Establishing the mood with an interwined, enigmatic, and intriguing single note piano performance, expanding with pizzicato moments and an expanding strings arrangement, Omri Mor and Yosef-Gutman Levitt open their collaborative album, Melodies of Light with dimensionality off the cuff, and sense of cinematic warmth.
The opus evolves with diverse percussion nuances that add elements that feel tapped into ancient wisdom and ancestral knowledge, but also a sense of joy, and calm, which we appreciate.
The creators, Mor and Levitt are respectively a pianist and composer of Iraqi and Argentine heritage born in Be’er Sheva, Israel, and a bassist with deep roots in Hasidic and Southern African music.
We learn that the record is designed to showcase “how remarkable creative breakthroughs can emerge when two distinct musical worlds converge.”
The global energy comes through with the range of instrumentation, but also it is clear that the influences are a hybrid of contemporary and ancient-futurism. The pieces hold drama, create emotive tapestries of cascading realities that inspire the vastness of Earth and the wider universe.
The key instrument performances are breathtaking, with Mor showcasing his visionary, intuitive mind and expansive range, whilst Levitt‘s knowledge of strings transpires evidently in the wider compositional nature of the record.
The creators tell us, “After recording Levitt’s Soul Song with renowned guitarist Lionel Loueke and seasoned drummer Ofri Nehemya, an extra day in the studio led to the birth of Melodies of Light.
The project began as a spontaneous duo set between Mor and Nehemya, whilst Levitt‘s role was pivotal in shaping the vast musical content into focused pieces, each narrating a unique story.
We get lost at moments within the tracks, there are nods to psychedelia, with certain sounds akin to tripping on DMT. This raw spiritual nature from the record really transpires and feels like the session that evoked the record as a whole was so inspiring and cosmically aligned that the album simply had to be developed.
There is an overarching serenity to the project which is relaxing and simultaneously inspiring in the same vein as a conscious loop of a movie unfolding in your mind.
There is an overarching serenity to the project which is relaxing and simultaneously inspiring in the same vein as a conscious loop of a movie unfolding in your mind.
Speaking on the galactic nature of the record, Levitt confesses, “There are elements of African jazz that subtly intertwine with Omri’s vibrant Middle Eastern rhythms.”
He continues, “You can hear this sunny Southern African color on a number of tracks on the album. On several other tracks, I flow with Omri into the world of delicate Moroccan embellishments and Andalusian explorations.”
“I feel a deep connection with Omri on every piece,” Levitt emphasizes. “We’re both contributing from our individual places in our hearts, yet our stories align.”
We are in awe, a wholly transcendental experience and a must listen if you are here for spiritual artistry at its finest, an expression of humanity, love, loss, sadness, kindness, awe, wonderment of the universe and more.
The album also offers listeners a glimpse into the artists’ shared headspace of Emunah, a concept from the Jewish tradition signifying an underlying belief in the inherent goodness of all things.
“We’re not presenting anything hyped or overly glossy,” Levitt adds. “We play from a place of honesty and humility, hoping to transport and change listeners with our music.”
For a little bit of background on these talented creators, Omri Mor studied classical music at Jerusalem’s Robin Academy and Andalusian music from Algiers under the guidance of Nino Bitton, and has an accomplished resume which we expected, Yosef-Gutman Levitt‘s musical journey began in the vibrant African jazz scene of Johannesburg.
We absolutely love and appreciate the talented pair for the expansive and inspiring journey they have taken us on, across time, space, the continents and the depths of our own minds.
You can stream the record via Spotify and BandCamp now!