hava nagila, remix
I was rather hesitant to remix Hava Nagila to begin with. The folk song is fraught with deep meaning while being simultaneously nearly kitsch. I decided to attempt to acknowledge both of those elements and made a “turbo-folk” remix that amplifies the melodramatic element as well as acknowledges the pure joy of of it. I worked from a recording by Paul Toshner and Felix Benasuly, who perform together as poi43.com (London, England).
The remix is part of a larger project called Anander Mol, Anander Veig, curated by Marc Weidenbaum as a collection of contemporary remixes of traditional Jewish songs, for Tablet Magazine.
Hava Nagila remix
“Roddy Schrock’s ‘Hava Negilah’ did inspire me to lift up my spatula and do a little hora. (My kitchen is small.)”
-Aimee Levitt, Riverfront Times, St. Louis
“‘Hava Nagila’ should be familiar to a wide range of ears and the near rave style of interpretation by Roddy Schrock takes the work of Paul Toshner and Felix Benasuly to almost a kitsch level, but hey it is the holidays?”
– Cyclic Defrost Magazine, Australia
