Sharon Goldman "Kol Isha (A Woman’s Voice)"
October 02, 2016
Sharon Goldman is a New Jersey based singer songwriter. Her intelligent, inventive storytelling has led to appearances in the Falcon Ridge Folk Festival and the Northeast Regional Folk Alliance. Several well received albums have been spun on folk and public radio around the globe and Sharon has performed in top coffeehouses, listening room series and house concerts around the Northeast US. Songwriters also know her as founder and writer of the popular blog Songwriting Scene.
Her latest album, "Kol Isha (A Woman’s Voice)", takes her artistry in a new and unique direction. She has dug deep into her orthodox jewish childhood and emerged with a bold, imaginative song cycle that is by turns deeply feminist, conflicted and yearning, tracing her own journey to find her voice as a passionate woman, a lifelong questioner, and a constant seeker. She delves into memories of prayers and rituals, of roads not taken, and of voices not heard. She also mines the stories of biblical and mythical women, such as Lilith, the Sabbath Queen and the lovers in the Song of Songs, for creative inspiration.
Like most personal artistic explorations, "Kol Isha" is shot through with more questions than answers. It highlights conflicts born of contradictions and competing loyalties. It reflects Goldman’s hunger to know herself and her place in the world, with a deep level of honesty that comes through even in song stories that are totally imagined. "Kol Isha" is the project that will speak to anyone who has ever tried to rediscover childhood rituals, who has struggled to tap into their own truth, has drawn close to something and then pushed it away, and who has struggled to understand his or her own decisions and actions. Sharon Goldman’s journey is uniquely her own, but she invites us to connect with the spirit of candid reflection and transformation.
According to singer songwriter and activist Si Kahn, “Sharon Goldman has done something quite remarkable, merging the cadences of ancient hebrew liturgy with a contemporary feminist perspective on modern jewish and american life. Despite its historic roots, her work is easily accessible to anyone who appreciates intelligent, poetic, musically-compelling folk”.
"Kol Isha", to be released in October 2016, was co-produced with Stephen Murphy (Sloan Wainwright, Amy Soucy) and engineered by Mark Dann. It features Cheryl Prashker on percussion, Craig Akin on upright bass and Laura Wolfe on harmonium and violin. The album includes guest appearances from Red Molly’s Abbie Gardner on dobro, Brian Prunka on oud and Amy Soucy on background vocals.
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