Marc Weidenbaum of Disquiet points us to a lovely Hanukah music remix project he put together for Tablet Magazine, Anander Mol, Anander Veig
(Another Time, Another Way). "It's an attempt at kitsch-free holiday music that channels the past," says Marc. I really dig it. Marc's intro to the project is lovely, too. Snip:
The album's content ranges widely, from the kid-friendly (the "Chag Yafe") to lush ambient-pop renditions of "Maoz Tzur" and "Sivivon Sov Sov Sov" to hip-hop-derived takes on three klezmer favorites ("Od Yishama," "Ose Shalom," and "Die Goldene Chasene") to an original by the New Klezmer Trio, "Thermoglyphics," reimagined as a feat of traditional Eastern European android folk music. And of course it wouldn't be a Jewish festivity without "Hava Nagila," heard here moving back and forth between heavy synthesis and a piano/guitar performance.
As the project was nearing completion, I got in touch with a wise friend, one who knows far more Yiddish than I do–which is to say, he knows more than just words involving disappointment, food, bodily functions, and relatives. I asked my friend, "How would you say 'remix' in Yiddish?" Being wise, he thought better than to come up with a new word; he thought better than to reply with some snazzy neologism, some antiquated-sounding yet entirely newly created term, some ersatz steampunk Yiddish.
Instead, he sent me a steady stream of short phrases, each an attempt to probe, in Yiddish, what a remix is at its heart. The best of his probings, "anander mol, anander veig," became the title of this set. It means, in a literal translation, "another time, another way"–old ways, reconsidered; old modes, remodeled; old music, remade.
Anander Mol, Anander Veig (Tablet Magazine)
Download the entire album. [.ZIP file, 47 MB]
PDF version of album cover artwork [Brian Scott/Boondesign]
