40th Anniversary Album

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We Were Made For These Times marks the Klezmatics’ 40th anniversary with a powerful new body of work rooted in protest, hope, and resilience. Released on International Workers’ Day, the album brings together Jewish, Black gospel, Latin American, Crimean Tatar, and avant-jazz voices, creating a shared musical language of solidarity for the world we are living in now.

More than an album, it is a living project — where music and visual art come together as acts of connection, expression, and collective action.

We Were Made For These Times is more than an album — it’s a call to collective action. Our partnership with Singing Resistance connects this music to a growing movement of people who gather to sing in public spaces, transforming grief into power and isolation into solidarity. In a time of deep division, we believe in the enduring force of voices joined together

Join Singing Resistance

SONGS FROM THE ALBUM

FEATURED VIDEO

The Klezmatics featuring La Manga and Lavender Light Gospel Choir - Un Du Akerst (And You Plow)

The Klezmatics featuring La Manga and Lavender Light Gospel Choir - Un Du Akerst (And You Plow)

The Klezmatics - We Were Made for These Times

The Klezmatics featuring La Manga and Lavender Light Gospel Choir - Un Du Akerst (And You Plow)

The Klezmatics at 40: A Mini-Documentary on Four Decades of Music and the Celebration Ahead

The Klezmatics at 40: A Mini-Documentary on Four Decades of Music and the Celebration Ahead

The Klezmatics - We Were Made for These Times - About the song

The Klezmatics at 40: A Mini-Documentary on Four Decades of Music and the Celebration Ahead

ABOUT THE ALBUM

The Klezmatics announce new album We Were Made For These Times

The Grammy-winning Yiddish band The Klezmatics announce their new album We Were Made For These Times, arriving May 1.

Produced by Grammy-winner Danny Blume, the album serves as a powerful 40th-anniversary statement from the band — a sweeping, cross-cultural collaboration rooted in protest, resilience, spiritual endurance, and radical joy.

Across twelve tracks, We Were Made For These Times explores migration, labor, war, belonging, and collective responsibility. The music brings together Jewish song traditions with Black gospel, Latin American rhythms, avant-jazz improvisation, and global roots influences — forming a vibrant musical language of solidarity.

The album features an extraordinary lineup of collaborators including Sofía Rei, Joshua Nelson, Lavender Light Gospel Choir, Enver İzmaylov, William Parker, James Brandon Lewis, Janis Siegel, and the Colombian percussion collective La Manga.

As Frank London, trumpeter and co-founder of The Klezmatics, explains:

“This is quintessential Klezmatics: social justice Yiddish music rooted in our history, with a universal message. The album brings together our passion for singing songs that can help make the world better with our love of collaborating across traditions.”

Lorin Sklamberg, co-founder and vocalist of the band, adds:

“These songs remind us that protest music is also music of hope — a way of bringing people together across communities, cultures, and generations.”

Among the voices featured on the album, Lavender Light Gospel Choir describes the collaboration as:

“Music that holds both testimony and vision. It captures the urgency of this moment while grounding us in ancestral strength.”

Argentine vocalist Sofía Rei reflects on the project’s spirit of collaboration:

“Projects like this remind us how music allows traditions to meet and transform one another. It’s a powerful expression of solidarity.”

The first glimpse of the album arrives with the single “Un Du Akerst,” a Yiddish workers’ anthem featuring La Manga and Lavender Light Gospel Choir, setting the tone for the record’s themes of dignity, solidarity, and collective power.

Released globally on May 1 — International Workers’ Day, We Were Made For These Times continues The Klezmatics’ four-decade journey of transforming klezmer from a preserved tradition into a living, evolving musical language.

The album will be released by Shamus Records in the United States and Canada, and by Asphalt Tango Records in the rest of the world.

Watch the video for “Un Du Akerst.”

Listen on all streaming platforms.

Pre-save the album We Were Made For These Times (out May 1).

THE KLEZMATICS

Lisa Gutkin: violin and vocals

Matt Darriau: clarinet, alto saxophone, kaval and vocals

Frank London: trumpet, piano, organ and vocals

Lorin Sklamberg: lead vocals, background vocals, accordions, guitar and piano

Paul Morrissett: bass, tsimbl and vocals

Richie Barshay: drums, percussion and vocals

SPECIAL GUESTS

SOFIA REI, vocals

JANIS SIEGEL, vocals

ENVER İZMAYLOV, guitars

LA MANGA, percussion and voices

Daniela Serna, tambor alegre and coros

Katherine Ocampo, tambora and coros

Andrea Chavarro, maracas and lead vocals

Lina Silva, guacharaca, guasá and lead vocals

LAVENDER LIGHT GOSPEL CHOIR

Eric Williamson, Artistic Director

Toni Campbell, Maria-Elena Grant, Linda La, Adanna Morgan, Ursula “Zuli” Campos-Gatjens, Miehrit “Mercy” Kassa, Karla McNeal, Briony Price, Caco Skol, Brandon Boulton, Austin Bowen, Denise “Mistah” Coles, Wesley Ferreira, Justin Rivera, Eli Hartenstein Cox, Robert DeCaul, Angelo Gonzalez, Kyle Jack, JBLAZN and Max Rodriguez

JOSHUA NELSON, vocals, piano and organ

JAMES BRANDON LEWIS, tenor saxophone

WILLIAM PARKER, bass

ROMAN LAJARA, tres

DANNY BLUME, guitar and dobro

Produced, engineered and mixed by Danny Blume

Recorded at Kaleidoscope Sound, Union City, NJ,

September 17-20, 2025. Jeremy Delaney, Assistant Engineer

Overdubs and mixing at Hidden Quarry, Woodstock, NY, October 2025-January 2026

Enver İzmaylov session recorded by Will Bryant at The Building, Marlboro, NY, June 16, 2025

Janis Siegel recorded by David Darlington at Bass Hit Recording, NYC, October 8, 2025

Mastered by Alan Silverman, Arf! Mastering, NYC

Executive producers:

Marsha Gildin for “We Were Made for These Times”

Juan Mesa-Freydell for “Un du Akerst”

The Klezmatics thank the generous sponsors and donors who made this album possible.

Art concept and design by Ann Nikolaienko, Aleksei Sokolov and Ilya Sokolov

“Antifa Yadayim” emblem and Yads by Leila Wice, multi-media artist.

The Klezmatics are managed by Ilya Sokolov, Roots and Chords Music

Frank London

We Were Made For These Times is arguably the highlight of the Klezmatics’ rich and vibrant 40 year history. It ties together our passion for singing songs to make the world a better place with our love of collaborating with different artists. This is quintessential Klezmatics: social justice Yiddish music, rooted in our history, in three languages, with a universal message. It is an inspirational, radically positive statement in these difficult times.

Lorin Sklamberg

I am very proud of the work we’ve done in creating We Were Made For These Times. In many ways it’s a culmination of 40 years of The Klezmatics’ activism - as globe-trotting proponents of klezmer music and Yiddish song, as innovators within our tradition who speak with a deeply rooted individual Jewish voice, and as collaborators across our history, ranging from musical meetings with some of our cultural hero elders to new interactions with members of the younger generations who grew up listening to our albums. When I look at the track list I am struck again that this is the artistically human statement we needed to make now, in our uniquely particular Klezmatics way.

Lisa Gutkin

I’ve always admired my bandmates, but Frank and Lorin have knocked it out of the park with this album. It is exciting to play their arrangements and inspiring to bring them to our audiences. Just like in a good theater piece when laughter allows the audience to take in the more serious subject matter, one of my favorite things in a song is when the music is soothing enough, or rhythmically driving enough to allow the listener to take in the more thought provoking lyrics. These songs do that! And I’m of course thrilled to have contributed a tune to the album, and honored that Lorin named it for our 40 year celebration.

Matt Darriau

We Were Made For These Times is the result of a deeply collaborative process with many artists working towards its realization. The integration of two dozen guests, three languages (and at least six opinions) had a natural flow. Perhaps we were being touched by a bit of klezmagic dust as the pieces fell into place. What at first seemed a disparate set of songs quickly evolved into an album unified by our aesthetic and socially engaged intention - a reflection of the depth of our 40 years of (re)search and creativity.

The Klezmatics’ attitude, history, and commitment to tikun olam, the act of making the world a better place, are palpable in this new recording - a work which highlights diversity, community and the rich traditions reflected within. Compliments to Lorin, Frank, et al for their inspired motivation and comprehensive grasp of Yiddish music’s breadth and diversity - from ancient to the future!

Paul Morrissett

We Were Made For These Times is not simply a milestone in our 40th anniversary year — it is the next chapter in a journey that continues to unfold. While the album reflects the musical and political commitments that have shaped us from the beginning, it speaks with uncommon urgency to the world we are living in right now.

The collaborations and new compositions on this recording radiate fresh creative energy. They reveal a band that refuses to coast on its legacy, choosing instead to evolve, experiment, and deepen its voice. We are not looking back with nostalgia; we are moving forward with purpose.

We invite you to join us as the journey continues and the music meets the moment.

🌟 Featured Guest Artists

🎤 La Manga

Afro-Colombian Vocal & Percussion Collective

La Manga is a women-led powerhouse from Colombia’s Caribbean coast, blending traditional rhythms with protest and poetry. Their fierce, grounded energy brings a powerful cross-cultural dimension to the album.

🎤 Joshua Nelson

The King of Kosher Gospel

Joshua Nelson fuses Black gospel soul with Jewish liturgy in a style that is wholly his own. Joyful, soulful, and powerful—he brings deep emotion and spiritual fire to this collaboration.

🎤 Lavender Light Gospel Choir

NYC’s Black LGBTQ+ Gospel Choir

Lavender Light has uplifted generations with their rich harmonies, spiritual depth, and legacy of pride and protest. Their voices bring sacred power to The New York Sessions.

🎤 Janis Siegel

Grammy-winning jazz vocalist

Janis Siegel is a Grammy-winning American jazz and pop singer, best known as a longtime member of the vocal group The Manhattan Transfer. Renowned for her rich tone and versatility, she has also built a successful solo career, collaborating with top jazz musicians worldwide.

🎤 William Parker

A towering figure in avant-garde and spiritual jazz.

William Parker has spent decades reshaping the language of improvisation. His grounding presence, fearless creativity, and deep sense of purpose add powerful resonance to this collaboration.

Together with Frank London, they appear on the album’s opening track, “Elegy for the Innocents.”

🎤 Sofía Rei

Argentine Experimental Folk Vocalist

Sofía Rei blends South American folk, avant-garde jazz, and modern electronics into a dynamic and expressive sound. Her voice brings power, range, and unexpected magic to the music.

🎤 Danny Blume

Grammy-winning producer.

Danny Blume returns to The Klezmatics 20 years after co-producing Wonder Wheel, the only Klezmer album to ever win a Grammy. A versatile musician and sonic storyteller, Danny has toured and recorded with artists like Kid Creole and the Coconuts, Iggy Pop, Jewel, Medeski Martin & Wood, and Lisa Loeb. From his custom-built studio in Woodstock, NY, he brings decades of genre-crossing experience, deep musicality, and fearless creativity to We Were Made for These Times.

🎸 Enver Izmaylov

Crimean Tatar Guitar Virtuoso

Enver Izmaylov’s signature two-handed tapping technique fuses jazz improvisation with Eastern European and Turkic musical traditions. His playing bridges cultures with every phrase.

🎤 James Brandon Lewis

A leading voice in contemporary jazz.

James Brandon Lewis is known for his deeply expressive tenor saxophone sound that bridges free improvisation with gospel, hip-hop, and avant-garde traditions. His playing channels both urgency and spiritual depth, bringing raw emotion to this project.