Lev is the Hebrew word for heart. And the father-and-son duo behind the Jewish musical group LevSoul play with a lot of heart and soul.
LevSoul was launched and is helmed by Baltimore-based musicians Dave and Josh Gerhardt. Their new EP — titled “Unity” and to be made available on all streaming platforms this Monday, Feb. 5 — is a three-song collection of innovative takes on such classic Jewish prayers and texts as Oseh Shalom, Ani Ma’amin and the Shema.
The EP — which injects elements of folk, rock and salsa into the traditional Jewish material — was conceptualized and recorded right here in Baltimore.
“We want to make tasty Jewish tunes in a variety of musical genres,” said Dave Gerhardt, who has composed and performed Jewish music for more than four decades and was a co-founder of Bsamim, a Jewish band out of the Texan capital of Austin. “With ‘Unity,’ you can rock out to Ani Ma’amin, sway to the salsa rhythm of Oseh Shalom and chill to Shema.”
His son feels the timing of the EP’s release is particularly crucial, with so much strife and conflict around the world today.
“‘Unity’ arrives at a time when we yearn for togetherness more than ever,” said Josh Gerhardt. “We hope these songs echo those feelings. … Creating music together adds a special depth to our songs.”
The concept behind LevSoul evolved a few years ago during jam sessions between the Gerhardts, and the pandemic only accelerated their creative partnership.
“One of the silver linings in that COVID cloud was the opportunity to play more music together,” said Dave Gerhardt.
In addition to the Gerhardts on vocals and guitars, “Unity” features such local musicians as Yehuda Mond on keyboards, Nossi Gross on sax and flute, Eli Cohen on guitar, Bruce Goldenberg on drums, Avraham “The Rockin’ Rabbi” Rosenblum on harmonica, Alfredo Mojica on percussion, Josh Schwartzman on bass, Alex Egnar on guitar and Jeremy Englander on bass.
Englander and Yoni Greenblatt mixed and mastered the EP at BlueDoor Studio in Pikesville. A studio industry veteran, Englander opened BlueDoor in 2017.
“It was great recording with these folks,” said Dave Gerhardt, who also created the cover art of ascending hamsas for “Unity.” “They’re all very talented, and we really appreciate their contributions.”
For information, visit LevSoul.com.
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