Various

No question it’s a novelty to come across such incredibly polished music from a community of black Hebrews living in Dimona, a village in the middle of the Negev desert in Israel. But the superior songwriting, musicianship and studio craft reveal a fascinating and deep vein of global funk. Originally from Chicago and Detroit, these musicians and their families took their soul vibrations across the ocean to a new spiritual homeland, one away from the psychic scars of slavery in the U.S. Extraordinary tracks like "Hey There” describe in painful detail the joy of escape from a life of second-class citizenship. Once in Israel, they established a parallel universe of psychedelic soul to what was happening in their cities of origin, as evidenced by the pitch-perfect, Hebrew Curtis Mayfield concept of the Soul Messengers’ "Go To Proclaim.” But it’s not all proselytising; these folks also became the number one party band in the country at the time. Who can resist a Hebrew version of "Na Na Na Na, Hey Hey”? Throughout, there are fresh takes on soul, jazz and funk, and that’s what Numero’s all about. This is one of their best-ever releases.