Ramzailech – there is no other band like them, merging Yiddish – a language of tradition and memory, a language resurrected on the verge of extinction – with Middle Eastern arabesques, fierce electric guitar, song of the clarinet, crash of drums, powerful bass, and crazy keytar, banging out intricate riffs and dancing into the soul with exquisite distortion. Reaching into the past to create the most contemporary hardcore rock, merging Eastern Europe with the Middle East, Ramzailech make music that never forgets that the heart is a muscle.
Ramzailech (the band’s name is Klezmer spelled backwards) returned to perform at The Zone in Tel Aviv on May 2, 2023, after a five-year break, and I am one of the deliriously happy crowd that came to listen, shout, clap, and dance. Onstage was a terrific super-group: Gal Klein (vocals, clarinet), Amit Peled (guitar, vocals), Hod Moshonov (keytar), Michael Guy (bass), Roy Chen (drums). The band’s connection with the audience is amazing, the fans are very hardcore, and everyone was on their feet from the start, singing, jumping, and reveling in the music and mayhem. It was a concert, a celebration, a community created in the moment. The dry humor and neshama of Yiddish are somehow in perfect sync with the driving electric rhythms of rock; the night was vibrant, wild, silly, incandescent, and sweaty, and I wish it never had to end. Ramzailech – when is your next concert?
Photographer Muperphoto was there to capture the exhilaration of the concert – from the backstage camaraderie, to the surging music, the intense moments and the dancing crowd. Enjoy!
Backstage Before the Show
