hello everyone, my name is niri, I'm a multi instrumentalist focusing on the middle east maqam music, especially on the ney flute and vocal improvisation. i do a lot of composing and producing for TV and films, i have a home studio and i create massive amounts of music every year, its my main love for over 20 years - creating and cooperating with new people and new ideas.
i teach and give workshops regarding the maqam and microtone world, focusing on singing SUFI music, and improvising eastern styles. i have lived in Istanbul Turky, London and Tel Aviv and aspire to combine all my world inspirations into one.
along side my "eastern" work and my TV productions i write and produce my own songs and working currently on a project with the lovely Ester Kahir on our debut album.
I've played classical music since the age of 10 on the flute, and soon turned to rock, pop, electro and avanguard.
i have 3 albums out, all differ with style and sound.
Israel is a melting pot, people originated from all grooves and styles, langueges and rituals, so it is only logical that in my music you will find also american, europian, greek, turkish, jewish, beduwin, gypsy and north african influences, most of them positive and uplifting. Enjoy
NEY
A reed flute, referenced as early as drawings in the pyramids 5000 years ago, used mainly throughout the middle east in arabic countries, in Turkey and Iran. There are Three main versions for Ney and they imply of the musical style that will be played. The plain, usually small Ney is used in arabic songs and arabic classical pieces. The large, long Ney, with a mouthpiece made of horn is the Turkish Ney. Turkish classical music is a huge archive of notations and scales describing the musical life in the Ottoman empire days. music flourished, scales were invented and even one sultan – Selim the 3rd – was a composer himself. The last Ney type of Ney is the Pesian ney, known as tooth Ney. its a reed flute with a copper mouthpiece that goes in the mouth and settling down between the two front teeth.
The Reed Flute’s Song
Listen to the story told by the reed,
of being separated.
“Since I was cut from the reedbed,
I have made this crying sound.
Anyone apart from someone he loves
understands what I say.
Anyone pulled from a source
longs to go back.”
Written by Jalalu’ddin Rumi Coleman Barks translation
MICROTONES
unlike western music in which the smallest interval is 1 semitone, and between do and re theres one point – do sharp, in the middle eastern traditions the definitions are somewhat different. between do and re there are 8 (!) additional points and those intervals will be called “komas”.