Music like fire

05/31/11 13:41
(http://www.klassa.bg/)

by Petar PLAMENOV

5 June (Sunday)2011
Ishtar Alabina, Israel
National Palace of Culture
Hall 1, 18:30, 40-100BGN, 21:00
Address:
Sofia, 1 Bulgaria Sqr.
Phone: 02 916 63 69
Phone: 02 916 63 68

Ishtar (born Esther) Zach, on 10 November 1967) is an Israeli-born pop singer who performs in Arabic, Hebrew, French, Spanish, and English. She is best known for her work as the front vocalist of the French-based band Alabina, and her solo pop hits such as C’est La Vie, Last Kiss, and Habibi (Sawah).Born in Israel, Ishtar Alabina was raised by an Egyptian mother and a Moroccan father with Spanish roots. She and her two sisters spoke both Arabic and Hebrew and were surrounded by music from an early age. Ishtar appeared to have inherited her family’s musical talent. She got her stage name from her grandmother after the ancient Persian goddess of fertility whose headless statue is designed to make one’s dream about the perfect woman.

Blending the Mediterranean strains of Flamenco with sensual Arabic harmonies, Ishtar Alabina has been making its mark on both sides of the Atlantic as a million copy seller of a highly charming musical blend one might call ’the Rumba from the Desert’, and It’s singer ‘the Queen of the Middle East’.

When Ishtar Alabina began performing professionally in her country, she was only 14. At the age of 20, she visited a number of countries including Australia and boosted her traveling funds by performing in local clubs. Ishtar’s vocal talent and passion for music, not to mention her stage charisma and beauty, made her an instant hit with audiences worldwide. “As the world gets smaller, it’s easy to imagine the kind of international artist, whose music has no borders, is unchallenged by exotic idioms and unfazed by foreign dances. My music is the music of the past, updated for the present and future.”

On her return trip to Israel Ishtar stopped off to visit a friend in France. This visit proved to be a turning-point in her personal life and career, for Ishtar fell in love with France and decided to make it her home. The singer wasted no time in getting her music career up and running abroad, working as a backing singer for a host of well-known artists including the group Kaoma (famous for launching the “Lambada” craze), Tonton David and Julien Clerc.

In 2000 Ishtar released a new album, featuring her usual catchy mix of ‘Oriental pop’ and dance beats. She also continued in the multi-cultural vein, performing songs written by a host of famous French songwriters, Jacques Veneruso (who also produced the album), as well as Didier Barbelivien, Lionel Florence, and the Tunisian songwriter Hedi Jouini,
On December 2nd and 3rd Ishtar triumphed in Paris once again, hundreds of fans flocking to see her perform two special festive concerts at the Olympia. She then hit the road again for an international tour that took her around the world.
In 2002, Ishtar released a new album, ‘Truly’, where she combined for the first time her both native languages (Arabic and Hebrew) as an expression of her desire to believe in peace. In 2005, Ishtar released her fifth album, which was recorded in Paris, New-York and Turkey, In this album, Ishtar adapted Arabic music from her childhood with various strains of Spanish and Western Pop music and featuring the artist Jimmy Sissoko. In 2009 she recorded the song ‘Yahad’ in duet with Kobi Peretz, which was awarded as ‘Song Of The Year’ at the Apple Music Awards in New York