Dobranotch: Zay Freylekh!

It’s best to stay cheerful! Because these crazy times are even harder to bear when you’re grumpy and perpetually pessimistic. With “Zay Freylekh,” DOBRANOTCH—the wild klezmer and Balkan band from Saint Petersburg—celebrates the love of life in difficult times. And what better way to do that than with an entire album full of klezmer songs? Back home, this multicultural group is often invited to celebrations like weddings in Jewish communities. And what would a Jewish wedding be without dancing? That’s right—nothing at all! Some of the songs collected on the album are over 100 years old. And they haven’t lost any of their freshness! By the way: A “Freylekh” generally refers to an Eastern European Jewish dance that is played primarily at weddings. A special discovery here is the lively “Birobidzhan,” which originally comes from the 1936 Soviet film *The Fortune Seekers*. Back then, Comrade Stalin had the brilliant idea of resettling Russian Jews in Birobidzhan, a newly established autonomous region in the Far East of Russia. The film was intended to encourage Jewish settlers to move there. For a time, this song was very popular among Soviet Jews. One of the band members recently found the old single among his grandfather’s belongings! DOBRANOTCH has been around for more than 20 years and has recorded nearly a dozen albums. The band also loves to think outside the box. Their cover of Rammstein’s smash hit “Du Hast” has racked up one and a half million views on YouTube. When performing live, the band enjoys mingling with the crowd, just as their ancestors did 100 years ago!