Jewish Yemenite Music Sees Revival with Singer Shlomit Levi

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Jewish-Yemenite singer Shlomit Levi channels her inner Ofra Haza and discusses going from traditional piyyutim to heavy metal.
By Ben Bresky​



"I grew up listening to my grandmother singing while making baskets out of straw," stated Shlomit Levi, a young Jewish-Israeli singer who is making waves in the music scene. Levi spoke to Israel National Radio's Israel Beat Jewish Music Podcast backstage at the Piyyut Festival in Jerusalem.  A piyyut is a liturgical poem, sometimes a responsive chant, often with a repeated refrain, and while there are Ashkenazic exemplars, the Sephardic  service has many beautiful piyyutim that have traditional melodies.   Read​