A Blog by the Editor of The Middle East Journal

Putting Middle Eastern Events in Cultural and Historical Context

Thursday, September 29, 2011

Talk About Fusion Music: The "Jamaican/Algerian" Reggae/Raï Israeli Arab (Druze) Band from the Golan Heights

Now for you young'uns out there, I have to emphasize that I'm still getting over Elvis' death back in
'77, and while I did play the Beatles' "When I'm 64" a  lot a week ago when I turned a certain age, I'm hardly a pop music critic for the present millennium.

To me music ranges from early rock through classic country, jazz, Delta blues and R&B, with a bit of pop in there too. So I'm not exactly up to speed on  current trends in Rap, Hip Hop, or Go-Go, though I'm not humming "When You and I Were Young, Maggie," or "A Bicycle Built for Two," either.

Today being Rosh Hashona and these being the High Holy Days and all, along with the Palestinian UN application,  I'm reading the Israeli press more than in some periods. In the process I ran across this.

A blend of Jamaican reggae and Algerian Raï? Okay. Israeli Arabs? Okay. Well, Druze actually. From Majeal Shams in the Golan Heights. Facebook Page here.


And samples from YouTube:



No comments: