India.Arie will be working on her next album "Open Door" with Israeli singer and songwriter Idan Raichel. The album will feature Hebrew and English songs, India.Arie doesn't know Hebrew, however she says that Idan Raichel is teaching her the translation.
During a vacation in Israel, she asked locals who the most influential political singer-songwriter was in town. "Everybody said, 'Idan Raichel, Idan Raichel — same name all the time,'" she recalled. "So I just went to his little apartment, I heard his music and was like, 'That's my music!'"
Idan Raichel blends unique Israeli, Ethiopian, Yemenite and Latin sounds, and he is mainly known for his role in the group The Idan Raichel Project. The Project has some 90 revolving members from Sudan, Uruguay, Colombia and Rwanda. They sing primarily in Hebrew, Spanish, Arabic and Swahili, and bandmates range in age from 16 to people in their 80s.
India.Arie and Idan Raichel have previously collaborated on the YouTube video "Gift of Acceptance", which they performed in December at the Nobel Peace concert in honor of Nobel Peace Prize laureate Liu Xiaobo in Oslo, Norway. They also held special concerts in Los Angeles and Atlanta."People were crying and (there was) a lot of good feedback," said India.Arie, who is also planning an international tour with Idan Raichel.
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