Kayah and Transoriental Orchestra: Jewish songs in a multicultural world-music sound

Transoriental Orchestra is an extraordinary project. It all began with Kayah's great love of world music. She had long planned to record an album in this style. An invitation to perform at Warszawa Singera festival provided the impetus to begin work on the material. The remarkable Transoriental Orchestra project was created especially for that one concert.

Kayah invited film composer and music producer Atanas Valkov to collaborate. Together, they selected outstanding instrumentalists and soloists of Polish, Ukrainian and Iranian origin, further broadening the musical dialogue and giving the project a truly multicultural character. The ensemble’s instrumentation includes unusual instruments such as hammered dulcimers, santur, oud, saz, lutes, flutes, pipes and many others. T.O.’s repertoire poses an enormous challenge. The album features Jewish songs from different parts of Europe and the Middle East. Naturally, this geographical diversity is reflected in the music, which carries Balkan, Persian, Slavic, African and, of course, Jewish sounds. It also involves several languages for Kayah to master: she sings in Hebrew, Yiddish, Ladino and Arabic.

Kayah says of the Transoriental Orchestra project:

A year ago, I was delighted by an invitation to perform at the Warszawa Singera festival. It marked the beginning of what proved a wonderful adventure, one that continues through the album “Transoriental Orchestra”. This record is my return to ethnic music and world music, genres in which I have always felt completely at home and achieved success through collaborations with Goran Bregovic, Cesaria Evora and Vera Bila. This time, rather than venturing into Balkan, African or Romani territory, I draw on the wonderful heritage of Jewish people around the world. Through my selection of songs, I wanted to show their journeys and the influence other cultures have had on their work.

The album features Sephardic Jewish songs and those of our local Ashkenazi community. Hence its many languages: I sing Ladino, Arabic, Macedonian, Hebrew, Yiddish and Polish. Fate has again surrounded me with fantastic musicians, enthusiasts of exotic instruments from different corners of the world. Our international orchestra includes people from Persia, Ukraine and Bulgaria. Renowned film-music producer Atanas Valkov oversees everything.

Our Warszawa Singera concert received a fantastic response, leaving us with wonderful memories and inspiration. The resulting album fulfils my dreams, and I cannot wait for the concerts promoting it! The idea of a musical cross-section of Jewish journeys proved highly innovative, bringing many nations and ethnic groups together. I recommend it to everyone who loved me for Bregovic and everyone who enjoys travelling, at least musically. Through our sounds, they can travel without leaving their armchairs or taking off their slippers.

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