Esther Bejarano has gone through the hell of Auschwitz and is today one of the few surviving witnesses. Together with her daughter Edna and her son Joram, as well as two other friends, she founded the group COINCIDENCE in the early 80s, which has since performed songs that originated in the ghetto and in the concentration camp.
In the late 80s, the band TCA MICROPHONE MAFIA was formed in Cologne, the first German-Turkish-Italian rap group, which quickly gained high recognition in the scene but was ignored by music and radio stations.
Twenty years later, and with many experiences richer, these two bands play together "Per LA Vita" – For Life – to advocate for a better future. The music predominantly features rap combined with oriental sounds, paired with a smoky, scratchy singing style reminiscent of the rapper CASPER, as well as the calm vocals of Esther and Edna Bejarano, resulting in an interesting combination over the 38-minute playtime. The lyrics are presented not only in German and English but also in Turkish, Greek, Italian, Hebrew, Yiddish, Russian, Ladino, and Romani. It's multicultural, so to speak, to express friendship among peoples, with original lyrics as well as those by Bertold Brecht and others, reflecting experiences from the past and present.
Even though the musical style does not personally appeal to me, the idea and execution seem successful and should attract significant interest in the music press. Unfortunately, the opportunity for communication and education was not utilized, and the booklet is really quite meager. L
6 Puan
