Idan Raichel gets personal on new album

In his previews albums Raichel has brought us a new musical culture, including original production and texts in a variety of languages.

By MOSHE ARENSTEIN
IDAN RAICHEL performs songs from his new album in the backyard of his parent’s home, where it all started. (photo credit: LIOR KETER)
IDAN RAICHEL performs songs from his new album in the backyard of his parent’s home, where it all started.
(photo credit: LIOR KETER)
In just 13 years Idan Raichel has turned into one of the most successful Israeli artists, in Israel and abroad. With tours in the US, South Africa, the Far East, Canada and Australia, and with international cooperation with artist such as Alicia Keys, Patrick Bruel, Vieux Farka Toure and Andreas Scholl, Raichel has established himself in the international music arena.
In his previews albums Raichel has brought us a new musical culture, including original production and texts in a variety of languages – Arabic, German, Spanish, Amharic, French and more. He is successful with both mainstream and more sophisticated audiences.
Raichel has sold more than 620,000 CDs, generated more than a million digital downloads, and has had more than 50 million views of his songs on YouTube.
Now his new album, called At the Edge of the Beginning, is being released after two years of recordings, shows, travels around the world and lots of family time. It is based on personal texts from Raichel’s life, in part due to changes he went through with the births of his two daughters. Raichel is married to an Austrian patisserie chef, and has a two-year-old and a newborn.
The song “The Warm Hand” is about “that first time a newborn is wrapping their hand around an adult finger, feeling for the first time not alone in the world,” said Raichel at the official launch of the new album. “It’s then they know the connection is forever.”
In his song “Lonely Island,” Raichel tells the story of how his daughter was born on the same day singer Arik Einstein died. “They were both at Ichilov Hospital in Tel Aviv, and it was a day filled with mixed feelings,” remembers Raichel.
“Then someone told me, ‘If you die at least it is next to the sound of babies crying.’ That line made it to the song.”
This new musical adventure, and the connection to family roots, was born in the studio of Raichel’s parents’ home in Kfar Saba, with Raichel w r i t i n g , producing, performing and experimenting with new instruments.
Raichel has learned some drums and plays them in some of the songs.
“These are personal songs and that’s why I decided to sing them all myself,” he says.
The album has already reached gold album status due to advanced orders.
Raichel is planning to go on his first solo tour in February 2016 with songs from the new album as well as some older songs.