Following the release of their third album "Catastrophic Life", these past weeks have been positively hectic for our dear Jewish Monkeys. First, they embarked on a quick tour of Germany, the Czech Republic, France and Israel. Just ahead of their show at Paris' La Bellevilloise, French daily Libé/Libération wrote a short piece on them, which you can revisit here (if you are proficient in French). The article includes a charming quote by Omer Hershman, who co-wrote the new longplayer: "The idea was to expand our Jewish humour to different genres, from surf rock to afro beat, while preserving our self-deprecating vein. In any case, when I write, I can't help but see Jossi's mug before my eyes, making it hard to keep a straight face.”
The band then went on to unveil a special, first-ever vinyl release of their current album, limited to an edition of 50 and available on the Jewish Monkeys' Bandcamp page. They also announced a string of new shows across Germany, scheduled for March 2020, which you can check out on our Shows page. Don't sleep!
What's more, the Jewish Monkeys were recently featured by German public radio Deutschlandfunk Kultur, as part of their weekly show "Aus der jüdischen Welt" (From the Jewish World). Journalist Luigi Lauer met with frontman Jossi Reich to find out more about the "Tel Aviv grandfathers of punk." You can listen to the feature here (if you are proficient in German): "We've created a new sound, that is no longer rooted solely in Yiddish culture or based on cover versions," says Jossi Reich. "Backed by our new brass section, we've managed to diversify our sound and incorporate genres such as '70s funky or afro-soul. We've really progressed, but it's still Klezmer punk rock at its core."
You can stream "Catastrophic Life" in full below and don't forget to watch the eponymous official music video, which has meanwhile reached over 100K views!