Melodies from no-man's land

Esta: 'neither East nor West'.

Manote Tripathi

The Nation

With tensions exploding again in the Holy Land, a world music quintet from Israel proved in Bangkok that different cultures can be united in a deeper beat. For their second visit to Thailand, the four guys and a gal collectively known as Esta performed at three venues: the five-day World Musiq & World BarBQ festival at CentralWorld; the Saxophone Pub at Victory Monument (where they joined our own Mr Saxman); and the Sukhumvit penthouse residence of Israeli ambassador Yael Rubenstein.

 The small crowd that turned up for the private show at the residence was a mix of Thai celebrities (MR Malinee Chakbhandu and Mom Dusdi Paribatra among them) and diplomats, including the Cambodian and German ambassadors and music fans from the US embassy.

 I was there hoping to see them play the Israeli classic "Jerusalem of Gold", used incredibly movingly in the final scenes of "Schindler's List", but Amir Gwirtzman (saxophone), Ori Beanstock (electric guitar), Shlomo Deshet (percussion), Bentzi Gafni (bass guitar) and Yarona Harel (vocals) had different ideas. They opted for original tracks from their three albums: "Esta" (1990), "Mediterranean Crossroads" (1996) and "Home Made World" (2002). It was the right choice: strong emotions and feelings of solidarity were stirred by songs and melodies that unfolded a message of love, harmony, peace and hope.

 The hour of the show was mostly taken up with infectious instrumentals. "Till Dawn" was the ballad that really got into the bloodstream while up-tempo numbers, some with vocals by Harel, had the fans clapping and dancing.

 Esta's music might defy categorisation but the Middle-Eastern flavour is strong, full of pulsating drumbeats more usually heard wafting across bazaars and kebab shops from Morocco to Turkey. Balkan, African, Asian, Celtic and Western ingredients spice up the mesmerising blend, a hybrid that comes courtesy of a multicultural mating of instruments. The Israeli shofar makes beautiful music with Scottish bagpipes while traditional Thai and Indian instruments cuddle up to their modern Western counterparts.

 Speaking over a drink before the gig at the residency, drummer Shlomo Deshet (also the band's manager) said Israel's sole representatives would be two instruments used for ceremonies in synagogues.

 "We try to put together different kinds of instruments to create our own sounds. We can play Israeli tunes, but we also play melodies that can make you think of Turkey and other cultures too."

 At the festival, Deshet and his band mates showed how at home they are in any culture's tradition by joining Pattani-Muslim group Likay Hulu on stage to create a unique fusion.

 Despite the youthful looks of its members, the group has been gigging for the last 18 years. Started in the 1980s by a pair of high-schoolers in to British rock groups like Yes and Genesis, Esta picked up two more members who had been on military service in the Israeli Airforce Band. When vocalist Harel eventually joined, the group added songs to its repertoire of instrumentals.

 Following tours of the US, Esta hit the festival circuit, with performances at WOMAD (World Music Festival) in Italy, Dranouter Folkfestival in Belgium and the Red Sea Jazz Festival in Israel. Its biggest gig to date so far though was probably at the White House where they played at a reception to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Israel. Then-president Bill Clinton raved about the performance: "If you could hang around here for a month or two, I think we might get some things done. You'd keep us all in a very positive frame of mind."

 Bangkok's concert-goers grooved to the same message of peace - it's still ringing in our ears.