India.Arie and Idan Raichel at Strathmore

Thursday October 20, 2011

India.Arie grows into her new release at Strathmore
By Marie Gullard

In 2003, neo-soul diva India.Arie attended the Grammy awards presentation for the second time. That evening changed her life; and gold trophies had nothing to do with that metamorphosis.

“I felt like I was being caught up in a bunch of stuff that didn’t matter to me,” she said. “So the night after the Grammys I wrote a mission statement that I say at every show to this day: ‘My mission is to spread love, healing, peace and joy through the power of words and music.’”

Faithful to that mission, she and her special guest, Idan Raichel are touring their program, “Open Door: A Songversation” which will be presented Saturday night at the Music Center at Strathmore. The two share songs from their new album “Open Door,” a bilingual English/Hebrew release that joyfully proclaims messages of acceptance and unity among mankind.

While visiting Israel, Arie met Raichel who, with his band, the Idan Raichel Project, explores in song and music an unvarnished appreciation and respect for different cultures. That meeting, together with their shared vision and beliefs, became the impetus for their collaboration on “Open Door.”

“We both wrote the songs on ‘Open Door.’ I am the lead singer on all of the [them.] I am singing in Hebrew,” Arie noted. “My passion is music and the challenge of singing in another language is like [working] a puzzle; I realize how much I like it.”

Perhaps her favorite song to perform from the album is “Gift of Acceptance,” one she refers to as “one of the most important songs I have ever written.” The insightful performer, praised by the New York Times as “one of the most determinedly virtuous songwriters in R&B or pop …” stands behind all the lyrics she sings.

“[Gift of Acceptance] is one of the most important songs I’ve ever written. It expresses all of my values,” she continued. “If someone was going to define me by something; they can define me by that song. Also a song called ‘The One.’ We consider that the theme of ‘Open Door’ because it expresses the underlying message of the interconnectedness of all people.

Arie hopes that her fans will come to the concert and experience the change in her over the last two years, one she calls “a transformation on all levels.”

“And I want everyone who’s never seen me before to come, [but] not expecting this person that they think I was with that first song I released,” she said. “I’m so much deeper than that. I’ve grown so much.”

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