"The Spinoza's"


About The Band...

For Lyrics and Translation go to "The Spinoza's" web page.


The Spinoza's music combines Mideastern rhythms and contemporary Andalusian flamenco music with rock and electronica (which we call "acoustica"). The lyrics are the original popular song tradition - the first songs with verse and chorus - from medieval Andalusia. and sung in the original Arabic, Hebrew, and Romance and music is composed by Dave Soldier.

The performers:

DAVE SOLDIER: composer, flamenco guitar: From Soldier String Quartet, Thai Elephant Orchestra, John Cale, Kropotkin's, etc. Dave's website is http://mulatta.org/DaveSoldierHomePage.html


AnnaT : Vocalist of Israeli descent born of Moroccan and Iranian parents.

RICHARD KHUZAMI: Lebanese American Middle Eastern Percussionist: Composer, Producer and Performer of Music combining both Eastern and Western Elements. Richard's website is http://www.dahdoo.net/

NELIDA TIRADO and LILLIANA MORALES: Palmas (handclaps) and Andalusian rhythms by New York's two leading flamencas


PAUL FRAZIER: Bass: Longtime and Current Bass with David Byrne and many others

RACHID HALIHAL: Oud and violin: Fine Moroccan Instrumentalist who recently toured with Rachid Taha

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Explores the very beginning of the European pop and art song traditions. This comes from medieval Andalusia (c 800-1300) , when the country was run by North African and later Arabic Muslims, and during much of which Muslims, Jews, and Christians were mutually tolerated and new art forms developed. This was the start of song form with verses and choruses - the Arabic names for these lyrics was muwashshaha and zajal - different than the simpler rhymed couplets in previous lyrics from all three traditions. These poems, hundreds of which survive, were always sung, and were imitated by the singers up north in Provence. This became the Provencal poetry, while the Andalusian oud (imported via Baghad from Iran) became the lute and later the guitar - and the poetry directly became the troubador and mesitersinger traditions.

This period is still called the "Golden Age of Hebrew Poetry" AND the "Golden Age of Arabic Poetry". These forms and fashions became virtually the entire Western song repertoire, meaning Schubert, the Beatles, Hank Williams, opera, and most of the other art and pop music of our world.

As well as founding the most popular present day song forms, the guitar and lute, the European horse riding tradition (another story), European sheep herding and the wool industry (also another story), the Kabala and contemporary Jewish theology (OK, another story), the acknowledged beginning of the ongoing European poetry tradition, the novel (re: Don Quixote), knighthood, the European rediscovery of the ancient Greek scientific tradition, the importation of algebra and the concept of zero to Europe... this period in Andalusia was also the start of the western orchestra, a term that came from the sitara, the cloth separating the audience and dancers from the musicians behind. Also the Andalusian dance crazes that spread throughout the new and old world, such as sarabandes, bourees, and so on, they eventually became the rennaisance baroque dance suites and eventually symphony, and many of the dances still used in salsa and ballroom dancing.


We have rediscovered the old poetry in Arabic, Hebrew, Farsi, and ancient Spanish or Romance, some of them in visits to Andalusian bookstores and libraries. We combine it with Soldier's new music which freely adapts flamenco, middle eastern music, along with salsa, and electronica (although the instruments are acoustic and it can all be performed outdoors). Florid and emotional, but we are also working on making it dance music...
 

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