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Rooftop Roots
Our latest compilation, Rooftop Roots IV, released at the end of 2008, boasts a wide array of our new favorite tracks. The disc contains standouts from JDub favorites Golem, Balkan Beat Box, Soulico and Socalled as well as relative newcomers The Wailing Wall, DeLeon, The Sway Machinery and more. omega replica watches
Tomer Yosef – “Underground” from Laughing Undergorund (JDub Records)
Multilingual rabble-rousing form the MC of Balkan Beat Box.
DeLeon – “La Serena” from DeLeon (JDub Records)
DeLeon's unique style infuses the deeply mysterious and entrancing cadences of Sephardic Jewish folk music from 15th Century Spain to 20th Century Israel with modern indie rock.
Golem – “Tucheses and Nenes” from Citizen Boris (JDub Records)
omega seamaster replicaCitizen Boris takes the band a step further into the present with original songs in English, punctuated by the edgy re-creation of traditional folk music that Golem has come to be known for.
The Sway Machinery – “Tell It All To Me” from Hidden Melodies Revealed (JDub Records)
Haunting notes of Cantorial-influenced vocals over the energetic, celebratory rhythms of afro-pop, hard-hitting drums and the blues.
Soulico – “SOS” feat. Pigeon John and Ceci Bastida from the forthcoming Soulico album (JDub Records)
Soulico mix old school Israeli music with new school hip-hop, creating an earth shattering performance that cartier replica watches blows all musical boundaries away.
Balkan Beat Box – “Ramallah Tel Aviv” feat. Tomer Yosef and Saz from the forthcoming Nu Made (JDub Records)
A combustible mix of big, bright horns and high-energy electronic beats.
The Wailing Wall – “Hospital Blossom” from the forthcoming Hospital Blossoms EP
myspace.com/jesserifkin
DeLeon – “Almond Trees” from DeLeon (JDub Records)
The Sway Machinery – “Birkas Kohanime” from Hidden Melodies Revealed (JDub Records)
SoCalled – “{Rock the} Belz” feat. Theodore Bikel and Teah from Ghettoblaster (JDub Records)
Weaving together old klezmer records and layering modern hip hop on top; SoCalled is truly a master of his craft.
Tomer Yosef – “What's Wrong” from Laughing Undergorund (JDub Records)
Sagol 59 – “Jerusalem” feat. Shaanan Street and Rebel Sun from Make Room (JDub Records)
The Godfather of Israeli hip-hop, with his debut U.S. release.
Golem – “Mirror, Mirror” from Citizen Boris (JDub Records)
Balkan Beat Box – “BBBeat” from Nu Med (JDub Records)
Previous Rooftop Roots Compilations:
Rooftop Roots III, released at the end of summer 2007, boasts a wide array of our favorite tracks. The disc contains standouts from JDub favorites Golem, Balkan Beat Box, Soulico and Socalled as well as relative newcomers The Wailing Wall, DeLeon, Benlavain and more.
Balkan Beat Box – “Digital Monkey” from Nu Med (JDub Records)
Hyperactive superstars Balkan Beat Box hit hard with this track from their latest release.
Soulico – “Lo Tzipiti” feat. MC Karolina (JDub Records)
Recent acquisition Soulico mix old school Israeli music with new school hip-hop, creating an earth shattering performance that blows all musical boundaries away.
SoCalled – “Ich Bin A Border By Mayn Vayb” feat. Irving Fields, from Ghettoblaster (JDub Records)
Weaving together old klezmer records and layering modern hip hop on top; SoCalled is truly a master of his craft.
Golem – “Warsaw is Khelm” feat. Amanda Palmer, from Fresh Off Boat (JDub Records)
Benlavain – “The Same” from Come on People (That 70’s Boy Records)
Myspace.com/benlavain
Balkan Beat Box – “Habibi Min Zaman” from Nu Med (JDub Records)
The Wailing Wall – “For My Baby Brother”
Myspace.com/jesserifkin
Alicia Jo Rabins – “Bat Yiftach”
Golem’s violin player steps out on her own with this track. Myspace.com/brooklynfiddler
Deleon – “Be Still Angelino”
The LeeVee’s Daniel steps out from behind the keys to front this up and coming ladino rock group. Myspace.com/ilovedeleon
Sagol 59 – “Lech Kadima” feat. Roy
Myspace.com/sagol59
Golem – “Stick It!” from Fresh Off Boat (JDub Records)
Soulico – “Pitom Banu” feat. Axum, (JDub Records)
SoCalled – “(These are the) Good Old Days” feat. Fred Wesley, Subtitle & David Krakauer, from Ghettoblaster (JDub Records)
Released in the spring of 2006, Rooftop Roots II features JDub artists Golem, SoCalled, and Balkan Beat Box, as well as international and up and coming artists whose Jewish identity informs their unique, diverse sounds.
Socalled - "You Are Never Alone" ft. C-Rayz Walz, Katie Moore, and Doris Glaspie from Ghettoblaster (JDub Records/Label-Bleu)
Welcome to the eclectic world of master mixer, crate-digger, musical continent-spanner Socalled, AKA Josh Dolgin. Looking beyond the usual pantheon of samples for hip-hop artists, So Called explores the shtetls of Eastern Europe and the Yiddish vaudeville stages of 2nd Avenue for inspiration. Lookout for SoCalled’s follow up LP, Ghettoblaster to be released early summer on JDub Records.
Golem - "Ushti Baba" from Fresh Off Boat (JDub Records)
Unrequited love stories? Check. Drunken dances? Check. Warnings to future sons-in-law? Check. Dysfunctional families forcing kids to sell bagels on the street? Fresh Off Boat has em all. And they may be in Yiddish (or Russian or French), but when Golem wails that the rent is too high, everybody understands. Golem’s first JDub release, Fresh Off Boat drops on August 22nd, 2006.
Balkan Beat Box - "Shushan" from Balkan Beat Box (JDub Records/Essay Recordings)
Led by Ori Kaplan, (ex-Gogol Bordello) and Tamir Muskat (producer of J.U.F.’s “Gogol Bordello vs. Tamir Muskat”), Balkan Beat Box blends electronic music with hard-edged folk music from North Africa, the Middle East, the Balkans and Eastern Europe.
Myself - "God is So Funky" from Protest in Disguise (The Couture Label)
Myself’s musical style combines hip hop & soul, sprinkled with hints of jazz and bits of Rock’n Roll. His political and spiritual consciousness put him a step ahead of the competition.
The LeeVees - "How Do You Spell Chanukkah" from Hanukkah Rocks (JDub Records/Reprise records)
The LeeVees are the brainchild of Guster's Adam Gardner and the Zambonis' Dave Schneider and formed around a shared concern of the lack of solid Hanukkah tunes. The LeeVees are stepping up to the plate to give us all what we've been waiting for: an instant indie-pop Hanukkah classic. This track explores the ancient question pondered by all Jews – How DO you spell Chanukah?
Groyse Metzie - "Hey" from Groyse Metzie
Groyse Metzie' combine the power, groove and flexibility of today's international musical scene with styles ranging from break-beat to dub and funk to jazz. They are an insanely talented Israeli Folk band boasting fiddle infused grooves to keep dance floors shaking from here to Haifa.
Socalled - "Let’s Get Wet" from Ghettoblaster (JDub Records)
Benjamin Hesse - "Uproot the Weeds" from Uproot the Weeds
JDub co-founder Benjamin Hesse’s second solo project, Uproot the Weeds, contains new folk ballads creating more of an emotional feel than his Noble Station EP. Still drawing the comparison of Neil Young vs. DJ Shadow.
Nadav Samin & Co. - "The Long Night"
In 1995, Bobbito Garcia's Fondle 'Em Records pressed 6,000 copies of the Siah and Yeshua dapoED EP. They sold out in three weeks and were never reprinted. The EP's scarcity helped increase Nadav's profile as an underground phenom. Rapping in English, Hebrew, and Arabic, playing piano and percussion, Nadav sees his music as a product of his diverse heritage.
Golem - "School of Dance" from Fresh Off Boat (JDub Records)
Ari Ingber of The Upwelling - "A Song About my Grandfather"
This beautifully written track features the guitars and vocals of Ari Ingber, 1/3 of the Brooklyn based indie rock trio The Upwelling. They traffic in the sort of spacey, watery rock that floats, builds, and overflows the way the best psychedelia does.
Balkan Beat Box - "La Bush Resistance" from Balkan Beat Box (JDub Records/Essay Recordings)
The LeeVees - "Latke Clan" from Hannukah Rocks (JDub Records/Reprise Records)
Compiled by Elliot Fox Mastered at micro-moose Artwork by Mike King
Rooftop Roots Vol I was released in the summer of 2005, Rooftop Roots features JDub artists So Called and Balkan Beat Box and former JDub artist Matisyahu, as well as international and up and coming artists whose Jewish identity informs their unique, diverse sounds. This limited edition CD is no longer available.
1. Cha Cha - Balkan Beat Box
From Balkan Beat Box (JDub Records/Essay Recordings)
Blending electronic music with hard-edged folk music from the Balkans, North Africa, and the Middle East, Balkan Beat Box is out to prove that all the world is, indeed, a stage -- and that we are all gypsies.
2. Good Feelings - Nadav Samin aka Siah
In 1995, Bobbito Garcia's Fondle 'Em Records pressed 6,000 copies of the Siah and Yeshua dapoED EP. They sold out in three weeks and were never reprinted. The EP's scarcity helped increase Nadav's profile as an underground phenom. Rapping in English, Hebrew, and Arabic, playing piano and percussion, Nadav sees his music as a product of his diverse heritage.
3. Who Knows One? - So Called
From The So Called Seder: A Hip Hop Haggadah (JDub Records)
Armed with his Akai M PC, heritage and love for genre-bending music, So Called is an accordion wielding, Klezmer-hip hop maestro. He has appeared on a dozen recordings as pianist, singer, arranger, rapper, writer and producer. He rocks the accordion in David Krakauer’s Klezmer Madness and performs and records widely with a crew of freaks and geniuses from around the world, including Killah Priest, Susan Hoffman-Watts, Frank London, and Irving Fields.
4. Odessa - Golem
From Homesick Songs (Aeronaut Records)
Klezmer/Punk band Golem transforms the music of its Jewish grandparents, making it modern, edgy, sexy and brash.
5. King Without a Crown - Matisyahu
From Live At Stubb’s (JDub Records/Or Music)
If you already know the man, there’s no explanation needed. And if you don’t, be prepared for the most original reggae tracks you’ve ever heard laying down the foundation for music with a message. Consider yourself enlightened.
6. Brothers - Oi Va Voi
From Laughter Through Tears (Outcaste)
If Massive Attack was a klezmer band, you'd have Oi Va Voi, a London sextet that pulls together Uzbek, Yiddish and English singers into a mesmerizing, innovative debut of chill-out music with substance
7. Protocols - Rav Shmuel
From Some People Think That I am Damned
Rav Shmuel is a rabbi who drinks beer and plays original compositions on his guitar. He has a beard and sidelocks and he loves The Dead.
8. Baker’s Waltz - Alicia Jo Rabins
From Sugar Shack
While she is an extraordinary fiddle player and composer, Alicia's talent extends beyond solo recording artist. Her diverse musical career ranges from classical study to street busking, from membership in punk-rock and bluegrass bands to her current status as a member in Golem.
9. Glory - BEN
From Noble Station
JDub co-founder BEN's limited edition, hand-made EP contains original folk songs set to beats and ambient sounds that have been described as Neil Young meets DJ Shadow. Look for his follow-up album this fall.
10. Book of Ruth - Adam Weinberg
Eight years ago, Adam started the illtet, an instrumental rock quartet. Fours years later, he started a jazz/rock trio fake watches called Shed, and most recently joined a power duo called Debaser. All of these groups rock hard, even when they're playing softly.
11. 2nd Cup: Bless The Wine - SoCalled
From The So Called Seder: A Hip Hop Haggadah (JDub Records)
12. Adir Adirim - Balkan Beat Box featuring Victoria Hanna
From Balkan Beat Box (JDub Records/Essay Recordings)
13. Im Ninalu - Sheva
From Garden (Gan) Distributed by NMC Music
Sheva has a multicultural sound and an unbelievably energetic drive. They’re known for using traditional Middle Eastern instruments and incorporating motives from the roots of Hebrew, Arabic, and tribal cultures.
14. Close My Eyes - Matisyahu
From Live At Stubb’s (JDub Records/Or Music)
Photos
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Rooftop Roots Volume IV
A JDub Mixtape (v/a)
2008
Out Of Stock
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Rooftop Roots Volume III
A JDub Mixtape - (v/a)
2007
Out Of Stock
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Rooftop Roots - Vol II
A JDub Mixtape - (v/a)
2006
Out Of Stock
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Rooftop Roots
A JDub Mixtape - (v/a)
2005
Out Of Stock
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