Singing in the Key of Sea

IT is an issue that has touched every Jewish family — migration and seeking refuge — and now a group of musicians have looked beyond the political debate to celebrate the unique musical skills of Australia’s migrants.

The Key of Sea was released earlier this month and features some of Australia’s finest indie artists teaming up with migrant performers.

Among the performers are Klezmania, which collaborated with punk and soul duo Philadelphia Grand Jury, and Old Man River, who partnered with Chilean-Australian Javier Fredes.

The Klezmania track, Sing for the Sun, includes the unmistakeable English and Yiddish vocals of Freydi Mrocki, but rather than the gypsy tunes so reminiscent of klezmer, the collaboration with Philadelphia Grand Jury provides a harder edge.

Ohad Rein, the singer who goes by the moniker Old Man River, told The AJN contributing to the project — which will donate profits to the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre, the Human Rights Arts and Film Festival and the Refugees, Survivors and Ex-Detainees group — really appealed to him.

Rein, who grew up in Israel and served in the IDF, wrote a song, Merry Christmas Island.

The track focusses on the journey of asylum seekers to Australia and has a South American percussion vibe, a different sound to Rein’s usual Middle Eastern and Indian influences.

“He [Fredes] comes from a totally different genre musically,” Rein said. “We just got matched together, like a blind date.”

Rein, who has lived all over the world — from Israel, to India and now in Sydney¬†— said there was a bit of laugh over roles.

While Fredes, who fled the Pinochet regime, has a thick Aussie drawl, Rein, who speaks with an Israeli lilt, commented, “I was a bit confused as to whether I was the immigrant or Javier.”

Rein, who recently released his second album Trust, said his background really helped him understand the motivation behind the album, which also features Sarah Blasko, The Cat Empire and Tim Rogers.

“Being Jewish and growing up in Israel, I can definitely relate to that,” he said. “It’s not political, it’s more humanitarian. It’s about whether you can allow people in.”

NAOMI LEVIN

PHOTO: Old Man River, AKA Ohad Rein.