Music for Middle East Peace

BERKELEY, CA - As conflict continues in the Middle East and a new American president extends an olive branch to the Muslim world, The Qadim Ensemble, a group of Jewish and Arabic musicians, have joined forces to play for peace on a new CD. Produced by celebrated neyzen Eliyahu Sills and Six Degrees' artist Jef Stott, "Eastern Wind" is being released worldwide this month on Embarka Records.

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Eliyahu Sills, the band's leader, comments that "music can be a tool in spreading cultural understanding and healing. 'Qadim' brings together musical traditions from the diverse cultures of the Middle East, highlighting their many similarities, and pointing to their common roots in the ancient history of the region. This experience of shared musical heritage can strike a chord of peace among people who are struggling to find common ground in modern times." Rachel Valfer adds, "its hard to hold a grudge against someone who loves something you love, who sits next to you clapping to the same rhythms and moved at the same shift in the maqam mode. We have entered a tense room and felt hostility melt around this musical experience."

"Eastern Wind" masterfully mixes the sounds of Middle Eastern instruments to create a collection of traditional and original songs that celebrate the shared musical and spiritual heritage of a region now deeply divided by ethnic and religious differences. Featuring folk tunes, improvisations, and songs of love and devotion from the 12th century onward, the eclectic ensemble uses traditional instruments to travel on a musical journey through Arabia, Armenia, Egypt, Israel, Morocco, Turkey and Yemen.

Jef Stott's digital production brings to life ancient acoustic instruments including the ney, oud, saz, bansuri flute, kemanche, tablas, doira, qarqaba, bendir, daf, zarb, riqq, darbuka and dhola, and upright bass. "Eastern Wind" features accomplished multi-instrumentalists and vocalists Bouchaib Abdelhadi, Eliyahu Sills, Evan Fraser, Faisal Zedan, Fares Hedayati, John Villa, and Rachel Valfer, the group's lead vocalist.