Light in Babylon
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Light in Babylon

İstanbul, Istanbul, Turkey | Established. Jan 01, 2014 | SELF

İstanbul, Istanbul, Turkey | SELF
Established on Jan, 2014
Band World Fusion

Calendar

This band has not uploaded any videos
This band has not uploaded any videos

Music

Press


"Review fRoots october 2013"

An unlikely collaboration between Michal Elia Kamal, an Israeli singer of Iranian origin, French guitarist Julien Demarque and Metehan Ciftci who hails from Turkey and plays the santur (Iranian Dulcimer), Light in Babylon met in Istanbul a couple of years back and peddle a heady acoustic mix that slips around the Med, the Sephardic world and the Middle East on this, their first album proper. They're joined by percussionist Demir Asaad and Jack Butler on Bass (plus, at various points, clarinet, violin, accordion and hurry gurdy). Ms Kamal sings from the heart, all skirt swirling swing and declamatory passion. Ciftci's santur features prominently and provides an unusual base for the cross cultural high jinks that surround it. Arrangements are imaginative but uncluttered and there are some fine songs (music by the core trio, lyrics by Kamal). A celebration of the cosmopolitan traditions of both Istanbul and the Sephardic Jewish community and another example of the great music that's coming out of the Eastern Mediterranean right now.
Jamie Renton - fRoots


Discography

Demo Album: "Istanbul" - 2010
Demo Album: "Life sometimes doesn't give you space" - 2011

Album: "Life sometimes doesn't give you space" - 2012

Photos

Bio

Praised by fRoots Magazine as "A celebration of the cosmopolitan traditions of both Istanbul and the Sephardic Jewish community and another example of the great music that is coming out of the Eastern Mediterranean right now", Light in Babylon brought to the world scene their first official album 'Life sometimes doesn't give you space' in 2012. 

Their project is the fusion of different ethnicities and cultures, the singer is Israeli from Iranian origin, the santur player is Turkish, the guitarist is French and they cooperate with musicians from different origin as well (Turkish, English and more). With the strength and openness of their youth and the various musical influences they have, they intuitively created a original colourful blend of their inner voices with flavours that would carry the imagination on a travel trough the Middle east and beyond. What became the core trio of the band met in 2010 in the streets of Istanbul. Michal Elia Kamal, would write lyrics, and arrangement and composition would be made by the trio including Metehan ifi (santour) and Julien Demarque (guitar). 

The trio now performs on stage with the support of two other musicians, the percussionist Demir Asaad and the bassist Jack Butler. Today the band continues its journey with the support of thousands of fans. They have toured in Turkey, Cyprus, Germany, Switzerland, France, Hungary, Greece, Finland, India They also are getting more attention from media, they appear regularly on turkish TV Trt Haber DD and Trt Music, in a few documentaries about the Turkish music scene and will appear also on the german/french Arte Channel. Their youtube videos have also reach a total of millions views. 

As an example of the multicultural and alternative scene in the middle east, the band gives through music all the love that it carries in his heart to inspire individual healing with the wish that every human will follow the vision of a world full of diversity, freedom, peace and light.


Michal Elia Kamal- Vocals

Julien Demarque- Guitar

Metehan Ciftci- Santour

Demir Asaad- Oriental percussions

Jack Butler- Bass guitar

Band Members