In Israel, a country where even the most mundane actions have some type of political ramification, Idan Raichel claims that his music has no underlying meaning-that it is just music. In an interview with The Daily Cardinal, the hugely popular Israeli singer said, \There is no political statement in my music, only society's statement of how I see the society of Israel, the multicultural Israel of 2005.""
Raichel released his first solo album The Idan Raichel Project in December 2002. Immediately, his debut shot straight to number one on Israel's Billboard charts. In early January 2003, Raichel went on to win various Israeli music awards including artist of the year, album of the year and song of the year for ""If You Go.""
Raichel's music incorporates Caribbean, Ethiopian, Moroccan, Yemenite and other ethnic sounds to create a contemporary type of Israeli pop music. To the unexposed American ear, it seems more appropriately described as eclectic world music. For Raichel, the way audiences categorize his music is unimportant. He said, ""You can call it whatever, I call it the contemporary [music of] Israel.""
The various ethnic influences on Raichel's music make it hard to categorize into a certain genre but allow his sound to appeal to a broader fan base beyond the Israeli and Jewish communities.
Recently, after a show in New York, he was talking to a woman backstage who turned out to be from Iran. For Raichel, finding out that an Iranian woman saw him perform was very thrilling. He said, ""For me, it was the first lady from Iran that had ever seen my show."" Raichel had a similar experience after a recent concert in San Francisco, when he met a woman originally from Afghanistan who had attended the show.
By scheduling tour dates at college towns in the United States, Raichel is hoping to increase his fan base of American students. Raichel said, ""The most important is the students."" So far, the response has been positive, despite the fact Raichel acknowledges that most students who come to his shows don't understand the Hebrew lyrics in the songs.
The success of his sold-out show in Boston last Sunday illustrates that the audience doesn't need to understand Hebrew to enjoy the music. For the ""fresh ears"" of American college students, Raichel feels that not understanding the lyrics does not deter them from enjoying his music, particularly at his concerts. He said, ""It's about the vibe, about the atmosphere.""
Overall, Raichel attributes the positive reaction from audiences in the United States to people's openness. He said, ""I think people here in the U.S. are very open minded.""
While Raichel's music-originating from a country bombarded with political turmoil-may lack a true political statement, Raichel feels that the true meaning behind his music is that it represents the music of urban Israel. Raichel said, ""When you walk in the streets in Israel, the people of the streets are the big influence, the streets, the communities that kept their own cultures.\
