It was 2018 when SHIRAN released her breakout and self-titled debut album in which she saluted her cherished family home of Yemen, singing songs in both Arabic and Hebrew, from her base in Tel Aviv. With her new album Glsah Sanaanea with Shiran (19th June on Batov Records), her longing for Yemen continues to pulse. SHIRAN breathes new life into Yemeni traditional songs in a stripped back and acoustic set with a backdrop of string, wind and percussion instruments like the oud, kawala and kanun.
Glsah Sanaanea with Shiran is a mesmerising and immersive listening experience, after first hearing the album my initial response was to sit and press play again – each listen rewards you with subtle new layers to experience. There is something in this music that crosses musical boundary and genre, a primal feel, an air of familiarity and connection. I’m not sure why that is, but when we were offered a premiere of the album track Maskin Ya Nas – مسكين ياناس, we weren’t slow in jumping at the opportunity. It’s also our Song of the Day.
SHIRAN: The song is about unrequited love. Throughout the song, the poet describes the painful feelings of a poor man who discovered that his beloved got married and would no longer come back to him because her heart belonged to someone else. He compares it to heart disease.
He begs people not to bury him in the ground because his grave is in the heart of his beloved. But he still has the expectation that his beloved will return to him and every day of the year he waits for a sign from her.
https://soundcloud.com/batovrecords/maskin-ya-nas/s-qDSYL
SHIRAN’s musical landscape has developed and been inspired by the many stories and experiences of her much loved Grandmother who left Yemen in 1949 for Israel as part of her ‘Aliyah’ in search of the Jewish homeland. The cast of musical collaborators comes from across Israel and the Arabic world, apt as SHIRAN has Yemeni and Iraqi heritage.
Where her first album lent on various western pop tropes using electronics and synths whilst showcasing her feminist voice, her latest tows a much more modest line in respect of the original songs and compositions, dating back hundreds of years. Wedding songs, folk songs and tunes with nationalistic fervour vibrate, full of hearty emotion with SHIRAN mimicking her forefathers, singing to the people of Yemen and to God.
Her new songs reveal a sense of longing and curiosity and also highlight a powerful women’s voice in the contemporary Arabic world. It features eight tracks and includes a guest appearance by fellow Yemeni musician and singer based in Tel Aviv, Eyal El Wahab best known as El Khat.
Glsah Sanaanea with Shiran
Release Date: 19th June
Format: LP, CD & Digital
Label: Batov Records
Musician Credits:
Musical Producer & Mix – Ron Bakal
Recorded at “Bakal studio” 2020
Mastering – Aran Lavi
Oud – Shauli Itzhak Kanun – Amir Alaev
Kawala – Amir Shahsar
Percussion – Ben Aylon, Roei Fridman
Violin – Elad Levi
Cello & Vocals – Eyal El Wahab
Vocals – Shimon Nataf, Nati Faiz, Ron Bakal, Shauli Itzhak, Shiran Avraham