Jewish Monkeys
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After Mania Regressia and High Words, Tel Aviv’s grandfathers of punk are back to present their latest album Catastrophic Life. Grandfathers of punk?! Not all band members will agree. In fact, several talented young bloods joined the ranks of the Jewish Monkeys over the past years, flashing polyphonic brass and shredding guitar riffs to keep the old guys on their heels. The ten new album tracks were all written by the band itself and see the expedition [...]

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JOSSI REICH: VOCALS
GAEL ZAIDNER: VOCALS
YOLI BAUM: BASS
HENRY VERED: DRUMS
OMER HERSHMAN: GUITAR
EYLON TUSHINER: SAXOPHONE
YARON OUZANA: TROMBONE
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Tracks

Jewish Monkeys

Catastrophic Life

High Words

..
Oy Brigitte 
Jm Fever 
Post Midlife Dance 
Alte Kacker 
Titina 
Pupik 
High Words 
I Wonder 
Romania 

Mania Regressia

..
Caravan Petrol 

Caravan Petrol / I want control / Nissan Patrol
Remote control / Caraca-racara... / Caravan Petrol

Oy isn’t it an oily planet? /Money feeds the oily expectations of the oil-consuming nations / Leads to global exploitation / I used to be a motherfucker, not knowing what to do in life/I was looking for sensation / In the army of salvation/ But they didn’t have a clue/If only they would see/ How clean the world could be/If they just exchanged the oil for solar energy / Wouldn’t it be nice? / If I went to paradise / Leaving earth a better place /Unspoiled by human race /

I used to be a motherfucker /Not knowing what to do in life / I was living in disguise / And was hiding from my wife / Desperately wandering in the desert/Trying to purify some water/ But instead I met the daughter / Of the Sheik who owned the well / Well well well well! Fatima Morgana / I showed her my banana / We listened to Santana / This desert is Nirvana / Fatima Morgana /Was licking my banana / Erupting a Fontana / Her Papa was in oil / oyoyoyoyoy Oil /I start to like the goil

He needed the sheik’s water/ But instead I fucked his daughter / Now the sheik he wants to slaughter / Everyone who fucks his girl / A little defloration /That was such a big sensation / Had to take her for my wife / To escape her Papa’s knife / Kni kni kni kni kni knife / The best chance of my life!

(instrumental intermezzo)

If only it could be / That the oil belonged to me / I would sell this whole Nirvana / And end my misery / Be rich eternally / Fuck solar energy / And all humanity / If only they could see / That the king of oil is me / And my oily queen is Fati.. Fatima Morgana/ Ala ala ala / I want her Papa’s car / I’m going to be a star/ I don’t give a shit about pollution / Only the petrol distribution / Is the only right solution / Stop this eco-revolution

Black but Sweet 

What is the woman and you will see, a nice black woman they call Didi / When she presses sweet lips to mine / I said Mammy kiss Pappy all the time

She is black and only and that is all / She is black and only and that is all / When men meet her, they bound to fall / Until her Mammy doesn’t sleep, oh Lord

What is the woman and you will see / A nice black woman they call Didi / when she presses sweet lips to mine / I said Mammy kiss Pappy all the time / Didi is that bright of my heart / I felt so funny with her to part / The people in the country of Caroline / can tell how Didi loves Houdini

Young boy think that they fight for me / Don’t put yourself into difficulties / For it is for this positive fact / The sweetest women in the world of luck / Don’t you mind when you get up old / It’s for never mute, keep cost in your soul / With your black baby you are born to stay / You cannot leave her and go away

I said Didi, I’m going away / But no longer I cannot stay / Mammy as it is, for this is fact / Sweet Houdini soon is coming back

Luba Lubaviczer 

Petrosilia / Che Guevara
Rojte Paprika / Mata Hari
Superwomen / Metaplastik
Mamographia

LUBA LUBAVICZER

Krimme Fiess / Groisse Zitzkalach / Ciciollina
Mania Regressia / Pizda Kurva
Kama Sutra / Pseudo Palavra

LUBA LUBAVICZER

Luba, Luba, Luba, Luba!! / Dayne Oygn hobn sech arayngedrayt in mayne Nishume/ Und ich bin im / Ganzn meshigge gewordn / Oy oy oy oy

(English):
Luba, Luba, Luba, Luba!! / Your eyes crashed into my soul/and I became totally crazy/Oy oy oy oy

Papirossen / Hare Krishna
Cucarracia / Hiper Histeria
Noch a zingale / Semi Conductor / Toda la Noce

LUBA LUBAVICZER

Alte Kretshme / Poco poco
Trichomonas / Sensationell
Psychotherapia / Hysterectomy / Apoplexia

LUBA LUBAVICZER

Luba, Luba, Luba, Luba!! / As du kishst mech, brennt a fayer in mir / Oy oy oy oy

(ENGLISH): When you kiss me, a fire burns in me/ Oy oy oy oy
Schoyn avek der Nechten / Noch nisht du der Morgen /Es is noch du a bissale Haynt / Ster ihn nisht mit Sorgen

(English):
Yesterday is already gone / Tomorrow is still not there /There is still a little bit of Today / Don’t disturb it with sorrows

Johnny is the Goy for Me 

“Johnny is the goy for me” /This is what she said to me ...

“Tall and blond / His eyes are blue / He fucks like hell /Doesn’t smell” / Oy, vey Jossl can’t you see?/ “Day and night / I think of him/ He rides a horse / He goes to the gym” /This is what she said to me ...

DaDai...

“Johnny is the goy for me” / So I said “Nuuu? Why not a Jew?”

“All the day / You count and pray / You promise the moon/And come too soon” / Oy, vey, Jossl, can’t you see?/ “You bring no check / Got hair on the back / You snore at night / Mama was right”/ Jossl, you’re no joy for her

DaDai...

(Intermezzo):
Jossl is no joy for her / For Johnny Goy she’s just a toy

I jumped from a tree / I broke my knee / I rode a bike / Even fucked a dike / Nothing’s good enough for her/ But now I found my Suzy Jane / She can’t do Tshulent / But never complains / For Sue I’m not a lousy Jew / For Sue I’m like a Johnny too

DaDai...

So Nice 

Louis was a financial fart/Spent all his money eating tart / It made him fat and stopped his heart/ Financial fart was not so smart

Everything’s so nice / Oy, it’s just so nice / Isn’t it paradise? / Some people eat just rice

Terry was a terrorist/ Couldn’t handle his father’s fist / The people thought that he’s a joke / Some of them went up in smoke

Everything’s so nice / Oy, it’s just so nice / Isn’t it paradise? / Some people eat just rice

Everything’s so great/ Just enjoy your fate / Everything’s so great/ Just enjoy your fate/daidaidai…

Jezebel she couldn’t smell/ Her father’s breath was responsible / When he touched her in the loo/ She lost her other senses too

Everything’s so nice/ Oy, it’s just so nice / Isn’t it paradise? / Some people eat just rice

Everything’s so great/ Just enjoy your fate / Everything’s so great/Just enjoy your fate/daidaidai…

Geraldine had a spleen/Everything had to be clean/She was never satisfied/ ’Cause the shit came from inside /...From inside... from inside…from inside…

Everything’s so great/Just enjoy your fate / daidaidai…
Everything’s so great/Just enjoy your fate/daidaidai…

Don’t you mind your enemies /Enemas and bumble bees/ Love your neighbor, kiss your wife/ You will probably meet them in the afterlife

Everything’s so nice/ Oy, it’s just so nice / Isn’t it paradise? / Some people eat just rice

Misirlou 

(Yiddish)
Vayt in dem midbar / Fun heyser zin farbrent/ Hob ikh amol a meydele dort gekent / Misirilou heyst zi/ Yeder dort veyst zi gut/ Kh’vel di printsesn mer shoyn fargesn nit.

Far in the Desert/ Burnt by the hot sun /I once knew a girl / Misirilou was her name / Everybody there knew her / I will already not forget the princess

(Yiddish)
Shtil, ovent kil, Un ikh fil az ikh vil mayn gefil /Far ir oysgisn un zi zol visn nor, Az nor zi lib ikh, Mayn lebn gikh ir, yo /

Silence, cool evening, And I feel / That I will my feeling
Spill out in front of her / And she should know / That only her I love / My life I give to her

(Yiddish)
Her, s’iz mir shver, Mit a trer zog ikh dir un ikh shver / Midber printsesn, kh’ken nit fargesn dikh / Kum hayl mayn benkshaft, nor di kenst hayln mikh /

Listen, it is difficult / With a tear, I tell you / And I swear
Desert princess, I cannot forget you / Come heal my longing / Only you can heal me

(Yiddish)
Misirilou mayne, meydale fun orient, Di oygn dayne hobn mayn harts farbrent / Mayn harts vert kranker, in chulem sey ikh dikh/ ants far mir shlanke /Drey zikh geshvind gikh. Midber printsesn, kh’ken nit fargesn dikh / Kum heyl mayn benkshaft, nor di kenst heyln mikh / Mayn mizrakh, blum misirilou

My Misirilou, girl from the orient / Your eyes have burnt my heart / My hearts gets sicker / In my dreams I see you / Dance in front of me, my beautiful / Turn around even quicker(Desert princess, I cannot forget you / Come heal my longing / Only you can heal me

My eastern flower, Misirilou

Heat, Meat, Beautiful Feet 

Sitting in my back yard /Everyone’s here / Trying to get the fire start / Listening to my friends fart / Uzi gets stoned / Moishe likes beer / Uzi’s wife wished he had Moishe’s career/ Mama is excited - I’m feeling so alone / Watching my dogs - chewing on a bone/ My lips are swollen and my head is numb / The sun is boiling /I had too much rum

Meat, heat – beautiful feet / Oy, a mechaye - what more do I need?
Meat, heat – beautiful feet / Oy a mechaye - is it guilt, is it greed?

It couldn’t be much better / There’s pressure in my chest / Everyone is boring / The dogs are depressed

Never wanted to become one of those / Why are the kids always pulling my nose?
The drinks are warm / The girls are lame / The guys are laughing, I am getting insane/ Life is too long / And it’s mostly cruel / My prostata is burning /I wish I had a pool/

Meat, heat – beautiful feet / Oy, a mechaye - what more do I need /
Meat, heat – beautiful feet / Oy, a mechaye - is it guilt, is it greed?

Meat, heat – beautiful feet / Oy, a mechaye - what more do I need?

Meat, heat – beautiful feet / Oy, a mechaye - is it guilt, is it greed?

I wonder why the women that I love / Always have to live with the men I hate/
Maybe a fancy house is enough / To make them believe that these shmocks are great/ I’m asking for a hand, doing me a favor / But she’s always busy with her pussy-shaver/ I should’ve sticked to my family’s taboo – / “Never mar ry a woman uglier than you”

Meat, heat – beautiful feet / Oy, a mechaye - what more do I need?

Meat, heat – beautiful feet / Oy, a mechaye - is it guilt, is it greed?

Suddenly everyone’s a little bit stressed / The neighbor’s daughter is practically undressed But I will stick to the rules of the game /’ Cause "EDIPUSSY" is my second name

Banana Boat vs. Hava Nagila 

Day oh, Day oh / Daylight come and we wanna go home / Day is the day is the day is the day is the day is the day oh ho hou / Daylight come and we wanna go home
Announcer: Wait a second. Why do you wanna go home yet? / You want a peace in the Middle East??
The two Jews: Don’t they say, make love not war
The Arab: Leave our land, and we won’t break your jaw
The two Jews: They killed us in Europe, we need real estate
The Arab: You gave us the Nakba, now go get your fate
The two Jews: For 2000 years we are longing for Jerusalem
The Arab: Al-Quds is ours, Al-Aqsa won’t fall
The two Jews: For 2000 years we are longing for the Promised Land
The Arab: Since Muhammad we had the upper hand
The two Jews: For 2000 years we are longing for Zion,
The Arab: We don’t have a chance but we fight like a lion
The two Jews: We are the chosen, the people of God
The Arab: We’re blessed by Allah!!! Eternal Jihad

Day oh, Day oh / Daylight come and we wanna go home / day it’s the day oh… / Daylight come and we wanna to go home
Announcer: Actually, Why don’t we live in peace and harmony / like in Harry Belafonte’s Banana Boat / Look there is a Russian, an Indian, an African, an American

I work all night and I drink all rum / Daylight come and we wanna go home. / Come Mr. Tallyman, tally me banana /
Daylight come...

A beautiful bunch, a ripe banana / Daylight come… / Hide the deadly black tarantula/ Daylight come…
day it’s the day oh... / Daylight come and we wanna to go home

It’s six foot, seven foot, eight foot, bunch! / Daylight come...
Daylight come and we wanna go home
Announcer: Did you see? / They are singing and dancing together /In fuck’n peace and harmony, Like in Harry Belafonte’s Banana Boat

Let’s take the Banana Boat to the fuck’n Middle East

You, You and You 

I am so desperate / I cannot separate / Just don’t know what to do / It’s not my fault,
That you confuse me / And you - you confuse me too

Is it possible ?/ You think there’s someone else / And it tears my heart in two / You must believe it / For me there’s only one / And that’s you, you and you

You got to choose / You just have to decide / You got to choose / Which one of us is right, is right, is right

You say you love me/ But you don’t trust me / You say I have to decide / I would do anything /But my love for you / I can never divide / You don’t believe me / You misconceive me / What do you think I do? / I am not ambivalent / There’s no equivalent / To either one of you
You got to choose / You just have to decide / You got to choose / Which one of us is right, is right, is right

Misty psychics, psychiatrists and my cleaning woman, too /They do all agree / Unequivocally / That I am crazy about you / In my diary / In my testament / And my shopping list too / This one and only line / I never redefine / Just says you, you and you

You got to choose / You just have to decide / You got to choose / Which one of us is right, is right, is right

If I must choose / There’s no doubt what to do / If I must choose / My choice is you, you and you

Add It Up 

Why can’t I get just one kiss? / Why can’t I get just one kiss? / Believe me there’s something I wouldn’t miss, but I look at your pants and I need a kiss.

Why can’t I get just one screw? / Why can’t I get just one screw? / Believe me I know what to do, but something won’t let me make love to you.

Why can’t I get just one fuck? / Why can’t I get just one fuck? / I guess it’s got something to do with luck, but I’ve waited my whole life for just one...

Day after day I get angry and I will say / that the day is in my sight, when I’ll take a bow / And say good night.

Oh ma ma ma ma ma Mom / Have you kept an eye, an eye on your son / I know you’ve got problems/ You’re not the only one, when your sugar left / he left you on the run.

Oh ma ma ma ma ma Maminyu
Take a good look what your boy has done / He’s walking around like he’s number one / He went downtown and got him a gun.

Don’t shoot shoot shoot that thing at me / Don’t shoot shoot shoot that thing at me / You know you’ve got my sympathy, but / don’t shoot shoot shoot that thing at me.

Oh ma ma ma ma ma ma Mother / I would love to love you lover / The city’s restless, it’s ready to pounce / Here in your bedroom ounce for ounce.
Oh ma ma ma ma ma ma ma Maminyu / I would love to love you lover / The city’s restless, it’s ready to pounce. / Here in your bedroom ounce for ounce.

I am giving you decisions to make, things to lose, things to take / Just as he’s about ready to cut it up, / I said “wait a minute honey, I am gonna add it up”
Add it up Add it up Add it up...

Day after day I get angry and I will say / that the day is in my sight, when I’ll take a bow / And say good night.

Live Music

..
Rumania @ Vienna Accordion Festival 
Johnny is the Goy for me @ Nachtleben Frankfurt 
Heat, Meat, Beautiful Feet @ Furth 
Add It Up @ Vienna Accordion Festival 
Hit me with your Rhythm Stick @ Furth 
Luba @ Fuerth 
Papirosen @ Vienna Accordion Festival 
Titina @ Fürth 
videos
press
If you like the wilder klezmer bands, then step right up to the Monkeys.
(Folkworld Review 01/09/2017) +

“Klezmer punk is what I was expecting and it is what this collective delivered. The pace is there, but there is a lighthearted nature to their approach, which keeps it fun and invigorating. So much gypsy punk is based on pace and energy with a certain craziness within. This has much of that, but it is far more relaxed and focused on melody, even with a slower song here and there. So if gypsy punk is something you are only half into, this may be the half you are looking for. And if you like the wilder klezmer bands, then step right up to the Monkeys.”
David Hintz, Folkworld Review, September 2017

A fine statement against the all too politically correct thinking.
(Written In Music 02/07/2017) +

“A fine statement against the all too politically correct thinking, with a very nice soundtrack … This produces a very exciting, danceable album, which is undoubtedly worth seeing live.”
Philippe De Cleen, Written In Music, July 2, 2017

Anarcho-klezmer with a wink.
(Rebel Base / Tropicalidad 19/06/2017) +

“The title track of this new album is an indictment of the establishment that is trying to appease the people with the kind of demagoguery we can still remember from the last world war, instead of focusing on real problems like inequality and ecology. But the fact they also have a lighter side, the band proves with ‘Alte Kacker’ (loosely translated: “old fart”), a cynical song about the ungracefulness of old age. Anarcho-klezmer with a wink!”
– Rebel Base (Belgium), June 19, 2017

Also available on: Tropicalidad (Belgium).

On ‘High Words’ the notorious klezmer punks take another swipe at a broad range of topics and deliver a satirical blow to any and all presumed taboos.
(Bayern 2 03/05/2017) +

“On their new album ‘High Words’ the notorious klezmer punks take another swipe at a broad range of topics and deliver a satirical blow to any and all presumed taboos. This includes mercilessly self-pitying Yiddish songs dealing with old age (‘Alte Kacker’), anti-love songs such as ‘Pupik’ or title track ‘High Words’, detailing a righteous fury towards the establishment in the age of Global Warming, that is currently making a return to the demagoguery of the former World War era.”
Tobias Ruhland, BR.de, Bayern 2 (Bavarian radio), May 3, 2017

To try and pigeonhole them would be ridiculous.
(Musikexpress 01/05/2017) +

“Album number two by the Israeli Balkan/Klezmer/Punk band once again lays proof to the fact that trying to pigeonhole them would be ridiculous… They manage to turn their fragmented identity in a unique pop statement, while masterfully riding diverse genres as they do languages, dialects and topics.”
4,5 / 5 stars, Thomas Winkler, Musikexpress, 05/2017

Here you have a bunch of creative individualists making completely unorthodox music.
(konkret 01/05/2017) +

“Here you have a bunch of creative individualists, two of whom met in the Frankfurt synagogue’s boys’ choir in the ’70s, making completely unorthodox music. And even though their musical blend of punk, jazz, rock, Balkan beats and klezmer is suitable for the masses, their provocative lyrics, a mix of English, Yiddish, Hebrew and German, are filled with (self-)irony and address a more particular kind of listener. Their songs are hardly the material most Yiddish-speakers, seculars or the ultra-Orthodox would relate to. This in part is also due to the fact that their Yiddish is not authentic, but rather a stylistic device to transport folklore and Jewish tradition.”
– konkret Magazin (Monthly publication), 05/2017

The Jewish Monkeys are never malevolent, as they wrap their pungent lyrics in a fine blend of vintage cabaret, folk punk rock and anarchic speed klezmer
(Westzeit 01/05/2017) +

“And they are still as audacious as ever: politicians, women, compatriots, no one is spared. Much less the gentiles. That being said, the Jewish Monkeys are never malevolent, as they wrap their pungent lyrics (‘I Wonder’) in a fine blend of vintage cabaret, folk punk rock and anarchic speed klezmer.”
– Karsten Zimalla, Westzeit magazine, 05/2017

Their uptempo songs are forceful and dirty, basking in the glow of their corny ballads.
(Deutschlandfunk Corso 22/04/2017) +

“Klezmer, punk rock, Balkan sounds: The Jewish Monkeys deliver another great album alias ‘High Words’. Their essence is not actually political, but they do love satire. Anything that crosses their path is ridiculed. Their uptempo songs are forceful and dirty, basking in the glow of their corny ballads. Once on stage they include bouts of improvisation on guitar or trombone. Music you can really dance to.”
DLF Corso (National German Radio), April 22, 2017

If this is what the proverbial post-midlife dance sounds like, then I do not want to be one bit younger.
(Plärrer Stadtmagazin Augsburg 01/04/2017) +

“If the Jewish Monkeys’ beat is what the proverbial post-midlife dance sounds like, then I do not want to be one bit younger.”
Plärrer, Augsburg (Local monthly magazine), April 2017

When played live, this vibrant mix releases an energy akin to a punk rock show
(OX 01/04/2017) +

“Musically the Israelis blend ska, pop, klezmer and Balkan sounds. When played live, this vibrant mix releases an energy reminiscent of a punk rock show.”
– OX Magazin Nr. 131 (Hardcore fanzine), 04/05/2017

A wildly danceable mix of klezmer, punk and circus music, paired with uninhibited satirical lyrics.
(taz, Die Tageszeitung 11/03/2017) +

“A wildly danceable mix of klezmer, punk and circus music, paired with uninhibited satirical lyrics.”
taz, Die Tageszeitung (German daily), March 11, 2017

Great. Stunning. A unanimous exaltation.
(Darmstädter Echo 10/03/2017) +

“Loud, snotty, blunt: these musicians want to provoke. Jewish Monkeys concerts are fun and never cease to entertain, baffle or even confuse audiences… Great. Stunning. A unanimous exaltation.”
– Darmstädter Echo (Local daily), March 10, 2017

Such is the group’s nonconformity that dictates their every move, starting with their choice of music.
(musikansich.de 09/03/2017) +

“That the Jewish Monkeys are not ones to stick to the many conventions of the music business is no longer news to the well-informed. Such is the group’s nonconformity that dictates their every move, starting with their choice of music: Their self-determined brand of klezmer punk will meet any three-chord aficionado’s expectations, but equally cause nervous palpitations among klezmer lovers. Punk in this regard is the band’s said nonconformity, though paired with a hunger for the most diverse musical surprises, feeding on multiple styles, take Balkan elements for instance… That being said, their entire setlist comprises just three songs in a major key, the rest is minor. But their innate ability to turn that into a cheerful live event lays further proof to the fact that this is not your ordinary band, making them all the more valuable. If you get a chance, go see them!”
Roland Ludwig, musikansich.de, March 9, 2017

Their autonomous mix of klezmer, punk, rock, Balkan music and pop is nothing less than an extraordinary circus act.
(Märkische Allgemeine Zeitung 08/03/2017) +

“Merry, socio-critical, cutting, highly frivolous and politically incorrect are ways you may choose to describe their songs. Oh and filled with innuendos. As the accordion squeezes out Europe’s final countdown, revealing hidden quotes from the Beatles, their melodies stir up memories. This wild bunch from Tel Aviv, comprising eight musicians in all, sings in Yiddish and English. Eight men and just as many musical influences. At least. Their autonomous mix of klezmer, punk, rock, Balkan music and pop is nothing less than an extraordinary circus act.”
– Märkische Allgemeine Zeitung, March 8, 2017

From the Frankfurt boys' choir to Israel and back: Their music is thrilling as ever.
(Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung 05/03/2017) +

“From the Frankfurt boys’ choir to Israel and back: The Jewish Monkeys continue to baffle German audiences with their cheerfully frivolous brand of klezmer punk. Following a change in lineup, the still eight-man combo delivers another stellar album with High Words. Once again, the band digs deep into the profound Jewish tradition. Take ‘Titina’ for instance, a modern-day reinterpretation of the 1917 original, later used by Charlie Chaplin in his iconic film ‘Modern Times’. While ‘Romania’ pays homage to and equally mocks the glorification of Eastern European folklore, tracks such as ‘Post Midlife Dance’ or ‘Alte Kacker’ are gloriously self-deprecating. Their music is thrilling as ever.”
Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung (biggest German Sunday paper), March 5, 2017

Anarchists like the Marx Brothers the Jewish Monkeys are anything but kosher.
(Journal Frankfurt 01/03/2017) +

“Tel Aviv’s impious rock & rollers see themselves as ‘Darwin’s final dillusion, the Jewish missing link of evolution’. Anarchists like the Marx Brothers they are anything but kosher. And although their two frontmen Jossi Reich and Roni Boiko originally met as choir boys in Frankfurt’s Westend synagogue, they were always more drawn to disco. The politically incorrect Jewish Monkeys are more than your ordinary klezmer punks.”
– Journal Frankfurt (Local magazine), 03/2017

No time to get all sentimental.
(AUDIO 31/03/2016) +

“On ‘Mania Regressia’ the Jewish Monkeys demand listeners leave their sentiments at the door. The Tel Aviv trash combo employs an aggressive mix of cabaret, circus marches, Frank Zappa-ish horseplay and klezmer punk to shock its audiences, Jews and non-Jews alike.” – AUDIO, 04/2016

Building a Cultural Bridge between Tel Aviv and Dresden – An official statement
(Greedy for Best Music 21/01/2016) +

“The concerts were a wonderful experience for the band. It was very moving to see how this ‘guerrilla event’ could magically transform the faces of these tired, fearful, uprooted and traumatised people. Young men danced the Dabke (a popular line dance in Syria) to old Yiddish songs and beaming children experienced their first rock concert. After the show they stormed the stage to touch the drums and guitars in awe. Careful at first, the band did not let the public know they were from Tel Aviv, however, some of the band members delighted their listeners with Arabic greetings and phrases of gratitude. During conversations with the public, when asked, ‘where do you come from?’, one of the band members, said: ‘Tel Aviv’. This answer did not cause animosity, but joy and surprise.”

– Greedy for Best Music

Hard times for a band specializing in klezmer-rock. A tour diary
(Die Welt 24/11/2015) +

“Cooped up in a minivan, though way more comfortable than being in one of those cattle wagons from back in the days heading East, we embark towards our next destination, a street festival in Dresden. Upon arrival we face a small stage blaring Arab rap music for a bunch of belligerent looking adolescents, jumping up and down and waving their fists in the air. Then it’s our turn. We step on stage, Boiko and I share an awkward smile with the crowd, while Gael refreshes his Arabic. It all goes down as expected: They absolutely love us, singing along to our Yiddish ‘dai, dai, dais’ and dancing Dabke as if at an oriental wedding. It was delirious.”

– Jossi Reich, Die WELT (German daily)

In the end, entertainment wins.
(Badische Neueste Nachrichten 16/09/2014) +

They pulled all the stops at their gig, engaging head and heart alike. They get people on their feet with familiar Balkan folk sounds and get them listening with complex rock arrangements and melancholic laments. How to describe Jewish Monkeys? A political band? Pure entertainment? Both? In the end, entertainment wins. The room is owned by ecstatic dancers.

– Badische Neueste Nachrichten

A fantastic live band in the spirit of punk
(Süddeutsche Zeitung 15/09/2014) +

Jewish Monkeys pluck the flowers for their bouquet of clichés from a luxuriant garden of neuroses, burgeoning with self-irony, over-indulgent mothers and inferiority complexes. They are provocative, hounding their listeners out of their comfort zones and making them dance. Because this Klezmer ensemble living in the fast lane is first and foremost a fantastic live band in the spirit of punk. The trombone fires hot salvos at the singers while the guitar’s insistent off-beat rhythm pushes the band in the direction of Ska. Their live performance is overwhelming in its furiously unchained attack on tradition. At the anarchistic climax of the evening, Reich, Boiko and Zaidner launch Harry Belafonte’s famous Banana Boat off towards the Middle East, to bring peace to the region at last.

Süddeutsche Zeitung (one of Germany’s leading dailies)

A Sense of Nonsense: the Anarcho-Klezmer Band Jewish Monkeys!
(Deutschlandfunk Corso 10/09/2014) +

A Sense of Nonsense: the Anarcho-Klezmer Band Jewish Monkeys!

Deutschlandfunk Corso (national German radio)

Shades of cinematic heroes such as Woody Allen
(Franfurter Allgemeine Zeitung 05/09/2014) +

They ridicule the obscenities of international relations with the same tongue-in-cheek attitude they adopt toward their own culture, with a healthy mix of sophistication and anarchy. Shades of cinematic heroes such as Woody Allen, with an added dose of high-calibre party mood.

Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (Germany’s leading daily)

Mildly disturbed eternal adolescents
(Spiegel Online 05/09/2014) +

The Jewish Monkeys‘ album Mania Regressia plays on Jewish clichés and anti-Semitic reality. This post-Klezmer, post-Pop, post-Alija band from Tel Aviv has created an album brimming with love, rage and joy that reveals just how they are themselves: mildly disturbed eternal adolescents with a soundtrack for the panic attacks of our time. All of which makes Mania Regressia more than just music to listen to – from old and obscure songs with new geopolitical fire, such as Caravan Petrol or the satirical hit Johnny is the Goy for Me – and instead a rollicking, joyful, despairing peal of laughter on the margins of the western world.

Spiegel Online (Germany’s No. 1 political news website)

Spirited, disrespectful, Jewish humour at its finest
(3Sat Kulturzeit 03/09/2014) +

Spirited, disrespectful, Jewish humour at its finest. A wild, cult-worthy mix of Klezmer, Balkan and Rock.

3Sat Kulturzeit (TV channel for Austria/Switzerland/Germany)

Trashy hits with lyrics that tumble helter-skelter between Yiddish and English
(Kulturnews 01/09/2014) +

Their love songs are delightfully filthy, full of unexpected emotions and virtuoso hilarity. Jewish Monkeys wallow in trashy hits with lyrics that tumble helter-skelter between Yiddish and English. A truly international line-up!

Kulturnews (Germany’s largest culture mag)

An eagle eye on what is happening in the here and now
(Deutschlandfunk 29/08/2014) +

They really do have some political cheek – highly critical, with an eagle eye on what is happening in the here and now. They make music that cuts to the quick, and that’s what I find so exciting: really good, thought-provoking lyrics.

Martin Kranz, Director of the Jewish Cultural Days, Berlin

If Hitler hadn’t nearly won the war
(Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung 06/07/2014) +

If Hitler hadn’t nearly won the war, Jewish music would sound like this: naturally stoned, fast, and madly melancholic.

Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung (biggest German Sunday paper)

Racing polka beats, calypso, rumba and gutter blues redolent of Tom Waits
(Nürnberger Nachrichten 18/03/2014) +

The incredible Jewish Monkeys from Israel epitomise the inexhaustible experimental drive of Jewish music. Jewish Monkeys manage, seemingly effortlessly, to transpose Yiddish songs into an impressive alternative World pop context worthy of any indie rock festival. Racing polka beats, calypso, rumba and gutter blues redolent of Tom Waits, with a dash of trombone, accordion and a distinctive guitar twang give the three singers plenty of dynamic impetus to launch their wackily irreverent, witty songs. Energetic fun that fires up the audience to fever pitch.

Nürnberger Nachrichten (biggest Bavarian daily)

Roof-raising, rambunctious rock
(Nordbayerische Zeitung 17/03/2014) +

Roof-raising, rambunctious rock by the Jewish Monkeys – three singers at once, like animators moderating between pop and funk, with a smattering of traditional songs.

Nordbayerische Zeitung (Bavarian local daily)

A satirical emancipatory coup
(Fürther Nachrichten 17/03/2014) +

The Jewish Monkeys from Tel Aviv unleash a satirical emancipatory coup at the Kulturforum with a show verging on cabaret. Tapping into the tonal syntax of the present day, klezmer strikes on a contemporary note. And the audience spontaneously goes along with it, as evidenced by their enthusiastic participation.

– Fürther Nachrichten (Bavarian local daily)

Whatever people say they are, that's what they're not
(Haaretz 07/01/2014) +

At an age when most people retire, these guys are releasing their debut album – in English, Spanish, Esperanto and Yiddish. […] When three middle-aged men perform with wild abandon on stage, it’s clear to anyone watching that they have to conduct a restrained family life for the rest of the year. This is not a supergroup composed of rock stars who first came to prominence in the 1970s, nor is it a choir project of the neighborhood community center. Despite the men’s ages, the Jewish Monkeys (are) a young band at heart, whose members prove that you’re never too old to start performing.

– Ha’aretz (Israeli daily)

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December 14, (AT) Vienna, WUK
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Jewmany, um, Germany, let's get loud! The Jewish Monkeys are set to return for a string of six shows. They will bring the heat to Jena, Krefeld, Cologne, Frankfurt, Kassel and Nürnberg. Check the tour section for event details and bring your dancing shoes!

Deutschland, we're coming for you!

TUE 17.5. 2016 Jena, Café Wagner Jena e.V.
WED 18.5.2016 Krefeld, Kulturrampe Krefeld
THU 19.5.2016 Cologne, Underground Cologne
FRI 20.5.2016 Frankfurt, Das [...]

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Romania

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Next Saturday, March 11th, the Monkeys are scheduled to play the 15th International Klezmer Festival in Fürth for the second time in a row, while on Sunday, March 12th, [...]

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Deeply impressed and profoundly moved by their latest visit to Germany, the Jewish Monkeys decided to revisit the cutting room and share their German Chronicles, a three-part web series documenting the band's visit to Dresden as part of their Global Warming Tour last year, where they performed for refugees and attended an anti-Pegida demonstration in musical and verbal solidarity.

Watch Part 1 below and Part 2 in our video section, airing just in time for the [...]

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During their "Global Warming Tour 2015" in October and November of last year, the Jewish Monkeys travelled to Dresden to take a musical stand against racism, discrimination and the rising Neo-Nazi-affiliated, right-wing Pegida movement by sharing a moment of love, unity and joy with and for the stranded refugees.

Needless to say, the impressions gathered there, left a lasting impression on everyone involved. Time to take a minute to reflect on the experiences [...]

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Wor(l)d Domination

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Let's take a trip down memory lane, shall we? Not too far, say back to November of last year, when the Jewish Monkeys travelled to Germany as part of their Global Warming Tour 2015. There, besides delivering a string of excellent, crowd-pleasing shows, they also took to the stage against racism and discrimination with their one of a kind satirical verses.

Singer Jossi Reich documented their experiences in an exclusive, outspoken, up close and personal tour [...]

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Europe beware! February and March mark the return of the infamous Jewish Monkeys, back on track for a string of new sweat-inducing, eyebrow-raising performances. Hot on the heels of an eventful 2015, featuring a busy tour schedule, global turmoil, mass migration, overwhelmed authorities, jam sessions with refugees and brave musico-political stands, the Global Warming Tour continues in 2016, officially kicking off in Stuttgart, Germany on February 20th. For [...]

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In what can only be described as one of the very unfortunate and equally threatening side-effects of the current European refugee crisis, the anti-immigrant and anti-muslim incitement of the German-born Pegida movement has quickly gained ground with its polarising rhetoric, even spreading to other countries within less than a year.

'Enough of this monkey business', said the Jewish Monkeys and visited Dresden last October, while in Germany as part of their [...]

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Global Copenhagen

A World Music Venue Quite Out Of The Ordinary
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Copenhagen's one and only non-profit world music venue, fittingly named Global, opened its doors to a mixed and multi-generational crowd of music enthusiasts back in 2006 and has since positioned itself as one of the prime establishments of its kind and in the world, while being the only venue in all of Denmark dedicated to the genre itself, as eloquently put in this well-written piece, recently published on Vice magazine's Noisey platform:

"World music is [...]

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Building Bridges

Concerts, Workshops, Jam & Recording Sessions For Refugees In Dresden
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Last Saturday the tireless Tel Aviv-based Jewish Monkeys rocked Copenhagen's Global music venue only to travel to Dresden one day later for a series of concerts, workshops, jam sessions and 'bridge-building' with refugees there, in a call for more humanity and less racism:

"It's a special honour for us to play for people from our neighbouring country Syria and to build bridges with the potential to overcome hostility. Just like the generation of our [...]

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Luba Lubaviczer

Live In Fürth
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Back in 2014, the Jewish Monkeys performed at the International Klezmer Festival in Fürth, Bavaria. Among our favourite live recordings from the concert is this rambling rendition of their ode to the fictive female temptress "Luba Lubaviczer", who had the boys in quite an infatuated frenzy. But hear for yourselves. Let's just say the audience got it's fair share of 'oy's:

"Petrosilia / Che Guevara
Rojte Paprika / Mata Hari
Superwomen / Metaplastik
[...]

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On The Road Again

Jewish Monkeys "Global Warming Tour 2015" Announced
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Things are definitely heating up in Jewish Monkeys territory as we unveil the brilliant artwork to their upcoming "Global Warming Tour", with live shows all across Germany from October 16th through November 8th. Exact dates and locations to be announced.

In the meantime, be sure to feast your eyes on these handsome m*therf*ckers lounging poolside, obviously ignorant of current global hardships as expressed in their album track "Caravan Petrol", featuring in the official lyric video below.

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In Their Own Words

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Prior to a gig at Tel Aviv's crazy underground venue Radio E.P.G.B in January 2014, the three Jewish Monkeys singers Jossi Reich, Ron Boiko and Gael Zaidner met with Dafna Arad of the Israeli daily Ha'aretz to share some insight on the band's evolution, from its modest beginnings to the point, where things started to get a bit more serious, with their then soon-to-be-released debut album "Mania Regressia". The piece really puts their individual motivation into [...]

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Daidaidaidaidai

"Titina" Live In Fürth
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In March 2014 the Jewish Monkeys were invited to play the International Klezmer Festival in the quaint North Bavarian town of Fürth. Once on stage they also performed one of their favourite non-album tracks "Titina", an upbeat tune taken from the Charlie Chaplin movie "Modern Times" and underlaid with an old Yiddish song. Adding their very own touch of punk to the mix, this rendition sure got the crowd going and chiming in with the "daidaidaidaidai" [...]

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"Home? Between The Legs Of My Wife"

The Jewish Monkeys On German National Radio
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If you are familiar with the Jewish Monkeys mindset and their seemingly carefree, provocative, or rather thought-provoking, politically incorrect approach to basically everything that is politically incorrect, then this interview, which aired on German national radio station Deutschlandradio Kultur in April, will be to your liking. Though you will need to speak German to understand, what is being said.

Ronni Boiko and Jossi Reich sat down with host Oliver [...]

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A London Triple

Jewish Monkeys Live @ Passing Clouds
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On a weekend in March, the Jewish Monkeys travelled to London to play three consecutive club shows in the British capital. Unfortunately, upon arrival at Heathrow Airport, they were detained and questioned for a rough eight hours, before finally making it to their first gig with a slight delay. Once on stage however, they performed with such energy, passion and enthusiasm, releasing all the tension and turning the negative energy into boisterously good vibes, [...]

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Jewish Monkeys X Paul Wallfisch

"Black But Sweet" Live In Hamburg 2015
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Earlier this year in April, the Jewish Monkeys embarked on their seven-stop "Springtime For Hinkel" Tour through North and East Germany. Playing the well-established Hamburg Kampnagel venue, they were supported by none other than the ubertalented, musical globetrotter Paul Wallfisch, who decided to join them on piano for this crooning, 'live but sweet' rendition of their controversial track "Black But Sweet", which you can relive below:

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