El Khat is a band from Jaffa, featuring musicians from the Yemeni diaspora. Khat is an addictive leaf that has been chewed socially in Yemen and the Arabic peninsula for over 600 years.
The group is led by Jewish Yemeni Eyal El Wahab. Eyal joined the Jerusalem Andalusian Orchestra in 2012 and performed with them the ancient classical music of North Africa and Europe.
At the end of 2017, Eyal left the Andalusian Orchestra and his flamenco-inspired band, El Gran Mar. Eyal longed for complete freedom to explore his Yemenite roots. As a boy, he first encountered the culture while visiting his grandparents. They had moved from Yemen to a Yemenite village in central Israel during the 1950s.
In the midst of these major life changes, Eyal was presented the Dust-to-Digital compilation Qat, Coffee and Qambus: Raw 45s From Yemen LP, full of Yemeni traditional music. He began learning Arabic. He had also been experimenting with carpentry and instrument building in his studio. This creative process, combined with his drive for cultural inquiry, led him to begin writing the album Saadia Jefferson. He often used instruments made from whatever materials he could find, sometimes even junk.
Discography:
Saadia Jefferson (Batov Records, 2019)
Author: Angel Romero
Angel Romero y Ruiz has dedicated his life to musical exploration. His efforts included the creation of two online portals, worldmusiccentral.org and musicasdelmundo.com. In addition, Angel is the co-founder of the Transglobal World Music Chart, a panel of world music DJs and writers that celebrates global sounds. Furthermore, he delved into the record business, producing world music studio albums and compilations. His works have appeared on Alula Records, Ellipsis Arts, Indígena Records and Music of the World.