Bomba Pop

Amsterdam Klezmer Band are full of chutzpah — or, as the Dutch say, gotspe. Just two years shy of the project’s 30th anniversary, with countless tours and concerts under their belt, AKB’s 18th album, Bomba Pop, overruns with apparently boundless energy. This dynamism is familiar; AKB have always blown roofs off concert halls and sent audiences into frenzied dance.

Yet Bomba Pop also leans into new sonic directions, stretching the AKB sound and drawing on fresh influences. Klezmer, of course, remains at the project’s core: music from Ashkenazi Jewish tradition, but deftly melded with other sounds as the septet join forces with Vienna-based producer Dunkelbunt (Ulf Lindemann).

Where much of AKB’s previous music tends towards relatively subtle percussion (if used at all), many of these new tracks are driven by Dunkelbunt’s electronic beats. ‘Choices and Consequences’ is propelled by drum’n’bass-inspired rhythms, underscoring boogaloo-like instrumentals, and the occasional squealing horn. Meanwhile, ‘Bomba’ channels mid-century American-Yiddish jazz (à la The Barry Sisters), with a pulsing electro-swing beat, bringing the song into the 21st century. The album, as a whole, incorporates a diversity of sounds: from reverberating dub to apocalyptic EDM-meets-merengue; from Istanbul-inspired psychedelic pop to the lilting, cumbia-influenced ‘Do It in Amsterdam’. That track is an apt opener, bringing the album to life with an upbeat swirling, horn-led melody and lyrics that might suggest traditional Yiddish song (‘bimbidibam… woy-oy-oy-oy-oy’), but quickly spins into a rap-esque celebration of Amsterdam. This is where AKB cut their teeth, busking in streets and cafés: ‘We sing when we drink and we dance to the drum… That’s how we do it in Amsterdam’.

Other pieces retain a more traditional feel. ‘Joey’s Hora’ is a beautiful example: a spacious, almost-eerie melody, eventually bursting into rapid, fiery dance. It’s dedicated to Joël Chajes, brother of AKB founder-saxophonist Job Chajes. When Joël heard the song, he told Job: “The song starts slowly, I wake up and get my coffee. And at night, that’s when my fire starts burning, and I’m at my best.” The performers are also at their best; these are musicians of exceptional skill and intensity, possessing an ability to play together with the sensitivity and conviction that accompany decades of collaboration.

2023 was challenging, though, with the death of accordionist Theo van Tol in August. Amid party tunes, this album allows grieving space, closing with the profoundly moving ‘The Journey and the Traveler’, in which smatterings of human voice appear beneath a solemn, horn-based melody, before everything disappears into the howling wind.

Bomba Pop is busy, eclectic, rousing and fun. Fans of more traditional klezmer will find some reliable sounds here, but there are also discoveries to be made that should speak to whole new generations of listeners and dancers.