Golem is a rock-

klezmer Klezmer ( yi, קלעזמער or ) is an instrumental musical tradition of the Ashkenazi Jews of Central and Eastern Europe. The essential elements of the tradition include dance tunes, ritual melodies, and virtuosic improvisations played for l ...

band from New York City. They mix traditional Eastern European Jewish music with original material sung in

Yiddish Yiddish (, or , ''yidish'' or ''idish'', , ; , ''Yidish-Taytsh'', ) is a West Germanic language historically spoken by Ashkenazi Jews. It originated during the 9th century in Central Europe, providing the nascent Ashkenazi community with a ver ...

, English,

Russian Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...

, as well as

Ukrainian Ukrainian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Ukraine * Something relating to Ukrainians, an East Slavic people from Eastern Europe * Something relating to demographics of Ukraine in terms of demography and population of Ukraine * So ...

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

Serbo-Croatian Serbo-Croatian () – also called Serbo-Croat (), Serbo-Croat-Bosnian (SCB), Bosnian-Croatian-Serbian (BCS), and Bosnian-Croatian-Montenegrin-Serbian (BCMS) – is a South Slavic language and the primary language of Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia and ...

, and Romany. The group describes itself as "Where Eastern Europe Meets the Lower East Side" and uses avant-garde spectacle to both challenge and embrace the stylistic norms of klezmer music.

Music

Golem's music is both traditional and irreverent. Annette Ezekiel Kogan formed Golem in 2000. Before even putting the band together she contacted David Krakauer, who was then curating the weekly "Klezmer Brunch" at the downtown venue Tonic, and asked him for a gig. Krakauer agreed, and Ezekiel Kogan put together the first lineup for Golem’s debut. Golem recorded its first EP Golem in 2001, followed by the self-produced full-length albums ''Libeshmertzn (Love Hurts)'' (2002) and ''Homesick Songs'' (2004). In June, 2005, Golem recreated a "mock wedding", based on an old

Catskills The Catskill Mountains, also known as the Catskills, are a physiographic province of the larger Appalachian Mountains, located in southeastern New York. As a cultural and geographic region, the Catskills are generally defined as those areas cl ...

’ tradition, at the

Knitting Factory The Knitting Factory is a nightclub in New York City that features eclectic music and entertainment. After opening in 1987, various other locations were opened in the United States. The Knitting Factory gave its audience poetry readings, perform ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

. An entire

Jewish wedding A Jewish wedding is a wedding ceremony that follows Jewish laws and traditions. While wedding ceremonies vary, common features of a Jewish wedding include a ''ketubah'' (marriage contract) which is signed by two witnesses, a ''chuppah'' or ''hu ...

ceremony took place before 200 "guests", complete with

rabbi A rabbi () is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi – known as ''semikha'' – following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form of ...

chuppah A ''chuppah'' ( he, חוּפָּה, pl. חוּפּוֹת, ''chuppot'', literally, "canopy" or "covering"), also huppah, chipe, chupah, or chuppa, is a canopy under which a Judaism, Jewish couple stand during their Jewish wedding, wedding cere ...

, wedding party, and bride and groom in drag. The event was featured on the front page of the ''NY Times'' Arts section. In 2005, Golem signed with

Jdub Records JDub Records was a non-profit record and event production company that produced Jewish music and cross cultural musical dialogue. JDub, unlike most record labels, derived half its annual income from foundations and individual donors and the other ...

and remained with them until the label closed in 2011. Golem released two albums on Jdub: ''Fresh Off Boat'' (2006) and ''Citizen Boris'' (2009), both produced by

Emery Dobyns Emery Dobyns is an American record producer and songwriter, formerly based in Manhattan in New York City, but now based in Nashville. In late 2021 Dobyns produced and mixed "The Masked Singer EP" for Jewel (singer). He is currently co-producing th ...

(

Patti Smith Patricia Lee Smith (born December 30, 1946) is an American singer, songwriter, poet, painter and author who became an influential component of the New York City punk rock movement with her 1975 debut album '' Horses''. Called the "punk poe ...

Antony and the Johnsons Antony and the Johnsons is an American music group presenting the work of Anohni and her collaborators. Career British experimental musician David Tibet of Current 93 heard a demo and offered to release Anohni's music through his Durtro label ...

). Numerous guest artists participated in Golem’s recordings, including

Amanda Palmer Amanda MacKinnon Gaiman Palmer (born April 30, 1976) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and performance artist who is the lead vocalist, pianist, and lyricist of the duo The Dresden Dolls. She performs as a solo artist and was also a ...

Lenny Kaye Lenny Kaye (''né'' Kusikoff; born December 27, 1946) is an American guitarist, composer, and writer who is best known as a member of the Patti Smith Group. Early life Kaye was born to Jewish parents in the Washington Heights area of upper Ma ...

Mike Gordon Michael Eliot Gordon (born June 3, 1965) is an American bass guitarist and vocalist most recognized as a founding member of the band Phish. In addition to bass, Gordon is an accomplished banjo player, and is proficient at piano and guitar. He ...

and Brandon Seabrook. In June, 2014, Golem released the album ''Tanz'', produced by

Tony Maimone Tony Maimone (born September 27, 1952) is a bassist, producer, and recording engineer, who lives in Brooklyn, New York. He was a member of Pere Ubu from the mid-1970s to the early 1990s, often playing with drummer Scott Krauss. The duo were dubbe ...

(

Pere Ubu Pere Ubu is an American rock group formed in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1975. The band had a variety of long-term and recurring band members, with singer David Thomas being the only member staying throughout the band's lifetime. They released their d ...

) on the Mexican world music label, Discos Corasón (

Buena Vista Social Club Buena Vista Social Club is an ensemble of Cuban musicians established in 1996. The project was organized by World Circuit executive Nick Gold, produced by American guitarist Ry Cooder and directed by Juan de Marcos González. They named the g ...

). Golem performed live on an episode of Season 4 of

Louis CK Louis Alfred Székely (; born September 12, 1967), known professionally as Louis C.K. (), is an American stand-up comedian, screenwriter, actor, and filmmaker. C.K. won three Peabody Awards, three Grammy Awards, six Primetime Emmy Awards, and a ...

’s acclaimed television comedy, ''

Louie Louie may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Louie'' (American TV series), by comedian Louis C.K. * ''Louie'' (French TV series), animated series about a young rabbit who draws pictures which come to life * "Louie" (song), by Blood Raw * ''L ...

'', in June 2014. In 2017 Golem performed live on

VICELAND Viceland (stylized in all caps), and Vice TV in the United States, are brands used for television channels owned and programmed by Vice Media. Viceland launched on February 29, 2016, with two branded cable channels; the American version (rebra ...

show

The Untitled Action Bronson Show ''The Untitled Action Bronson Show'' was a culinary late-night talk show series on Viceland, hosted by Action Bronson, featuring numerous notable guests. About ''The Untitled Action Bronson Show'' was Action Bronson’s third series on VICELAND, ...

. In 2020 Golem was a featured in S1E7 of Amazon's

Hunters Hunting is the human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, or killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to harvest food (i.e. meat) and useful animal products (fur/ hide, bone/tusks, horn/antler, et ...

and S1E4 of Netflix'

Dash & Lily ''Dash & Lily'' is an American romantic comedy television series created by Joe Tracz and based on the young adult novel series ''Dash & Lily's Book of Dares'' by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan. The 8-episode series premiered on Netflix on Novem ...

Discography

Studio albums

* ''Golem (debut EP)'' (2001) * ''Libeshmertzn (Love Hurts)'' (2002) * ''Homesick Songs'' (2004) * ''Fresh Off Boat'' (2006) * ''Citizen Boris'' (2009) * ''Tanz'' (2014)

Music videos

* "Warsaw is Khelm" (2006) * "Charlatan-Ka" (2008) * "Freydele" (2014) * "Chervona Ruta" (2015) * "Vodka Is Poison" (2016)

Compilations and soundtracks

* Ukraine do Amerika (2008) * Generation P (2011) * Russendisko (2012) * Putumayo’s A Jewish Celebration (2013)

References

External links

Official site.Jazz Weekly: Review, Golem ''Tanz''

{{Authority control Musical groups from New York (state) Gypsy punk groups Klezmer groups Yiddish culture in New York City Jewish rock groups Jewish folk rock groups Jewish punk rock groups Musical groups established in 2000 2000 establishments in New York (state)