The Idan Raichel Project (album)

The Idan Raichel Project is the self-titled debut album by Idan Raichel. Raichel composed and arranged many of the tracks, performs vocals and plays the keyboard, while collaborating with other vocalists and musicians. Hit singles include Boi (בואי / "Come"), Im Telech (אם תלך / "If you go") and M'dab'rim B'sheket (מדברים בשקט / "Speaking Quietly").

Contents

• The idan raichel project mon amour
• Success of the Project
• Track listing
• Songs
• References

While the majority of Raichel's songs are in Hebrew, a few are entirely in Amharic, while others include small passages in Amharic, by male and female voices, setting traditional-sounding tunes to modern music. Love-songs predominate in his Hebrew lyrics, including Hinech Yafah (הינך יפה / "Thou art Fair") based on the Song of Songs, while the opening track also reaches into the depths of Jewish liturgy, with B'rachot L'shanah Chadashah (ברכות לשנה חדשה / "Blessings for a new year") sampling voices reciting traditional Jewish blessings.

Following the popularity of the Project, demand for live shows increased. Raichel was booked to perform at the Tel Aviv Performing Arts Center. Given the number of musicians who participated in the recordings, it would have been impossible to have them all appear on stage, so Raichel selected seven members who were versatile and strong individual artists in their own right. This live show became symbolic of the album, as it brought together a group of people of different backgrounds but of equal standing.