Matisyahu returns to Jerusalem
Before his transformation into the master of Hasidic reggae, with his signature black hat, wild Rabbi beard and a singing style that is somewhere between Bob Marley and Hazzanut (with some rap and beatbox thrown in for good measure), Matisyahu was just plain old Matthew Miller from White Plains, New York. But after studying at the Alexander Muss High School in Israel when he was 16, the former preppie hippie found Judaism.
Millions of units and thousands of concerts later, Matisyahu is headed to Jerusalem for a one-night only Chol Hamoed Sukkot concert at Sultan's Pool, his fourth-ever appearance at the venue, as part of his world tour to promote his new album, Light.
Matisyahu has been touring relentlessly since even before the release of his 2004 debut, Shake Off the Dust...Arise, which featured the breakout single "King Without a Crown." The song would appear on several subsequent Matisyahu releases, as well as in Knocked Up, the irreverent comedy about a one-night-stand gone wrong.
Light, Matisyahu's first full-length album in three years, adds "electronica, funky pop, straight-up guitar rock and even a touch of folk," to his repertoire, according to a recent assessment from the Associated Press. As a result, the religious pop star has been taking some heat for abandoning his previously roots reggae-oriented sound. "It's not really any longer about me being the Hassidic reggae guy," the 30-year-old married father of two explained to the AP. It's all part of the artist's rebranded identity, which has been in flux since he announced, following a Sukkot 2007 visit to Jerusalem, that he was leaving the Chabad-Lubavitch fold.
In a recent interview in The Jewish Journal, Matisyahu discusses his sex appeal, his love of stage ping and the relationship between psychotropic substances and spirituality:
"For me, myself, I used to smoke a lot, and I used to experiment with a lot of hallucinogens and stuff, and I had experiences where I feel that it really completely opened me up to deeper dimensions of reality, and then I've had experiences where I felt it really hindered me and kind of distracted me. So, at this point in my life, spirituality for me, it's kind of work, and it's kind of about trying to get to those places without the substance. In terms of other people that are at my show or that are listening, I don't have really an objection to it. I think that's for everyone to figure out for themselves, and I think that music in itself is kind of like a high...."
Doors open for the Matisyahu show at 19:00 on October 7 at Sultan's Pool. Tickets are available via the Klaim agency. Erez Lev Ari is scheduled as the opening act. For more information about the show and updates please click here.
Photo of Matisyahu courtesy of Beau Grealy.
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