A Timeless Form, Reimagined for Today With Ya Man Itha, Lebanese singer Rima Khcheich brings to life an album she has carried in her heart for decades. It is a deeply personal tribute to the late Egyptian composer Fouad Abdel Majeed, whose music shaped her artistic voice from an early age. In this recording, Rima revisits ten of Abdel Majeed's Muwashahat-classical Arabic vocal compositions often set to poetry and marked by intricate rhythms and modes-and places them in dialogue with the colors and sensibilities of French chanson. At first glance, chanson may seem far removed from the Arabic Muwashah, yet both traditions share a deep commitment to poetic expression, lyrical nuance, and the marriage of words and harmony. This cross-cultural resonance became the spark for the ensemble's refined arrangements, created by Maarten Ornstein, Tony Overwater, and Juan Rodriguez.

The musicians featured on this album met in the fall of 2013. Since then there has been a successful collaboration and a deep friendship. Kamancheh player Kayhan Kalhor, known for his successful albums for ECM and his participation in Yo Yo Ma's Silk Road Ensemble, finds the ideal travel companions in pianist/composer Rembrandt Frerichs, bass player and Boy Edgar prize winner Tony Overwater and drummer Vinsent Planjer. Together they travel through contrasting cultures and styles and their remarkable instruments merge into an absolutely unique sound that transcends all boundaries and gets an international audience deeply moved. After a large number of sold out concerts at festivals, concert halls, and TV shows in the Netherlands, Iran, and Great Britain, this long awaited album has arrived. The album is arranged in two parts, Dawn and Dusk. Both parts, consisting of several compositions that are woven together through improvisation, are a musical journey through an imaginary autumn landscape. It is music best enjoyed while listening attentively, to be carried along in an initial stillness that slowly develops into a swirling river, only to then calm down again or end in a nightly thunderstorm.

WARM TO THE TOUCH is the recorded result of my labor-of-love project that is all about creating connections between my percussion instruments and as many other instruments as possible. In order to create a strong sense of closeness and intimacy, these connections are made with one, and sometimes two, instruments at a time, so each track is either a duet or a trio. My musical partners in this adventure are nothing short of the top players in Dutch classical music and jazz. This high level of skill is essential because the compositions are challenging, both technically and in terms of musical choices.

A true musical dialogue between cultures requires a thorough understanding of their cultural language. Genuine interest, curiosity and research into the smallest detail, the nuances and the rhetoric of each others' musical language is needed to create something new- something that enhances the qualities of both worlds instead of getting bogged down in platitudes and stereotypes. The Madar Ensemble is the fruit of the musical friendship between the Palestinian oud player Nizar Rohana and Dutch bassist Tony Overwater. Together they selected three prominent musicians from the Arab world and the Netherlands: clarinet player Maarten Ornstein; Tunisian violinist and viola d'amore player Jasser Haj Youssef and the Jordanian percussionist Nasser Salameh; led by Tony and Nizar, each member of the ensemble contributes some of his compositions and jointly strive for the creation of new music with an authentic sound.