- By Charlie Fidelman

Pharaoh's Daughter
Haran
(Oyhoo)
Rating: Three-and-a-half stars out of five
Podworthy: By Way of Haran

Singer/songwriter Basya Schechter's music borrows from the Hasidic chants of her youth, weaves ancient liturgy and biblical texts with Middle Eastern rhythms and then she ties it together with hip pop influences filtered through percussion, flute, strings and electronica. Her musical caravan goes from Hasidic Brooklyn to Africa, Israel, Egypt, Turkey, Morocco, Kurdistan and Greece where she soaked up the music, learning the sounds with local musicians. Filtered through Arabic oud, tablas, hadgini drums and dulcimer, the typical Shabbat melody is recognizable. But the resulting cutting-edge contemporary Jewish music, is totally original, raw and sophisticated.