Frantic Turtle & Rashanim: The Lonely Avantgarde Jew on Christmas December 24, 2006

Frantic Turtle merges poetry, music, and performance into philosophically viral mixtures like existentialist dancehall, punk-prayer, and toasted jazz poetry. We're into strictly avant expression - the over-fed language of the urban god-piece. And jumpy grooves on the background to keep your ids dancing.

Rashanim is a trio of guitar, bass and drums/percussion combining the power of rock with the spontaneity of improvisation, deep Middle Eastern grooves, and mystical Jewish melodies. The 'Jewish power trio' is led by Jon Madof on guitar and includes Shanir Ezra Blumenkranz (Pharaoh's Daughter) on bass and Mathias Kunzli (Lauryn Hill) on drums and percussion. The band gets its name from the noisemakers used during the Jewish holiday of Purim.

"Hebraic motifs abound in [Rashanims] interplay. Hendrix and metal are lurking around in there too, and this mix can be electrifying"
The Village Voice

"Rashanim is one of the hottest young bands in the New Jewish Renaissance Featuring long time Masada veteran Marc Ribot on several tracks, [Masada Rock] is one of the most powerful and dynamic readings of Masada music on disc ."
John Zorn, from the liner notes of Masada Rock

Official Website: http://www.myspace.com/franticturtle