Yinon Muallem presents ‘Norwegian Oud’

ISTANBUL

Istanbul-based musician, composer and writer Yinon Muallem’s new album, titled “Norwegian Oud,” has been released on all digital platforms.

“Oriental Circle – Hicaz Saz Semaisi,” one of the 10 songs in the album was also chosen to be included in the compilation album, “Top of the World,” which is released every year by the British-based magazine Songlines. The album will be given with the 171st edition of the magazine to be out on Sept. 3.

The album, in which 17 musicians from different countries such as Turkey, Germany, Denmark, Australia and Israel bring together the recordings they made in their own countries during the pandemic, consists of 10 instrumental songs in the ethno-jazz genre in Turkish and Hebrew. The songs include “Norwegian Oud” (A reference to the world-famous band Beatles’ song ‘Norwegian Wood’), “Heal,” “SMS to India,” “Sketches,” “Wish for Peace,” “Lo Amarti,” “Hicaz Saz Semai,” “Give Me Some Light,” “My Father” and “Shecharchoret.”

“The main work Norwegian Oud is an ethnic instrumental arrangement of the Beatles’ well-known song “Norwegian Wood” that was arranged by pianist Eyal Lovett and myself,” said Muallem, who is of Israeli origin, about the album.
“My dear father, retired judge and musicologist David Mualem passed away on March 31, 2021. I had a deep connection with my father because of our common love of music and writing. After his death, I wrote the work ‘Father,’ dedicated to his memory and legacy. The work was recorded and filmed in Israel and Turkey with the participation of musicians who knew and experienced my father closely, led by the ‘Mawal’ singer Ziv Yehezkel. Also, on the album, you can listen to my Israeli-Turkish collaboration with the Turkish singer ChanCe in an original arrangement I created for the old Jewish song ‘Shecharhoret,’ sung for the first time in Turkish and Hebrew.”

He also adds that the album is a kind of farewell, as he and his family will be leaving Turkey for a new destination after 19 years.

Born to an Iraqi origin family in Israel in 1968, Muallem has been influenced by a wide variety of traditional Turkish, Sufi and Gypsy as well as Klezmer, Balkan and Indian music, creating his own style with a unique combination of this rich variety.

Yinon has been playing the oud for the last 20 years and has launched 11 albums so far. He worked with many well-known Turkish musicians such as Ömer Faruk Tekbilek, Kudsi Ergüner, Tuluğ Tırpan, Şirin Pancaroğlu, Anjelika Akbar and Erkan Oğur.

Muallem also published two books in Israel: “Istanbul-Tel Aviv” and “Deep Inside A Broken Violin.”