Circle Of Dreams

Editor's info:
For Shem Tov Levy, his work on the soundtrack for Desperados Square, for which he was awarded the Israeli Oscar in 2000, was the gentle nudge that took him back to his childhood. Beni Torati, the film's director, inundated Levy with CDs of Persian, Turkish, and Arabic music. This music took him back to the sounds of his childhood, to the Balkan roots of his home, to the Yemenite Shearim neighborhood - a complete mesh of places, atmosphere, people, and music that made up the rich cultural and ethnic ambience in which he grew up. These sounds were the starting point for the Circle of Dreams album, his first experience of an album made up entirely of ethnic music and his first attempt at total immersion in an old-new world of music of which he had previously had almost no experience.
Shem Tov Levy was born in 1950. As a child, he studied flute with the Israeli Philharmonic Orchestra and composition and orchestration at the Tel Aviv Academy of Music. In his early days as a musician, he played with Tslil Mekuvan (Tuned Tone), Ketsat Aheret (No Names), and Sheshet, three ensembles which, in the 1970s, helped redefine the boundaries of Israeli music, from which many of Israelis leading musicians emerged. In addition to a varied solo career - he has recorded five albums of original songs and another three albums of instrumental music - Levy works as a writer and arranger with the cream of Israel's contemporary singers. Levy is also one of the most important composers of music for the theater, dance, and cinema in Israel with a large number of musical works in these areas to his credit, including the well-known theme music for the prestigious television series Pillar of Fire (Amud Ha Esh)
Circle of Dreams is in fact a journey within a journey. The first journey is a voyage through time to the musical roots from which and in which he grew up. We are taken on the second journey by the music itself. In the musical voyage in Circle of Dreams, Levy harnesses his skills and experience to create original music that blends into the rich climate of ethnic music.
Some of the leading and most creative musicians on the Israeli ethnic musical scene took part in the album, adding their own unique color. Circle of Dreams is a journey through cultures, influences, moods, rhythms, and scents, which flow from one piece to the next like a mighty, age-old river, which has always been there and will remain for all time.
In this album, Shem Tov Levy returns to the sounds of his childhood, to the Balkan roots of his home, to the Yemenite She'arim neighborhood. A complete mesh of places, atmosphere, people, and music that make up the rich cultural and ethnic ambience of this CD.
Shem Tov Levy is one of Israel's leading musicians, having had a varied solo career for many years as a composer, flautist, and singer. He is recognized as one of the musicians who have redefined the boundaries of Israeli music.