Holy Land bands hit Northwestern’s airwaves
This article has been edited to reflect a correction. The comment on the protest at South by Southwest was said by Janna Herman, not Hayley Schilling. New Voices regrets the error.
Hayley Schilling flicks through an album of music from all over the world at Northwestern University’s radio station, WNUR, to unearth material for the two hours each week when she is on the air. In the studio, stacks of records line the walls, along with an overflowing collection of CDs.
“We have an eclectic mix of music,” said Schilling, one of the producers for WNUR’s international music show, “Continental Drift”—known here as just “Drift.” Lately, Schilling has been listening to some albums from a country whose music she did not know much about: Israel.
Drift’s goal is to play songs from all over the globe in order to give listeners a good sense of “world music.” Unlike WNUR’s other shows, the music played on Drift is not limited to specific musical genres. In an effort to provide a survey of the international music scene, Drift DJs look for obscure songs and musical styles. The station explores a broad spectrum of international music, ranging from French electronica to traditional Indian sitar to funky afrobeat to Latin pop. An entire section of the show’s music collection is dedicated to music from the Middle East, and, according to Schilling, Israeli music comprises a significant part of the spectrum that Drift strives to cover.
“The Israeli music I have discovered contains sounds I never expected to hear, which is the theme of my particular radio show, unexpected sounds,” said Schilling. “But this is just very neat stuff. I was definitely struck by many Israeli bands as I listened to them on the compilation. Israeli music is definitely out there.”
Schilling, who prefers contemporary international music, cites Israeli bands such as Onili, Elephant Parade and Terry Poison as personal favorites. Elephant Parade is an indie folk duo consisting of Ido Fluk and Estelle Baruch, originally from Tel Aviv and currently living in Brooklyn. Also from Tel Aviv, Terry Poison is a four-woman electronic band that produces an edgy and punky dance vibe. Unfortunately, Schilling can’t play Onili on the radio because of the band’s frequent use of expletives.
According to Samuel Prime, who produced Drift before Schilling, Israeli music and international music in general has recently shifted into more of an electro-pop flavor. This new style intermixes with the sounds of traditional music, exemplifying new and progressive cultures.
“In many locations like Israel, Japan, Nigeria or even as close to us as Mexico or Canada, there tends to be a newer exploration into electronic music,” he said. “But it is interesting to juxtapose old and new music and see how they sound in relation to each other. If you look to past music as a guide you are really limiting yourself. It’s good to see this forward motion.”
Although Sabrina Kestenbaum, a sophomore intern for WNUR, is not fluent in Hebrew, she still appreciates the groove of Israeli music. Identification with Israel is key to Kestenbaum’s Jewish identity, and listening to the country’s music allows her to connect to the Jewish state and its culture.
“I have a general understanding of the music I am listening to,” Kestenbaum said. “A lot of it is just very pretty music to listen to, the music itself, even if you can’t understand it. I like the idea of listening to Hebrew music. There’s something special about it.”
Some recent additions to Drift’s Israeli music collection come from last year’s South by Southwest music festival in Austin, Tex. Several Drift staff members attended SXSW, where they got to meet a few Israeli bands—including Onili—and saw what can happen when music and politics intersect.
While attending a garden rooftop party hosted by the Israeli consulate with some Israeli musicians, a few Drift DJs encountered some protesters who were boycotting the Israeli shows. Janna Herman, Schilling’s co-producer, attended the party and said that the protesters were out of place.
“I don’t really think that was effective,” she said. “It was literally a party in a garden rooftop with some Israeli artists sitting around and drinking. It was very apolitical, the most apolitical you could get.”
