Basya Schechter is best known for her group, Pharaoh's Daughter, a 7 piece world music ensemble that travels effortlessly through continents, key signatures, and languages with a genre-bending sound.
Basya's earthy, soulful voice rings out over textured instrumentation that forms a vibrant collage of East and West, providing the soundtrack for a harmonious vision of creative peace and vibrant diversity.
In the summer, Basya is a the Cantor for Fire Island Synagogue, a smaller, flip flop wearing community co-led with banjo playing Rabbi, writer and scholar, Shaul Magid.
Music / Film
Pharaoh's Daughter's last recording "Dumiya" (7th album) in 2014. Basya's most recent creative work is with Darshan, a musical midrash project in collaboration with esoteric indie rapper/poet Eden Pearlstein (aka ePRHYME). In 2017 Darshan released Raza, a radical reimagining of the traditional prayers and mystical poetry recited on Friday night to welcome the Sabbath bride.
Listen to Dumiyah album
"Listening to Dumiyah in the car yesterday with a Turkish friend, such a delight — the groove, the purity, the skill — so fresh and yet so familiar as the work of the heart always is." – Leonard Cohen
Projects
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PHARAOH'S DAUGHTER
Formed in 1993 by vocalist Basya Schechter, the Jewish folk ensemble is heavily informed by both Eastern European klezmer and Middle Eastern Jewish music, as well as the sensibilities of Schechter’s orthodox upbringing.
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DARSHAN
Inspired by the mystical poetry and songs of the Jewish tradition, Darshan breathes new life into ancient Hebrew and Aramaic texts through a combination of Rap Commentary and Musical Midrash. esoteric indie rapper ePRHYME, world-soul singer Basya Schechter of Pharaoh's Daughter, and multi-medial polymath Shir Yaakov Feit transform classic Jewish texts and prayers into a truly unique form of Sacred Pop Art For The People.
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SONGS TO LIVE BY
Profound words and quotes from influential speakers paired with meditative and textural soundscapes and lyric videos in collaboration - Basya Schechter and composer, bass player, composer/producer - Daniel Ori (https://danielori.com/bio)
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ITZIK MANGER PROJECT
Avi Fox Rosen and Basya Schechter set the Yiddish poetry of Itzik Manger to music. We are so excited to bring these songs to the world.. Stay tuned!
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BAIS YAAKOV PROJECT
Naomi Seidman wrote an incredible book called “Sarah Schnirer and the Bais Yaakov Movement: A Revolution in the name of Tradition, explores the history of the movement in the interwar period. With a group of women singers who also left, Basya is arranging songs that Naomi found in the archive from this period of time.
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DREAMING IN ARAMAIC
Collaborating with Zach Mayer and friends, on setting quotes from the Zohar on the world of subconscious. Inspired and motivated by Jill Hammer’s book - etc. on goes here
About Basya
Basya began retuning her guitar to sound like a cross between an Arabic oud and a Turkish saz, with harmonic minor melodies, and odd time signatures. With the many amazing musicians, named below and others as well she has recorded four albums, three with Pharaoh's Daughter and one instrumental exploration with Persian santur player, Alan Kushan
Upcoming shows
December 4
Temple Israel of Natick
with Rav-Hazzan Ken Richmond
Natick, MA
December 8
Levana Women’s Circle
New York, NY
December 17
Beth El Synagogue Center
with Pharaoh’s Daughter
New Rochelle, NY
December 23
Congregation Romemu
Brooklyn, NY
December 26
Museum for Jewish Heritage
with Avi Fox-Rosen
Manhattan, NY
