Discography

	WhiteFlag Project ~ Talk JAZZIS 2002 (Barcode: 663330200221) Recorded: 1998 - 2008 Released: 2009 The Israeli / Palestinian band WhiteFlag Project is a completely unique phenomenon on the world music scene. WhiteFlag was founded in 1998 by 6 musicians from Tel Aviv/Israel and Gaza/Palestine: Mark Smulian,Israel (a founding member of the legendary band Zaviot, who also recorded on Jazzis Records) a songwriter, bassist, vocalist, producer; Shadi AlHaj Gaza ,Composer, lyricist and oriental keyboard player, master of minimalism; singer Gani Tamir,Israel, an acclaimed and extraordinarily versatile vocalist; Yassin from Gaza...a wonderful vocalist from Gaza, with a a deep deep voice; Zaher Abdul Jawad, Gaza, groovin' on the oud; Katja Cooper, Israel/Usa-holding the 'time' down in all styles. The band went through a convoluted history, as complex and torturous as the People of the Middle East themselves (There is an extensive coverage of the band's history on their website). In the process the band managed to record a demo CD in Switzerland in 2005 and continued recording sporadically, whenever the circumstances allowed it, until 2008, when Mark collected their entire recorded material and spent months in the studio mixing, overdubbing and polishing it, to create this, their debut album. The result is a stunning display of talent, ingenuity, dedication and musical intensity rarely found on this planet. A sublime mixture of Rock, Prog, Jazz and a plethora of World Music motifs, mostly from the incredibly rich heritage of Middle Eastern music, the album consists of ten beautiful tunes, all composed by Smulian. Other musicians taking part in the project are vocalist Yasin Hussen, guitarist Aharele Liberman, Salech Awad on darbuka, Zaher Abed Al-Jawad who plays oud and violin, keyboardist Shadi Alhaj and percussionist Katya Cooper. Many more musicians appear as guest on the album. Although hardly objective, being the album's executive producer and releasing it on my label, I stand 100% behind this music, not only because of what is symbolizes, but foremost because it is simple divine music. I can not imagine anybody not liking it, and I assure you that repeated listening will reveal many hidden treasures. This music hits you straight in the soul, it's irresistible and overwhelming! Give it a chance!
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	WhiteFlag ~ Exile PRIVATE EDITION Recorded: 2005 - 2005 Released: 2005 This is surely a first of its kind Palestinian-Israeli rock group. The members of WhiteFlag are five Israeli musicians (Gani Tamir – vocals, Mark Smulian – bass and guitar, Katya Cooper – percussion, Sasha Shlain – keyboards and Shy Miara – drums) and four Palestinians from refugee camps in Gaza Strip (Yasin Hussen – vocals, Shadi Alhaj – keyboards, Zaher Abed Al-Jawad – oud and violin and Saleh Awad – darbuka). The group was formed in 1998 and performed all over Israel and Palestine. However, after the violent events, which started in 2000, they were no longer able to meet and perform, when the passage between Israel and the Gaza Strip was practically sealed off. The only way they could meet and play together again was outside of their countries. This happened in mid-2005, when the group was invited by the Swiss city of Lucerne for a period of three months, where they performed, rehearsed and finally recorded this – their debut album. A film by Swiss TV was also made to commemorate this event. The music of WhiteFlag is a fantastic mixture of instruments, styles, influences and languages. The vocals are in Arabic, Hebrew and English and an amalgam of Eastern and Western music is created, which works splendidly. Gani’s beautiful angelic voice and Yasin’s deep baritone harmonize wonderfully. It is really impossible to describe in words how this music sounds, but any music-loving person is sure to enjoy it immensely. Just go and listen to the music on their site! WhiteFlag is not about politics – it is all about making music and the human experiences involved in meeting of different cultures and backgrounds. Hopefully cultural bridges of that kind will eventually achieve what the politicians failed to achieve in so many years in our complex region.
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