Sarah Aroeste

I’ve been holed up in the recording studio the last month finishing up Gracia!  Below is a picture of me in the last day in the mixing studio, with our wonderful editor Eli Lishinsky:

It’s been an extraordinary couple of weeks for me, and I’m happy to report that the final mixes were just delivered to me this past Friday. This essentially means that the recording process is now complete!! The final step of mastering will happen next week.  In the meantime, now that I have the final mixes in hand, it’s been a good time to reflect on the last few songs I’ve tackled. I saved some of the most meaningful songs for last...

Two weeks ago was my father’s birthday; he would have been 67.  He passed away far too soon over 20 years ago, but his influence on my life, and my music, remains with me every day.  My father was not Sephardic and never lived to see my passion for Ladino culture grow, but I credit him for teaching me so much of what I know about music.  Below is a picture of me and my father at one of our favorite places in the world— Tanglewood Music Festival in Lenox, Massachusetts, otherwise known as the summer home of the Boston Symphony Orchestra.

I really got my musical start at Tanglewood, where my family has been going since I was even younger than in this picture.  My father’s love of classical music was instilled in me as a little girl, and I was inspired by one of my father’s favorite pieces of music, a Mendelssohn violin concerto (in E minor, opus 64....but who’s taking note), in the last song I saved last to finish. 

This song, "Tu Portret," is an original I composed, set to a poem by one of my mentors in the Ladino field, Matilda Koen-Sarano. After my father passed away, I wore a locket with his picture in it for many years after.  This song is about pleading with that picture to come back at least to say a proper good bye.  Needless to say, it was a difficult song to write, but has quickly became one of my favorites. The song is filled with many other memories— both happy and sad— that make it one of the most emotional on the album. I know my father would be very proud that his musical legacy (among many other of his wonderful qualities) still lives on in me...

So with 11 tracks under our belts, this closes the “mixing” stage of Gracia’s production.  Next up is mastering!!  The next update you’ll hear from me will be when the CD is mastered and on its way to being manufactured.  I promise to include a celebratory song clip then!  I look forward to reporting back in just a short couple of weeks with great news of the CD’s release...

So sad to hear today about the passing of one of the Jewish music greats-- Adrienne Cooper. She was an inspiration to me and so many others. She helped lead the revival of Yiddish music, and by extension, helped put Jewish music on the contemporary world scene.  You can learn more about her work here.  May her memory be a blessing.

Check out my Ladino cameo on this single released just for the holiday by Diwon and Y-Love. I always wanted to be a fly-girl in a hip-hop song-- now I am!  Enjoy getting your kandelikas lit!

It’s not easy being a musician today.  It’s also not easy being a Jewish woman in the music world.  That’s a whole other conversation— happy to have with anyone off-line! So to be both a musician, and a female Jewish one to boot, I’ve often been told takes ‘cajones.’  But I believe so strongly in the mission to keep Ladino culture alive, and I also believe that I, as a woman, have a unique artistic perspective to be heard.  I am proud of the fact that this new album is dedicated to my Sephardic heroine, Dona Gracia Naci (see blog post "Recording Gracia" to learn more about her), and I’m proud that I’ve incorporated some strong feminist inspiration in many of the songs.   

When I started my career 10 years ago, Ladino “Rock” was a seeming oxymoron.  It wasn’t often one would hear an oud paired with an electric guitar on a traditional Ladino song.  Somehow I’d like to think I’ve made it work.  Well now I present you with some “Feminist Ladino Rock!”  That’s a combo you really don’t hear too often...  

Before I talk about the new song I'm recording, I want to share with you a picture of one of the most remarkable women I know. This is my cousin Rachel:

She grew up in Bitola, Monastir (Northern Greece/Southern Yugoslavia— now present-day Macedonia) where much of my extended family is from (my grandfather was born there, too!).  On March 11th, 1943 Rachel’s family, along with all the Jews of the town, were rounded up and taken away.  Rachel survived.  She hid in a neighbor’s house and when the time was ripe, and with the help of a chauffeur from the Italian consulate, she was transported to Albania in the trunk of a car.  There, she changed her identity and lived in a stranger’s house until war’s end.  She never saw most of her family again.

Rachel’s strength and joyful spirit in all the time I’ve known her is an inspiration.  She is also the last remaining Ladino speaker in my family.  She is a treasure all around. It is Rachel, along with Dona Gracia, my own mother, and many other strong, powerful women who have inspired me, that I had in mind when I put together many of the tracks on this new album, including the one I'm finishing up today.

This song includes one of my dear friends, an incredibly talented spoken-word poet and feminist I have the honor of featuring on this album: Vanessa Hidary (aka the Hebrew Mamita).  I’ve taken a traditional Ladino song “La Comida la Manana”-- which for you Spanish speakers, is really not about tomorrow’s meal. It’s actually an amusing tiff between a daughter and a mother about the role of women in society (and specifically dating mores of the time).  I weaved in a poem of Vanessa’s called “Wild Women” to enhance my interpretation of the song.  As Vanessa writes at the end of the song (which you’ll hear in the full version on the album):

My wild, crazy, unruly, artsy, fiery, sweet, smart, talented sisters-
I am you.
You are me.
We are not for everyone.
But We Live.
Vigorously.

Carry on.

THANK YOU to all my amazing supporters and fans for helping me reach my Kickstarter goal. With your pledges to buy my new album Gracia, I am able to finish up the recording now. I am truly humbled and grateful for your belief in me. I thank you.  Ladino thanks you.  Can't wait to share the album with you as soon as it's done!  Now it's back to the studio to get to work...

In the past few updates I've shared special pictures of my ancestors with you.  Now I want to share with you a picture and a song that truly symbolize why I am so committed to the work that I do.

First the picture: this is the facade of a synagogue that many of my distant relatives helped build in the 1920's in Salonika, Greece. For you Hebrew speakers, you'll notice the "Aroeste" on the sign above the entrance!  As many of you may know, the Jewish community of Salonika (along with the rest of Greece) was decimated during WWII.  What is less known is that  Greece was the hardest hit country of any country in Europe in terms of the *percentage* of Jews killed during the war.  The community was devastated, along with much of Ladino culture, and to this day it is struggling to rebuild.  I am blessed that my immediate family was safely in America when the war hit.  But many of my distant relatives were not as fortunate. While many of the buildings in Salonika were destroyed in the fighting, this one synagogue remarkably was left intact at war's end.  The Nazi's used it as a Red Cross shelter, and so it was spared.  To me, the fact that this building was left standing (and is still in use today-- albeit much less) says so much about the resilience of Sephardic and Ladino culture worldwide today.  Our culture is certainly not as widespread  as it was just 70 years ago, but it *is* still standing.  And we are holding on fast, and we *continue* to rebuild.

In that spirit, I am asking you-- my fans-- to help me make sure this music gets heard.  I have made a commitment to my ancestors to not forgot their stories, and I'm doing so by creating new ones in the language and culture that they fought so hard to keep alive.  Today I'm recording one of my favorite songs on the new album.  It's another original song called "Chika Morena"-- and it's based on an old Sephardic theme of the wandering gypsy girl. In this song (which includes French and Moroccan influences--and an amazing orchestral score that kicks in half way), I imagined a young Sephardic girl kicked out from her homeland wandering for years and searching for a way back home. In this globalized world today, in the end I believe we are all just searching for that way home and to feel connected with our roots.  This song symbolizes that deep-rooted desire, which for me has been exemplified by my exploration of my Ladino heritage.  I have learned so much about myself along the way "home," and I hope this song inspires the same for you...

In my last update I shared a picture of my grandfather.  Now I want to share a picture of my great-great grandfather, “Papoo!”  From what I’ve been told, Papoo had two main goals near the end of his life: to marry a young bride, and to be buried in Jerusalem on the Mount of Olives.  He achieved both goals (notice said young bride in the photo below).

Like Papoo-- I have set my goals and I plan on reaching them.  And our goals are strangely similar!  I recently got married this year, and, while not on the Mount of Olives, I do hope to spend a lot of time in Israel over the next few years performing my music live. So Papoo and I are not so different, and I am constantly amused and affected by the similar path I seem to take from my ancestors. They truly lead me on my way.

In honor of Papoo (and my own recent nuptials), I've put together a new track on the upcoming album that actually combines two songs: the first is a very beloved traditional Sephardic wedding song, “Scalerica de Oro,” and the second song (in Hebrew) is a little known wedding psalm from a Sephardic prayer book for the holiday of Sukkot called “Dodi Yarad” (based on the Song of Solomon). I mixed the two songs in my version of a Ladino wedding ‘mash-up’!  Stay tuned for a clip coming soon...

Anyone want a free CD?  Follow me on Twitter (@SarahAroeste), and RT this for a chance to win a free signed CD in time for the holidays! http://tweetsw.in/1235/ #giveaway #contest  Good luck!

After being in the Ladino music biz for the last 10 years, some of you have asked me how I have the energy and will to record, promote, and distribute all on my own in today's music world-- the answer is below!  This is my grandfather (the younger of the lads) all spiffed up to watch the "Pasha" come into town.  My grandfather and his relatives were so proud of their heritage, and I feel it is my duty to honor them and make sure my beautiful history of Sephardic culture does not get lost.  This is why I do what I do. 

Today i'm recording a another original Ladino song of which I am especially proud.  It's called "El Leon Ferido" and is inspired by a poem by the great 11th century Judeo-Spanish poet, Samuel Ha-Nagid.  It's about maintaining hope and drive-- even when you think you've reached your end.  I hope my grandfather would be proud!

Today I'm recording the title-track to my new album, Gracia!   This is an original song I wrote-- an homage to Dona Gracia, my medieval Sephardic heroine!

Dona Gracia saved hundreds from the Spanish Inquisition through her courage, commitment to culture, and her feminine wisdom. The song I wrote for her is my foray into Ladino feminist rock! The end of the song even includes a special cameo by the iconic Gloria Steinem...

(As a side note, for any of you who speak Hebrew, there was a wonderful article recently in one of the major Israeli newspapers, Ma'ariv,  about Dona Gracia and why it's a travesty that more people don't know about her... The article can be found here .)

Can't wait to share a clip with you soon!

We're hard at work bringing Gracia to life-- wanted to share a couple pics of what we've been up to in the studio!  Check out the 16-piece string orchestra we've recorded on half the album, as well as Shai taking the lead in Pluto Studios in Tel Aviv.  More fun pics coming soon!

Today marks the kick-off day to my Kickstarter campaign!  Along with the campaign, I'm launching my new website and Gracia project!  It's a big day in my career.  I couldn't have gotten this far without my supporters and fans, and I can't wait to update you on the recording process of my new album, Gracia, and the Kickstarter campaign as it all unfolds. To watch my campaign video and learn all about the Gracia project, click below!