Dive into the fascinating story of Yemen Blues, a band based in TLV, Finland, and NYC, whose music influenced by Yemeni heritage and diverse global backgrounds, transcends boundaries. Their latest single, “People,” and its riveting music video featuring MOVE|NYC| dancers, highlights a powerful collaboration with this organization dedicated to diversity and equity in dance. With an upcoming US and EU tour from September to December, this band is set to captivate audiences with its transformative sound. To learn more about Yemen Blues (YB), read on.

Where are you based?
TLV, FINLAND, NYC

What initially brought the members of the band together, and how did the band form?
Music and good fortune of life brought us together. The band formed in 2009 in a meeting between my self and Omer Avital as a completely different type of band from now, something like an Arabic-Latin Jazz Orchestra, and continued in the last decade to collaborations with musicians around the world and took a different direction when today’s quartet of YB is an intense, noise like spiritual kind of sound, with lyrics in Arabic, Hebrew, and French.

Can you share the story behind the band's name or any significant meaning behind it?
I am a Yemeni Jewish, and grew up in a very well-preserved Yemeni family, first generation in Israel. My parents came from Yemen, some of the influences of my development as a musician were somewhere in between my Yemeni heritage and my love of the blues which is for me another word for soul music, but other members brought in to the music many other flavors. The connection of my Arabic and my Jewishness is by how I pray and sing, we as Yemenis even when we pray or sing in Hebrew (sometimes in Arabic too) but even when it’s in Hebrew our pronunciation is an Arabic pronunciation, even Hebrew speakers that are not Yemeni couldn’t understand, a bit like broken English, so the point is, it’s all mixed up and I love the mix, as the other members of the band, we are the result of a beautiful human mess of connection and acceptance.

How would you describe your band’s music style? Are there any prominent music figures who have influenced your style?
We are all influenced by many types of music, maybe our music NOW is something extreme & spiritual and trance Healing, and full of love in the most nasty way.

What is the songwriting process like for the band? Do you collaborate as a group, or does each member contribute individually?
In the past I was bringing basic songs with lyrics and melody and a basic structure and the band was arranging it together. For the new album we came with the current quartet to ten studio almost with no songs at all, just a few tiny leads and we created the music in the studio with the lead by Shanir Blumenkranz. It was a very interesting process, and the out come is super powerful!

Are there any particular themes or messages that you explore in your music?
Love

Last month you released your new hit single “People.” Can you tell us more about this song? What was the inspiration behind the lyrics?
I wrote the lyrics in my apartment in NY in 2018, pointing out a few small facts we choose to live by in life. Are those things the real things? At the end of the day we are one tribe of humans, and we have the incredible power to make everything magic or shit.

So I called my dear friend Nigel and asked to do a collab with those extremely talented youth dancers, and all of us together choose to make magic with what we got and not to divide.

What was the story behind the music video?
No story we just came to have fun.

Your music video showcased stunning dance performances by MOVE|NYC| dancers. What was it like working alongside this organization? What inspired this collaboration?
I can't really answer what it was like for Ravid to work with us and the dancers, but on our side it was an incredible experience. It was exciting to collaborate with a working artist, musician, and singer in the field. Someone of international stature! The message of Ravid's music is also so uplifting and inspiring, it brought us together. For all of the dancers, it was their first time being in a music video, so this is an experience they will never forget! The connection was made through a longtime friendship between Rravid and MOVE|NYC| co-founder Nigel Campbell.

Can we learn more about MOVE|NYC|? What is the mission?
Absolutely! MOVE|NYC| is an arts and social justice organization based in NYC that was founded in 2015 with a mission to cultivate greater diversity and equity in the dance field and beyond. MOVE|NYC|'s core program, the Young Professionals Program, provides tuition-free mentorship and college prep for gifted NYC teenagers who are passionate about pursuing a career in dance. With six graduating classes, MOVE|NYC|'s dancers have maintained a 100% track record of acceptance to the top colleges for dance in the United States, including 16 dancers who have matriculated to The Juilliard School!

Where can we see more of MOVE|NYC|?
You can find MOVE|NYC| on our website: www.movenyc.nyc , on instagram: @movenyc and this summer we will host residencies, summer intensives, and performances in NYC (July & August) and Washington D.C. (July)!

We heard that you collaborated with MSF to raise funds for a hospital in Yemen. Could you share more about this experience and what led you all to support this cause?
Well, mainly cause any help to other people who seek love and co existing is something I would love to help.

Also, my parents are from Yemen, and I wanted to do something meaningful, like I would do any day of the year if you just let me. So, I was lucky to meet someone from their team and we fundraised after every show, talking about the horrible situation in Yemen.

Are there any upcoming projects you would like to share?
We are going to do a big tour in the US and EU from Sep to Dec, starting at LPR in NYC and ending with SFJazz in SF. Probably apart from that, there will be many more projects to come.

It has been a crazy past few years, how have you been staying positive?
Cause there is no other way.

What is your motto in life?
At the end of the day Only Love Remains, this complicated life can be very confusing. Staying simple and believe in love makes everything else small and less important — even the biggest issues. But I don’t really have a motto. Cause I know nothing about nothing.

To learn more about Yemen Blues, please follow the links below:
Yemen Blues

Yemen Blues - Magical Tunes