Shabbos Ranks is an exploratory trip through experimental dub, klezmer, and improvised music, formed by Celeste Cantor-Stephens (Bristol, UK) and Sam Day Harmet (Brooklyn, NY, USA). This borderless collaboration was ignited by a shared interest in the language of Jewish music, spun through a kaleidoscope of experimental influences at the intersection of Bristol and Brooklyn. Here, klezmer meets spaced-out skanking, Downtown jazz, dubby post-punk, and swirling headphone psychedelia.
This debut album features five expansive pieces from Harmet and Cantor-Stephens with musical contributions from noted folk and experimental musicians from the US, UK, and Mexico: Benjamín Shwartz (Klezmerson) on violin, Dan Blacksberg on trombone, César Juárez-Joyner (Nostalgia Huasteca) on jarana/flutes, to name a few. In addition to the original Shabbos Ranks versions, each song has been remixed in a radical new direction — with help from trip hop legend Rob Smith, Jamaican dub originators Scientist and the late Lee Scratch Perry, and up-and-coming producers Mexican Stepper and Drezz Dressler. Putting this record together has been a multiyear collaborative experiment across cultures, and Shabbos Ranks are looking forward to sharing it with the wider world.
credits
released July 7, 2023
Shabbos Ranks:
Celeste Cantor-Stephens - trumpet, cornet, shower hose
Sam Day Harmet - bass, guitar, mandolin, saz, clarinet, keys
All compositions by Sam Day Harmet and Celeste Cantor-Stephens
Mixing and production by Sam Day Harmet
Remix versions by Scientist, Lee Scratch Perry, Mexican Stepper, Drezz, Rob Smith
Mastered by Russell Kearney
This album is beautiful . Uplifting and relaxing . Felt a little jaded by music and life recently and this has re inspired me ! Thankyou Ni co Dollycoin
Great album, love the dreamy nostalgic spacey-ness. The old educational samples transport me back to early school days in the TV room and when all we had to worry about was if we were wearing the right trainers or swapping Panini football stickers. vsep13
This stunning, beautiful project from Fujian duo Southeast of Rain 东南有雨 blends field recordings with rippling notes from the pipa. Bandcamp New & Notable Feb 8, 2021