Socalled (né Josh Dolgin, socalledmusic.com), the Montreal-based klezmer/funk/hip-hop musician and composer, builds upon his eclectic oeuvre with an enchanting new album, Peoplewatching (Dare to Care Records). In addition to his regular crew of Canadian homies — Katie Moore, Patrice Agbokou, JS Williams and Michael Felber — Socalled’s guest artists this time around include trombonist and funk legend Fred Wesley, Punjabi singer Kamal Chamkila, DJs Rob Swift and Mista Sinista, and venerable Québécois folkie Yves Lambert. In “Fire on Hutchison Street,” a lilting tune for piano and voice, Socalled smells smoke, then sees “lots of Chasids out to watch the fire blazing”; he hears “a rumor that the Shabbos candles lit a curtain.” — M.S.
(American Jewish World, 6.19.15)
