Seventh Heaven

Taichmania are an Israeli fusion group headed by multi-instrumentalist and composer Yaniv Taichman. Seventh Heaven, their debut, gives the occasional nod to classification and immediately shakes its head. Upon first listening I was a little taken aback by the innovative and sometimes jarring combination of Turkish and Arabic maqam, jazz, electronica, psychedelia and rock, but upon further listening it grew on me. The closest I could come to giving a label to this kind of music would be to describe it as a sort of Middle Eastern instrumental prog-rock odyssey. It begins with the sampled speeches of Egypt-Israeli peace talks in 1977 and soaring strings in the opener Arabesk' before moving on to the virtuosic saz solos of ‘See Ya at Six or Seven’ and the phased psychedelic oud of ‘Saba’.

The complex rhythms of the largely electronic ‘Rumorizit’ continue the theme of constantly changing, unexpected genres. At times, the electronics and acoustic instruments seem a little poorly blended, which may be an issue with the mastering; however, whenever present, Lior Ozeri's bass playing blends the mix together excellently. In short, if instrumental experimentation is your thing, Taichmania could be for you.