Shabbos Ranks is an exploratory trip through experimental dub, klezmer, and improvised music, formed by Celeste Cantor-Stephens (Bristol, UK) and Sam Day Harmet (Brooklyn, NY, USA). This borderless collaboration was ignited by a shared interest in the language of Jewish music, spun through a kaleidoscope of experimental influences at the intersection of Bristol and Brooklyn. Here, klezmer meets spaced-out skanking, Downtown jazz, dubby post-punk, and swirling headphone psychedelia.
This debut album features five expansive pieces from Harmet and Cantor-Stephens with musical contributions from noted folk and experimental musicians from the US, UK, and Mexico: Benjamín Shwartz (Klezmerson) on violin, Dan Blacksberg on trombone, César Juárez-Joyner (Nostalgia Huasteca) on jarana/flutes, to name a few. In addition to the original Shabbos Ranks versions, each song has been remixed in a radical new direction — with help from trip hop legend Rob Smith, Jamaican dub originators Scientist and the late Lee Scratch Perry, and up-and-coming producers Mexican Stepper and Drezz Dressler. Putting this record together has been a multiyear collaborative experiment across cultures, and Shabbos Ranks are looking forward to sharing it with the wider world.
credits
released December 2, 2022
Shabbos Ranks:
Sam Day Harmet - bass, combo organ, clarinet
Celeste Cantor-Stephens - trumpet
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