| Raz Mesinai was born in Jerusalem in 1973. His first two decades were spent in frequent transit between Jerusalem and New York City, where he became immersed in both the worlds of traditional Middle Eastern music, and the New York City dub and hip-hop scenes of the eighties and early nineties.
Mesinai released his first record at the age of 18. Since then, his work as a musician, composer, engineer, DJ and producer has kept him on the forefront of the New York underground music scene. His acclaimed recordings under the moniker Badawi, and as one half of the seminal duo Sub Dub (with producer/engineer John Ward), are impossible to classify, but have been called hybrid electronica/dub/ percussion/avant-garde compositions. All of his music unites acoustic instruments, often traditional drumming, with electronics, bringing to mind a fusion of the ancient and the futuristic. Since 1999, Mesinai has been releasing electro-acoustic compositions under his own name, including three releases on John Zorn's "Tzadik" label.
Mesinai has collaborated with
many of New York's top musicians, including Eyvind Kang, Mark Dresser, Marc Ribot, Mark Feldman, John Zorn, Shelley Hirsch, Elliott Sharp and Zeena Parkins, among many others. He's had two works commissioned by the Lincoln Center Festival, including "String Quartet for Four Turntables" in 2000. In 2001, "Soldier of Midian" (ROIR), the fourth Badawi release, was honored by Arts Electronica festival. In 2002, Raz was a featured artist in the Next, Next Wave festival of B.A.M., and also opened for Nubian master musician Hamza El Din, a personal highlight.
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