It’s still the warm, heimishe feel that carries the day

A popular wedding and event singer and songwriter over the last few years, YIDI BIALOSTOZKY has just released his debut album, Shishi, carrying the golden touch of producer Mendy Hershkowitz, together with Yidi’s own energetic, upbeat vocals. While there is definitely an aura of originality in the songs he’s composed, it’s still the warm, heimishe feel that carries the day.

THE BIGGEST CHALLENGE I REGULARLY FACE

Leading the crowd, and knowing which songs to sing for whom, and when, is the hard part of this job. Even though you discuss the music in advance with the baalei simchah, that essentially gives you just the chuppah songs and a shortlist of their favorites, and then you have the rest of the night to connect to the crowd and figure out what they want.

MY FAVORITE HALLEL TUNE

Reb Yankel Talmud’s “Hallelu Es Hashem,” a beautiful Gerrer waltz, full of joy, which we always sang in the shtibel. When I daven from the amud, I also incorporate the “Chabadsker Niggun” that Beri Weber recorded and gave new life to.

THE SONG I CAN’T STOP SINGING THESE DAYS

The second track on my album, “Kirvas Elokim.” I sing it every night, and the tune is basically stuck in my head.

WHY I RELEASED AN ALBUM NOW

I’ve been singing for years, and I can see the incredible thirst for good music out there. Because people are listening to music all the time, they want and need good music that’s enjoyable and geshmak and heimish. The songs are all my own compositions, mostly with original lyrics, which means I’ve really put messages from my heart out there, a lot of messages about unity and loving our fellow Yidden, and even my personal tefillos. I hope they go straight to the hearts of my listeners.

THE JEWISH MUSIC ARTIST I MOST CONNECT TO

Reb Yankel Talmud, the famous Gerrer composer. I grew up hearing all his music in the shtibel. Some of his melodies are sung across the Jewish world, enduring songs such as “Lo Lo Lo Seivoshi” and “Asher Bara — Od Yishama,” and I find his songs so musical and so expressive. At home, we played the albums of MBD, Avraham Fried, and Lipa, so I also feel a real connection with those three.

MY BEST FEEDBACK

My album puts a lot of my own personal tefillos out there, and Track 9, “Gal Einai,” is a prayer to be able to learn Torah. A rebbi called me up to tell me he has a student from a struggling family who has a hard time learning. They went to his car and were listening to “Gal Einai” for half an hour, and when they came back into the beis medrash, he said, the boy learned with a geshmak like never before, staying in his seat for a few hours straight. I never thought such stories actually happen, but hearing this justified all the time and emotional and financial investment I have put into my songs.

THE MOST IMPORTANT SONGS AT MY SEDER

First and foremost is, “Mah Nishtanah.” I always get emotional at that age-old chanted niggun that the children use, because the connection with the next generation is so fundamental to who we are. Second is “Echad Mi Yodeia.” It summarises the basics of Yiddishkeit in number form, in a very unique and powerful way. A few years ago, I released a Yiddish translation of “Echad Mi Yodeia” together with Motty Ilowitz, which helps the children understand what we’re singing, so we sing that song at the Seder’s end.

A SONG THAT GETS ME INTO THE SHABBOS MOOD

“Eishes Chayil,” composed by Yossi Green and sung by Yisroel Werdyger on his Ashira V’azamra album.

MUSIC THAT HELPS ME UNWIND

The Yiddish Nachas albums are very relaxing and great quality, so they are great to unwind to at home. When I drive home from weddings, though, after all those hours of music, I don’t need anymore. I usually just keep the car quiet to clear my mind, or find a shiur or podcast to listen to.

MY FAVORITE YIDDISH SONG

“A Yiddishe Mamme.” It’s one of the oldest Yiddish songs I know. It speaks to me.

A TEFILLAH AND TUNE THAT ARE A PERFECT MATCH

The Melitzer “Yedid Nefesh.” It's sung every week at the Shalosh Seudos tish  by Rav Shaul Alter, where I began connecting to it. The yearning in the melody and the yearning in the lyrics are intertwined. I think that tzaddikim often had this ability to “‘teitch” the words of pesukim through their compositions, and to me, this is one example.

A TEFILLAH AND TUNE THAT ARE A PERFECT MATCH

The Melitzer “Yedid Nefesh.” It's sung every week at the Shalosh Seudos tish  by Rav Shaul Alter, where I began connecting to it. The yearning in the melody and the yearning in the lyrics are intertwined. I think that tzaddikim often had this ability to “‘teitch” the words of pesukim through their compositions, and to me, this is one example.

BEDTIME FAVORITES I SING WITH MY OWN KIDS

Abie Rotenberg’s “Hamalach.” Who doesn’t sing that? But I’ve added on other songs, those that I want to really seep into my kids’ bones, like “L’shanah Haba’ah Birushalayim,” and the old Yiddish “Ah Yid tzu zayn is tayer, a Yid tzu zayn is git, lomir alleh takkeh zayn an ehrliche Yid…” and the Kaliver Rebbe’s “Nor Mit Emunah.” These are the songs I want them to grow up with.

AN ALBUM I’D TAKE ON A LONG ROAD TRIP

Levy Falkowitz’s first album, Achake Loi, produced by Avrum Mordche Schwartz. It’s perfection — in its song lyrics, arrangements, and music, as well as the mixing and mastering.

A SONG THAT TAKES ME TO A DIFFERENT TIME AND PLACE

“Od Yosef Chai” by Beri Weber. As he sings “Ani Yosef…” it takes me to the world of Yosef and his brothers, to the pit and the caravan that took him to Mitzrayim, to the hardship of his life’s journey and the tzaddik he became.

(Originally featured in Mishpacha, Issue 1007)