American Jewish world music band
Pharaoh's Daughter is an American Jewish world music band from New York City. Formed in 1995 by Basya Schechter.
History
Basya Schechter formed Pharaoh's Daughter in 1995 while attending Barnard College.[1] The band's name is a reference to Schechter's given name, a Yiddish variant of the Biblical daughter of Pharaoh, Bithiah.[2] They debuted in 1999 with the independent album Daddy's Pockets and were signed to Knitting Factory Records later that year.[3] The label then released the band's second album, Out of the Reeds (2000). Their 2014 album Dumiyah was produced by Jamshied Sharifi and featured contributions from Steven Bernstein, Shir Yaakov Feit, Adam Levy, Mauro Refosco, and Marcus Rojas.[4][5][6]
Group members have been involved in a variety of other notable projects. In particular, Basya Schechter has released two solo albums and has performed with the groups Darshan and The Epichorus.[7][8][9]
Musical style
Pharaoh's Daughter's sound draws from American folk, Jewish klezmer, avant-garde, new-age, Renaissance, electronic, and Middle Eastern music.[10][11][12][6]
Band members
Current
- Basya Schechter — lead vocals, guitar, oud, saz, percussion
- Daphna Mor — recorders, zurna, ney, melodica, vocals
- Meg Okura — violin
- Shanir Ezra Blumenkranz — bass
- Yuval Lion — drums
- Jason Lindner — rhodes piano, keys
- Mathias Kunzli — percussion
- Uri Sharlin — accordion, vocals
Former
- Daniel Freedman — drums
- Noah Hoffeld — cello
- Alan Kashan — santur
Discography
- Daddy's Pockets (Orchard, 1999)
- Out of the Reeds (Knitting Factory, 2000) - rereleased on Tzadik in 2004
- Exile (Knitting Factory, 2002)
- Haran (OY, 2007)
- Dumiyah (Magenta, 2014)
References
- ^ Natalie Bogan (Feb 3, 2005). "Pharaoh's Daughter shaped by founder's world travels". Lawrence Journal-World.
- ^ Matthew Shaer (Aug 5, 2010). "Pharaoh's Daughter lead singer mines her ultra-Orthodox roots for melodies". The Christian Science Monitor.
- ^ Toni Schlesinger (Nov 23, 1999). "Basya Schechter". The Village Voice.
- ^ Sara Ivry (Sep 29, 2014). "Basya Schechter Mixes Prayer Songs With Brass, Oud, and Radiohead" (podcast). Tablet.
- ^ Dumiyah - Pharaoh's Daughter | Credits | AllMusic, retrieved 2023-04-09
- ^ a b Musleah, Rahel (2015-02-10). "Dumiyah". Hadassah Magazine. Retrieved 2023-04-09.
- ^ Spence, Rebecca (March 14, 2017). "Forage the Earth and Make It Beautiful". Tablet. Retrieved March 6, 2021.
- ^ Robinson, George (March 14, 2018). "A Musical Bridge Between Cultures". The Jewish Week. Retrieved March 6, 2021.
- ^ "L'Oud and the Abstract Truth (Disc 1), by James Stone Goodman and the Epichorus". the Epichorus. Retrieved 2023-02-22.
- ^ Jacobson, Ben (December 27, 2007). "Homecoming premiere for Jewish cool's mother". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved March 6, 2021.
- ^ Shaer, Matthew (August 5, 2010). "Pharaoh's Daughter lead singer mines her ultra-Orthodox roots for melodies". The Christian Science Monitor. Retrieved March 6, 2021.
- ^ Loiederman, Roberto (2018-02-28). "Darshan's 'Raza': An Innovative Musical Adaptation of Kabbalat Shabbat". Jewish Journal. Retrieved 2023-04-09.
External links
- Official Website
- Pharaoh's Daughter discography at MusicBrainz
- Pharaoh's Daughter on MySpace
