Maria Ka / די מאַשין Di Mashin
Maria Ka / די מאַשין Di Mashin, 2025
CD or digital download available from Bandcamp.
Not for Maria Ka the folky Yiddish rhythms of the klezmer revival and its new songwriters. Instead, she has embraced a techno/electronica world infused with Yiddish words but a very current dance culture perspective.
From the opening dance beats of "Alef-Tsentauri Disko" Maria Ka has feet moving and ears entranced ... a cosmic dancing force glorying in Yiddish. In the rocky "Voz is dos" to the transcendent "Ikh bin a froy" Ka makes a defiant feminist statement, tackling everything from Yiddish appropriation to "The Machine," a female Neo battling: "The machinery rumbles / exposes everyone naked, / manipulates the heads / and chisels them.... The machine wipes out / my, my, my / Peace's house."
This latest release should attract some attention. Hearing Yiddish express a techno idiom of cosmic peace and a coming tranquility when "The Storm of Today will soon end" is exciting. Ka sees her music as divided between Electronica (ע) and Rock (ר), and has labeled the songs to aid the listener in creating an optimal personal playlist. That all of the music is exciting and fun to dance to is an additional bonus.
Reviewed by Ari Davidow, 25-Aug-2026.
Songs
- א—צענטאַורי דיסקאָ—Alef—Tsentauri Disko (ע) 4:24
- וואָס איז דאָס?—Vos iz dos ? (ר) 3:20
- סופּערנאָווע—SuperNove (ע) 4:32
- די קאָסמישע מאָטאָרן—Di Kosmishe motorn (ר) 5:23
- דאָס געווערק—Dos geverk (ר) 4:33
- איך בין אַ פֿרוי—Ikh bin a Froy (ע) 4:00
- די מאַשין—Di Mashin (ר) 3:56
- די מלחמה—Di milkhome (רע) 5:10
All songs Maria Ka
