Raquy And The Cavemen …Rock!

NYC Based World Music Ensemble Stirs Up Powerful Blend of Blistering Rock And Exotic and Ancient Middle Eastern Vibes On New Indie Release, Jordan

Leader/percussionist Raquy Danziger is world’s foremost expert on dumbek, a classic Middle Eastern drum

Critical praise for the fiery, densely percussive hybrid music of Raquy and The Cavemen (pronounced räh-key)—who are currently riding high with Jordan, their new independent release on Meef Records—has been rumbling with an intensity worthy of the New York City based ensemble’s rock and roll meets Middle Eastern exotica. One reviewer exclaims, “You won’t really know the meaning of dynamic, joyous and percussive until you’ve experienced Raquy!

Others note the way leader Raquy Danziger plays “traditional tunes with the energy of a rocker” with “a blazing skill that shocks and amazes.” Rock fans might want to latch onto her burning ensemble via words from a live review by Exclaim Magazine in Toronto: “It was a remarkable demonstration of what Page and Plant have always wanted to do but have never succeeded at.”

The charismatic Raquy may have been born in Michigan and educated at Brandeis University in Boston, but she is a true citizen of the world. Globally renowned for her expertise on the dumbek, an ancient Arabic drum instrument she calls “beautiful with tons of possibility,” she has traveled to nearly every continent accompanying some of the greatest Middle Eastern music masters. Raquy has performed in Canada, Mexico Turkey, Greece and throughout South America, and has taught students throughout the U.S., Egypt, Canada and Israel, in addition to her thriving teaching practice at home. In all, she has taught hundreds of aspiring musicians, many of whom have later performed with her.

She recently returned from a month in Egypt, where in March she performed with a fifteen piece percussion troupe led by virtuoso Said El Artist, the most famous dumbek player from that country, whose compositions are known throughout the world. She played the solo dumbek part in Said’s compositions and also taught the ensemble one of her own pieces, which they performed on an outdoor stage on the Nile at the El Sawy Cultural Center.

During Raquy’s stay in Egypt, she also appeared on the Samir Sabry Show performing one of her drum solos. Both Al-Jazeera and Orbit TV Networks filmed the concert and interviewed Raquy and Said. “This was a great honor for me,” she says. “Anyone who knows about Middle Eastern music has heard of him, and I have been learning from his style for years.” A daily journal of her Egyptian journey is available at http://raquy.blogspot.com.

When she’s not out globetrotting, Raquy and The Cavemen are in perpetual motion, performing at clubs in the West Village, East Village and Greenwich Village, including a semi-regular Sunday spot at Café Figaro. Although the charismatic Raquy is the band’s focal point in concert, Jordan—her first album with the Cavemen, and third overall—is very much a collaborative effort between herself, her Israeli born musician husband Liron Peled (who plays guitars, drum set, Moog synthesizer and percussion) and three top New York performers—Daphna Mor (recorders and nai), Yotam Beery (bass) and Rami El-Aasser (riq, bass dumbek). The album also features special guest artists Osama Farouk (dumbek, zils, bendir, dahula), Haig Manoukian (oud) and Raquy’s father, Robert Danziger on bassoon.

In addition to performing on high dumbek, riqs and daf, Raquy plays many of Jordan’s lead melodies on the Iranian kemenche, a bowed violin-like instrument that is a staple of much Middle Eastern music. Raquy and Liron had partnered musically on her 2004 recording Dust, and gathered the ensemble that would become The Cavemen for a performance at its record release party. Raquy then decided to keep these players as her official band.

“The albums are in similar styles, and Jordan has more of the same instruments,” says Raquy, whose solo catalog also includes 2001’s much-heralded Masmudi. “Dust, however, has more Indian and Persian chanting, while the new project puts the kemenche in a more prominent role. There’s also heavier Egyptian style drumming. The riq is a frame drum like the tambourine, and we play three of them. The daq is another frame

drum. It’s the perfect blend of ancient and modern sounds, with Liron drawing on his background as a hard rock drum set player from Golan Heights to keep the rock vibe going.

“About half of the 15 pieces on Jordan are melodic, featuring kamanche, guitar and bass, and the rest of them are solo drum compositions,” she adds. “Liron likes the melodic songs, and my favorites are the drumming pieces. It’s a nice balance. Jordan is named after my grandfather, and the title song is written in a beautiful Middle Eastern mode, with minor and major chords at the same time. It’s happy yet somehow heartbreaking.”

A classically trained pianist, Raquy’s defining trait is the intense wanderlust she has felt since childhood. After receiving her college degree in history, she set out to see the world, traveling to places like Israel (her ancestral home), Turkey, Greece, Cambodia and Vietnam. She stayed longer in Varanase, India, where she immersed herself in the study of Indian rhythmic cycles. “My piano teachers always said I had a good sense of rhythm, and I was very attracted to Indian music’s use of mathematics, cycles and groupings,” she says. Later, in Israel, Raquy was drawn to the dumbek (otherwise known as tabla) and the groove of Middle Eastern music, which, she adds, “is great party music that can bring you to ecstatic levels of energy.”

Raquy and the Cavemen have appeared at Lollapalooza, Central Park Summerstage, The North by Northeast and the Ashkenaz festivals, among many others. They perform regularly in the U.S. with occasional tours in Canada, Israel, Egypt and The West Indies. Wherever they go, the band plugs into that city’s belly dance scene and takes over with its undeniable energy.

“I think our music is universally popular because its rhythm is very catchy, accessible, and everyone can feel it,” she says. “Even if people have never been exposed to Middle Eastern music before, they can get into the rhythm immediately and appreciate its beautiful melodies. Because there are no language barriers, it is accessible to everyone. I love both teaching and performing. Whether they are students or just fans, the people attracting to this kind of music are very cool. Everyone is there having fun.”

For more information plese visit: raquy.com.