Music reviews. CD reviews. Critically hip!

There has been a focus recently on what is being referred to as the "Arabic groove." "Arabic groove" refers to the utilization of middle eastern chants and instrumental styling in Euroamerican dance music, whether it be disco, trance, garage, or whatever. I can think of three different CDs which have been released recently which made use of middle eastern music as a source for dance beats; all of them were good, a tradition that Zohar's ONETHREESEVEN continues.

What distinguishes Zohar's work from the recent spate of interest in middle-eastern "beats," if you will, is the utilization of traditional Jewish music in dance music. To most western ears, Jewish music begins and ends with "Have Nagila." Erran Baron Cohen and Andrew Kremer, two gentlemen of Jewish descent from North London, combined Erran's lifelong exposure to, and Andrew's appreciation of, Jewish Cantors and Arabic muezzins with their appreciation of rap and hiphop, particularly the work of Afrika Bambaataa, to create a different take on dance music. Though ONETHREESEVEN (mystical numbers in the Jewish faith) is their first full length CD release, they've been doing a boatload of work for others in the past year, such as Hakim and Narada Michael Walden to name but two. Their debut full length, however, is a tour de force which expands, tweaks, and ultimately challenges the dance genre.

The lead track, 'ehad," is built around a chant which, I believe, is a call to worship and which is interwoven intermittently throughout ONETHREESEVEN. Their work can manifest a dreamlike sensuousness ("salaam"), jazz-tinged licks over Arabic prayers and call and response synth generated sounds ("midnight at the bazaar") or all of the above ("sketches of egypt"). The result is a Rosetta stone of sound that demonstrates the commonality of eastern and western music (filtered primarily through an eastern glass).

ONETHREESEVEN is an extremely interesting piece of work; Zohar explores more ideas on any one track than a number of djs do on an entire CD. Their debut CD will no doubt increase the demand for Cohen and Kremer's collective services as producers. They hopefully, however, will continue to explore the rich texture of their own work on a regular basis. One has the feeling, after listening to ONETHREESEVEN, that they're just scratching the surface.

Recommended even if you're not into dance music.