Eyal Sela

The contemporary, authentic Mediterranean music is not born in the popular music bars, but in the cellars. The authentic representative of this music is called Eyal Sela- A Flute and wind player, member of Yair Dalal’s “Alol Ensemble”. Eyal is the modest fellow and modesty does not pay. The fact is that he has already participated in 40(!) festivals all over the world but has not been invited to the “Shomim Olam” (Listening to the World) Festival in the Performing Art Hall. Their loss.

Those who came to the “Camelot” enjoyed the essence of Mediterranean ethnic music played on instruments such as Flute, Turkish clarinet, Darbuka, Baglama, Saz and Jimbush. Sela bases his show on his latest cd “Darma”, constantly changing wind instruments, from the mysterious and sad sound of an Indian bamboo flute uo to small shrieking Norwegian flute. The other players listened and joined in. Avi Agabeba’s Darbuka is not going wild and the bass follows the melodious sound of the flute.

After his previous album – “Sela” – dedicated to a-symmetric Balkan rhythms, “Darma” ( meaning direction, way in Sanskrit) presents original music born out of interweaving melodies and rhythms into junctions of Mediterranean ethnic cultures, such as Turkey, the Balkans and India. Almost each piece is based on a winding melody of Eyal. The music spreads out like peacock’s feathers. The sound of the Turkish clarinet sounds like Hassidic music with Hawaiej (oriental spice). Ilan Ben-Ami’s Oud (oriental lute) improvises and weeps. Eyal sings: “there is a speed at which everything calms down / there is a way where happiness is one”. It is not a singer’s voice, it is the heart’s voice.

Eyal improvises on the oriental scale singing the words of as Arab poet, Salman Massalha: “Upon the death of a man living in a far away land / one baby is born and a country erased”. Sela’s ability to lower a tone, to integrate his melodies with the oriental tone, to turn the ethnic into a real statement- this is the crux of the matter. This is not only a revival of musical traditions, this is a genuine poetical uniting with Western instruments.


Ma’ariv
- Yossi Harsonsky

Eyal has gone a long way since his the debut as soloist with the "Hijazz" cd, which came out in 1995and was dedicated to Balkan Music. Until his "Darma" cd. It is Gratifying to see people who continue their quest and develop in time. As a member of Yair Dalal’s ensemble, Sela had a chance to travel around the world and to meet the most prominent artists in the ethnic music filed. Its seems that he has really benefited from these encounters and now its our turn to enjoy the results. The former “growing-up” struggle has matured into a stable and secure presence. Instead of confusion, there is crystallization and focusing, instead of a diffused and un-charismatic performance. There is a definite recognition of his uniqueness as a wind player.
After the a-symmetric Balkan accelerated-beat of “Hijazz”, Sela goes farther east to Turkey, Iran, Iraq, India. Like with the successful world music cd, “Darma” sounds like dedicated and intelligent fabric, inclusive of all these and other influences. The varies music languages the different rhythms the melodies and harmonicas colors, are conductive and narrating each other. Add to this, a generally speaking properly handle production the tasteful harmonious touches, convincing sound and a number of excellent soloist and what you get is one of the most convincing cd’s ever produced here in this musical field.
“Darma” in accessible and suitable to all ears and in this lies Sela great achievement. He manages to touch the simple without being drawn into simplification. to be emotional without becoming sentimental, to transmit sweetness without going into the popular, to expose excellent players without subjections to technical virtuosity and through the whole, maintain a clear inner truth. This is called: maturity and it enables “Darma” to caress the inside of the ears of the heaviest hard-core ethno people on the one hand, and sneak in our many acquaintances from the Shanti-shanti party on the other. A songlike “Ma Shehaya” ( what has been) could even, without too many problems be part of Shimon Parnas “The Taverna” program. The Israeli ethno reality in distinctly divided between the artistics plan “ Bustan Abram”, “Ziriab” and “East-west ensable” and the popular informal trend represented by “Sheva” “Gaya” and their likes. Sela in comparison is joining Yair Dalal in creating on optical midway.

The Music Column/Tel Aviv
“Yediot Achronot”
- Avi Efrati