To be thrown “into the fray” is to enter an intense situation. Fray is also a Yiddish word meaning “Free”; an apropos double-entendre with on-point application. Queen Kong’s debut album, Fray, was created during tumultuous times and perilous futures, seeking inspiration and paths forward rooted in the rich tradition of klezmer music. During a time of unraveling, Fray is a unifying statement, merging myriad influences to create something unique.
Queen Kong, led by drummer Lorie Wolf do not play traditional klezmer per se–or at least, not as Queen Kong, which focuses on Wolf’s original material. (Most of the members moonlight in Horah Machine, a popular Toronto Jewish wedding band.) Queen Kong’s collective CV spans Balkan punk, hip-hop brass, classical ensembles, reggae, traditional jazz and Brazilian psych-rock, while Fray also features the contributions of NYC klezmer clarinet wizard Michael Winograd. Their uniting musical influence is the world of veteran New York City composer John Zorn, whose eclectic Masada and Bar Kokhba projects aim to create a new klezmer canon of “radical Jewish culture” drawing from all sorts of disparate musical influences. That’s Queen Kong’s template as well.
Personnel:
Check out: “Highlight Reel” “Final show at BLOKDOWN”
