Photo: Tal Givony
Vox Tablet

Hey, Mister DJ: Put a (Diaspora-Blending, Genre-Bending) Record On

Booty-shaking new music from A-Wa, Sandaraa, and Schizophonia

April 25, 2016
Photo: Tal Givony


Rob Weisberg, the host of the world music radio program Transpacific Sound Paradise, joins Vox Tablet host Sara Ivry to talk about a trio of new genre-bending projects: A-Wa, Sandaraa, and Schizophonia. A-Wa are Israeli sisters of Yemeni ancestry who invoke the music of legendary singer Ofra Haza. (The band’s infectious pop songs have made a splash with viral videos like this one.) Sandaraa joins Pashtun songs from Pakistani singer Zeb Bangash with the Eastern European klezmer clarinet of Michael Winograd. And Schizophonia, a project of guitarist Yoshie Fruchter, reconceives cantorial songs by setting them in a rock ’n’ roll context.

Weisberg shares a bit of background about each project, and we listen in for ourselves to these energetic and riveting sounds.

Vox Tablet is Tablet Magazine’s weekly podcast, hosted by Sara Ivry and produced by Julie Subrin. You can listen to individual episodes here or subscribe on iTunes.

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