Can you tell us about your personal background and that of the band?
I am an independent musician, songwriter and producer based in Israel. I was born in Rehovot, known as the city of science, but my heart was deep in music. In my work, I'm attracted mostly to ancient times, tribal singing, sacred and secular Jewish chants, natural singing, and warm Middle Eastern sound with exotic flavors. I'm fascinated by the Hebrew language which is my mother tongue, but I have a special place in my heart to Ladino, the language of my grandmother and all the Sephardi Jews that were exiled from Spain in 1492. I established Yamma Ensemble in 2010, together with the greatest of musicians. We are all based in Israel. And Judaism is the main theme and guideline of Yamma Ensemble music work. We perform music of various Jewish diaspora - Hasidic, Babylonian, Sephardi, Yemenite alongside our own original music that we create under the influence of Jewish resources.
Was being a singer always your heart's desire? Were you particularly inspired by a song or band when you were younger?
I was passionate about being a singer since I was five years old, and dreamt and imagined being a singer every day of my life. I'm happy that I didn't know it would take so long to fulfill my dream. If I knew how demanding and long the process is, I would probably have quit my dream. Ofra Haza (an Israeli famous singer) was my model to whom I looked up to, as I loved her voice and delicate musical personality. Later on when I was a teenager, I discovered the greatest international vocalists all over the world and was influenced by other colors and styles of music.
How did you assemble this group and what is your main objective in this band? Are you trying to give people a deeper revelation of God? of Israeli culture? Who is your primary target audience for your music?
As mentioned above, I established Yamma Ensemble six years ago with my musician friends. None of us manage a religious Jewish way of life, but of all us are connected in a way to our spiritual sources and traditions. We are fortunate to be living in a place that is rooted back in old times and carries such a tremendous history. I guess it affects us all in the spiritual aspect.
We are trying to work as a team, to create and share our huge love—to pass it on to everyone who might like it and enjoy it. We don’t direct to a specific audience, but music lovers. We try to stay true to the character of Middle East region in which we were born and raised, and we try to present our native landscape with Israeli character, and to perform mostly in Hebrew, our mother tongue.
I discovered on your website, that Yamma Ensemble likes to “explore the territory of free improvisation”. Does this approach to music require any specific schooling or training in Middle Eastern style, or is this something all the members of the band were raised up in and learned on their own?
Both. Yamma work reflects the variety and richness of cultures that exist in Israel; we mix east and west. A few members of Yamma are self-educated, and others are graduates of music schools.
What does Yamma mean?
The word Yamma has a few meanings:
Hebrew - toward the sea
Sanskrit (Hinduism) - “restraint” and "self-control", whether on the bodily or psychic level
Arabic - a fest
Yemenite - mother
And it also has meaning in Spanish (flame), Japanese (mountain) and other languages, but we didn’t choose this name knowing all that :-)
I noticed that there have been different players in Yamma Ensemble over the years. Is the core group Aviv Bahar, Ben Dagovitch, Yonnie Dror, and Avri Borochov, or do you alternate players as needed?
The core musicians are: Aviv Bahar, Yonnie Dror, and Avri Borochov. Unfortunately, sometimes musicians are not available so we have others that replace them.
What is your favorite song that you have ever written? And why?
I don't have a specific favorite song, but I do have a song running on my mind from time to time. And, it actually changes, so each period I have a different song in my head. As for the current period, “the swallows” is the one that runs through my mind. This song is from our new album that will be released in upcoming August.
What was your inspiration for writing "King David"? Do you typically write songs that are straight from scripture?
"King David” is a famous Israeli old song, especially well known to old people. And actually, we didn't plan to record it. We performed the song as a gesture to a very good friend named David Fraher who helped us a lot with spreading our music in America. Avri Borochov, our double bass player, rearranged it beautifully (put it in a special new rhythm of 9/8), and we recorded it as a special gift to David specifically. We even didn’t plan to upload it to YouTube. David did so, and surprisingly, it received so many views. That’s funny.
Name one person that you have encountered over the years that has impacted your life in a major way. Tell us about it.
My vocal coach, Mrs. Rachel Hochman. I feel myself privileged that Mrs. Rachel Hochman, Israel's greatest voice production teacher, accepted me and became my voice coach, as I have been working with her for more than fifteen years now. She is the best teacher, because she teaches not only voice and breathing techniques, but she coaches me on a journey—on my inner Tao. She taught me, among other things, that sincerity is the most important one in an artist’s life, and that I need to understand myself.
I knew from the very beginning that I wanted to sing, but I did not know what. I was at that time raw material. It is a false myth that one can become an instant star. And she helped me with this process. With her guidance, I realized that as a teenager, I was more screaming than singing. She taught me to be controlled, civilized, and how to build up a performance. She has had the greatest influence on my musical personality.
Thanks to her, I have experienced various music styles like pop, musicals, jazz, blues, even classic. She directed me toward this beautiful musical heritage, and also emphasized that the oud is very suitable to my voice. Oud is my favorite instrument, as its sound goes straight to the heart. It is emotional; one feels the desert, the earth—everything. The oud is considered the piano of the Middle-East, because it best reflects the musical traditions of this region.
Your voice stands out as being almost sultry but without the sensuality, clean but alluring. What kind of background do you have as a singer? And how did you get started?
Until 10 years ago, I worked full time as a researcher for TV and media productions. The music had a smaller place in my day, as I had not performed professionally. Since then, I am mainly focusing on music, however I still work from time to time in researching, when an interesting suggestion appears.
I studied at the Tel Aviv University, but I did not take any operatic studies there—though I studied the theory of music. In parallel, I took private classes with Mrs. Rachel Hochman.
I am the only musician in the family. When I was a teenager I wished to become a pop singer. Now it is totally different. I am very happy with the choice I have made, as the music I am singing now is true to my real self.
Is your music mostly a traditional sound or is there some contemporary mixed in?
Yamma music is a mix of traditional music and original contemporary music. Our new album, “basket full of stars”, mostly reflects this tendency about us. I was quite sure our second album would be our original creation, however we couldn’t miss a few great songs from Jewish traditions, because we had so many requests to include those songs in our new album. We have eight songs in total: five are our own contemporary creation and three from Jewish traditions (Jews of Yemen, Sephardi Jews and Hasidic Jews).
I like very much to sing in Hebrew, original and traditional music. And I write poetry in Hebrew.
The ancient biblical text of the Psalms or the Song of Songs inspires me a lot. I have read the Song of Songs more than thousand times, but its metaphorical nature still does not fail to fascinate and inspire me. The reason I choose those biblical texts is the beauty of the language. I am not religious and my music is not targeted to a specific audience, but to all music lovers.
Some of your songs have subtitles (and apparently) others do not. Your song “The Secret”, sounds like it has depth to it, and comes across as being serious. May I ask what you are singing about in this song?
This song I wrote to a composition of Aviv Bahar (our strings player who composes a lot of our music). He actually brought me the composition with the first phrase of text. It’s a text from the poetry of Jalāl ad-Dīn Muhammad Rūmī, the Persian poet. I loved this direction and kept on with the spirit of the two first lines, and wrote my own text with the inspiration of Rumi. This song (which I find difficult to translate) is about the divine spark of living that each one of us carries. Here is the translation of the first phrase:
It is hidden in my heart and my heart is hidden in it
Is hidden in my soul, and my soul is hidden in it
I know from ancient times the greatness and the magic of it
From the beginning of life and even before, the pulse of life is inside of me.
Considering historical Judaism may be seen as a patriarchal religious system, is there any criticism of you being a female lead singer? Or are you wholly received and accepted as such?
My lifestyle is secular, however I am attracted to tradition and Jewish resources. I’ve never performed my music in front of orthodox Jews. I don’t think it’s possible according to the strict restricted rules of Orthodox life.
What is the spiritual climate like in Israel? Is it growing closer to God? And how would you measure this?
Israeli is relatively a young country (only 68 years old). It’s a country of immigrants. There are so many colors and lifestyles, varieties of religions and religious movements. Holy places attract not only religious people, but tourists and secular people, because of their special spirit.
Out of all the places that you have played, do you have a favorite memory of one particular location?
I enjoy all places, and each one of them has its special character. I get connected to a place much more when I have the opportunity to stay in for a week and learn the atmosphere, and the people. I had a wonderful, unforgettable week at Hill City (near Mt. Rushmore), in the Black Hills of South Dakota. I also had a fascinating week in Haapavesi, Finland. Link to photo in Hill City - my FB page
I discovered that you recently performed at the National Philharmonic in Kiev, Ukraine. This was a special concert for the 25th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Ukraine and Israel. Clearly, music is a powerful medium. What do you feel that this concert did to improve relations?
It was indeed a moving experience, full of magic and fascinating moments. At Kiev concert, we were lucky to collaborate with a local orchestra named Ridni Naspivy, which is actually a folk instruments ensemble. So we were able to enjoy new musical instruments that we've never heard and seen before. The cliché that music is a bridge, was completely experienced by both sides. It was a huge pleasure and we deeply wish to repeat this pleasant experience.
I noticed that your band does workshops and interactive concerts. What has been your experience with this?
It’s always a pleasure sharing.
What type of workshops do you offer?
Typical Middle Eastern instruments & rhythms, Jewish music of Diasporas, early Hebrew national style (the birth of Israeli music style), and Jewish Sephardic music.
What are your long term goals, hopes or aspirations with this band?
To have a successful release of our new and upcoming second album “basket full of stars”, as well as to keep on performing, reaching new audiences and new places—to expand our abilities, develop each one of us as a musician and person, as well as together as a group and collaborators. To keep involved in the creation process, record new music, and spread the good vibration that music creates inside of us to others.
You've been at it awhile. Have any advice for those that are just starting out in music?
Believe that everything is possible—and be highly targeted, dedicated and consistent. Never spend a day without doing something (even tiny and little) for your dream. Sometimes we tend to be critical and hard on ourselves. It is essential to let it be free—art must be released and free. The whole path and way must be enjoyable and just as fun as the achievements.
What is your favorite characteristic of God?
For me, the idea of God is philosophical. I don’t think God belongs to the religious only. God is inside of us, and outside of us. God for me, can be a spiritual guiding entity; it can come from inside of me—the guiding, or from the external world. God is music, God is everything. The spirit of creation, of life, of being.
If you could tell an American who reads, believes and desires to follow God's Word one thing from a Hebrew perspective what would it be?
Let’s keep on the “Tikkun Olam”. Tikkun Olam literally means "repair of the world”. It’s an old Hebrew term from old times (Mishnaic period)—medieval times.
We should be responsible not only for our own moral, spiritual, and material welfare, but also for the welfare of society at large.
Website - www.talyaga.com
UCB Contributors: Katy Collins, Jamie Naughton, Bill Shryock, and Cory Enderby
