Yemenite Songs (1984)
8 tracks, 39 minutes
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Ofra Haza was one of the first world music stars – even before world music existed. In fact, this album was indirectly one of the reasons for the creation of world music as a specific marketing term and strategy. When it was released internationally by the Globe Style record label in 1985, it was a massive success, but so were King Sunny Ade and Les Mysteres de Voix Bulgares, and record shops were having a hard time working out where to put the albums…so, after a fashion, world music became a thing. But I digress. If you want to learn more about that all stuff, it’s brilliantly chronicled on the fRoots website by the editor Ian Anderson.
As for Yemenite Songs, it is, when it all boils down, Israeli pop. And really 80s pop at that: bad synths and gated reverb abound. It wouldn’t be on this blog if that were all it was though. As the title suggests, Haza uses the album to explore her heritage as a Yemenite Jew living in a modern Israel, and the music reflects all of these identities. She sings in Hebrew, Arabic and Aramaic and her vocal style changes to reflect the different cultures. The instrumentation is rather orchestral without sounding it: the string, woodwind and brass sections, in conjunction with the synths and the dance beats, end up sounding quite disco-esque. Sometimes the woodwinds take a step forward and make things extra funky, and it all gets quite Bellowheadish on the medley ‘Tzur Mentati/Se'i Yona/Sapri Tama.’ The dhol-soundalike tin drum adds another flavour with its driving beats.
Basically, what I’m saying is that this is pop music inspired by Yemenite heritage and the Arabic culture that goes along with it while also retaining a Hebrew identity and mixing in classical poetry while striving towards all the modern trappings of the 1980s. Now I can see why those record shop owners had a hard time finding the right box to put this in…
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