or Sderot. Therefore, it was only natural and required that the Israel Festival, which will open at the end of the week, dedicate an entire night to the Turkish-Israeli musical partnership.
This is the show “Night Train to Izmir” with the participation of prominent Israeli artists and young and special Turkish artists, which will mark the events of the Israel Festival 2022, and will be held on September 22 at the Independence Garden in Jerusalem, under the artistic direction of the musician Shlomi Alon, a member of the “Snake Fish” band and one of its founders.
“In addition to being a large country with a glorious past, Turkey is a country with an influential musical wealth that speaks Persian and Arabic. The show represents the cultural and artistic bridge between Turkey and Israel that has been growing stronger in recent years,” says Shlomi Alon.
In the list of Israeli and Turkish musical artists who will take part in the Zoharim show, names such as Berry Sakharof, Dodo Tessa, Balkan Beat Box, Red Access, Kalban (Turkey), Genest (Turkey), Murat Ertel (Turkey), Harel Shachel and the Ottomans and more, Shingenu And they will perform each other’s hits (the Turks of the Israelis and vice versa) in a trilingual show: Turkish Hebrew and English.
According to Shlomi Alon, the seed that grew the initial seed for the show was the performance of the Turkish singer Kalben, who fell in love with Dodo Tesa’s song “The Exile”, and in the midst of the Corona epidemic, she landed in Israel and recorded with Dodo Tesa a Turkish version of the song that was released as a single and last year even starred in the playlist in Turkey . The Israeli electronic music group and indie Red Access, which is committed to the electronic side, on the evening of the show, its members will host Murat Ertel, the vocalist of “Baba Zola”, the old Turkish band founded in 1996 and operating at the seam between the worlds of groove and psychedelic music, which combines in its music the playing of traditional oriental instruments and electronic music. Murat Art plays an electric saz, a Turkish instrument that produces the special Turkish sound.
The “Balkan Beat Box” will host the Turkish-British rapper Genset, which according to Alon is expected to be one of the highlights of the show. And the group “Harel Shachel and the Ottomans” will also appear, headed by Shachel, who plays the Turkish clarinet, and more.
The large stage at the Independence Garden in Jerusalem will be shared by 11 musicians and seven performing artists in a show that appeals to all ages, knowing that Brei Sakharof, who has Turkish roots, and Dodo Tessa are beloved artists regardless of age, but there is no doubt, as Shlomi Alon, that he also beckons to a young audience to encourage him to come to the festival .
Balkan Beat Box (Photo: Tomer Newberg, Flash 90)Shlomi Alon, 47, musician, rapper, saxophonist, and already half a year old from Hadag Nahsh, the Jerusalem band that these days is in the studios preparing its tenth album. Also a member of the “Funkenstein” band.
In addition, he is recording his own partly instrumental album, “Shlomi Alon”, which he worked on during the Corona virus. Over the years he also plays with leading artists including Shalom Hanoch, Meshina and others. According to him, he has no Turkish roots except for the musical composition, which contributes to his position as the musical director of the show.
Did the thawing of relations between Israel and Turkey help to lift the show?
“Even though I’m a member of a political social band (‘Snake Fish’) in recent years, I’m not interested in politics. It’s the music that keeps me sane, and every time I visit Turkey I’m warmly welcomed and feel at home there.”