The mainstream music heard in the streets of the haredi community, in the yeshivas and on the radio stations, can be called “Hasidic pop,” and often the songs have a lot in common, including a lack of broad appeal beyond the immediate community. Cut from similar molds and mass produced by major recording labels for this target audience, haredi music sometimes fails to appeal to passionate music lovers as an art form, and frum music aficionados often feel there is no truly artistic music for them. Enter the Weinreb brothers: Yoel, CS, Mendy and Reuvain. They realized while growing up in Monsey that music as art was their true calling, and they were destined to play it in a unique style.
Influenced by Carlbachian musicians like Soulfarm and the Moshav Band, by Yossi and Avi Piamenta and pioneering a cappella bands like Beat’achon and others, a teenaged Yoel found himself drawn to acoustic and electric guitar, and persuaded his brother, CS, to accompany him on keyboard. CS was then inspired to study piano and bass and cultivated a musical partnership with Yoel. Their two youngest brothers grew up with the music of their talented brothers and “knew music was in their blood, too” said Yoel, who is also a rebbe in a local yeshiva.
“Mendy sings lead vocals and plays ukulele, and is now a great composer, and Reuvain is super-talented–it seems he can pick up any instrument and master it! As a 5-year-old he would rock out with us on a Djembe (African percussion). Now he plays the flute, sax, bongos, harmonica and clarinet…basically anything he can get his hands on!”
The Weinreb Brothers have just released their debut album, an eclectic mix of original compositions and totally re-envisioned covers of old classics, covering a wide range of genres. “We try to use only real and natural acoustic instruments and percussion, with minimal effects and digital sounds,” said Yoel. “So the overall effect is an organic and live ‘unplugged’ sound.”
The music, entirely self-guided, written and arranged by the artists, can be considered indie haredi music–a singular approach that yields haredi music with broader musical appeal.
They honed their unique sound in their basement studio, then recorded a few songs professionally with C. Lanzbom of Soulfarm and David Ross of Shir Soul. “Because we are brothers and have been playing our together our whole lives. We’ve developed a cohesive yet spontaneous feel,” said Yoel. “At this point we almost always know what each of us will be doing…I think we also try to enhance each other’s playing and not play over each other as sometimes happens in bands. We’re really one unit, with four different perspectives.” Adds brother Mendy: “This is music from the heart. It’s more spontaneous and it sounds like nothing else. Often we record songs in one shot. It’s organic and creative.”
“Artistically, I think the song ‘Borcheinu’ pushes the limits of how an old familiar classic could be transformed into a whole new thing,” said Yoel. “It has a multi-textured landscape, and is very dramatic.
“There’s an interesting story behind it. Now that we live different places (I live in Bergenfield and CS lives in Brooklyn, Mendy and Reuvain are still at home in Monsey, although Mendy just got engaged!), it’s not always easy to get together and spend a few hours recording.
“So we picked a night and put a couple hours into recording in the basement. Suddenly, at about 3 a.m., the recording program crashed and we lost everything. We were really dejected, and almost embarrassed to come out with nothing. Out of frustration we decided to go for it and re-record everything in one shot. I think all those emotions went into it and in one hour we had the current version of ‘Borcheinu.’ So I think that’s why it has such a powerful energy. When we hit those last notes, it felt like the entire house was shaking…”
The album, “Mayain Olam Habah,” is available locally at Grand & Essex, Cedar Market, Zoldan’s Judaica, Filler Up….and Judaica stores around the world. It will be live on iTunes and Amazon by the end of the week.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fpKz0sNmwUk&feature=youtu.be
By Lisa Matkowsky
