Basya Schechter

Basya Schechter, frontwoman of Pharaoh's Daughter, takes the niggunim (Jewish melodies) from her Sabbath dinner table and mixes them with electronica, snatches of spoken word, orchestral swells, and polyrhythms from Turkey, Israel and West Africa. Her latest album is called Haran, and while it certainly is pretty, the mix of sounds has been buffed and polished to a high-gloss veneer safe for tourists.