Body-slamming Klezmer: feet dancing to Mediterranean rhythms, electric undulations, and the neshama of the mama loshen. Yiddish in the moment. Not in a museum, not a monument to the past. Ramzailech (the band’s name is Klezmer spelled backwards) is beyond words; their music sets my neurons ablaze, firing off electrical impulses and peripatetic associations. It’s an intensity that flares into movement; it’s wild, it’s transcendent. It’s in tune with the universe, harmonizing with history, dancing the moment.
Ramzailech at Levontin 7, performing in Israel for one night before heading out once more to take their music out to the world. March 14, 2018 – Pi Day, the day Stephen Hawking died. Ramzailech are Gal Klein (clarinet) and Amit Peled (electric guitar). Hometown – Kfar Saba. Musical home – the world. Hardcore Klezmer, punk, rock, hip hop, jazz, groove and Middle Eastern. Onstage with them at Levontin: Hod Moshonov – keytar, Michael Guy – bass, Roy Chen – drums.
The band comes onstage and the voice of Stephen Hawking is heard, talking about God: ” I don’t think it is very useful to speculate on what God might or might not be able to do rather we should examine what he actually does with the universe we live in.” Other voices sound, amid the cacophony of words I hear: “Yesh Elokim o lo? (Hebrew: Does G-d exist?) Then the words are silent, and the music begins. The clarinet takes me back to the flowing rivers, the green woods, and snowy winters I have never seen. A distant ancestral memory that opens into a Middle Eastern rhythm, and head-banging delirium.
It’s a hallucinogenic Bar Mitzvah – candies and glowsticks flying through the air. This is a band that knows how to have fun, and every concert is a party. The best party ever. It’s that Klezmer thing they do. These are the nights I wish would never end, I could listen to Ramzailech forever.
Until next time – Muperphoto brings the magnificent madness to life with his photographs. Enjoy!
