Naz

When Liraz Charhi began writing her third album, she decided to do things differently. After an indifferent response to her first two albums, she simplified her stage name to Liraz, started writing in Farsi, and got the up-and-coming Israeli producer Rejoicer on board. She decided, ‘to write songs that would bring the point at which my parents disconnected from Iran, the 1970s, to the here and now, and integrate it with modern electronic music.’

Everything from the front cover to the lyrics to the music channels this duality. At the same time as she embraces the thriving electronic scene of Tel-Aviv, she mourns the repression of Iranian singers after the Revolution. At the same time as she celebrates her freedom as a woman in Israel, she bemoans the lack of freedom given to the voices of Iranian women. The album uses these juxtapositions to great effect. Rejoicer's contemporary beats are buoyed up by the addition of ethnic Iranian instruments such as ney (flute) and qanun (zither) – and Liraz's folkish Farsi singing is undercut by intimations of her Israeli upbringing.

The success of Naz lies in fusing these two different styles without tainting either, transforming Liraz from being just another Israeli singer to a cross-cultural artist.