10 Seconds: Noga Ritter
1. Thandi Ntuli - New Way (1'38" - 1'48")
from Thandi Ntuli - Exiled (2018)
“This song was love at first sight for me. As a singer-songwriter, I connected to Thandi instantly. I love how real her lyrics are, talking about the need to be sincere, communicate through our insecurities, and create a new way, which is healing. Allowing ourselves to be vulnerable is something that I also talked about in my song “Encounter”, and I feel it’s so important in our relationships with ourselves, others and our art.
When the chorus comes in, it really feels like a healing moment. Thandi’s voice, with the vocal harmonies, just makes you feel peace, but in a real, honest way. I chose 1:38–1:48 because of the lyrics “to let me be broken and hurting, process my healing”. Healing is a process, and how can we be there for each other in that moment? I love how the horn lines weave in so naturally with the voice. Pure healing."
2. Third World Love - Avanim (4’51” - 5’01”)
from Third World Love - Avanim (2004)
"One of my favourite albums in the genre of so-called “Israeli jazz”, featuring incredible artists: Avishai Cohen (trumpet), Omer Avital (bass), Yonathan Avishai (piano) and Daniel Freedman (drums). Check out each one's solo work too.
This song is called “Avanim” (rocks), and the lyrics talk about a long journey with a sack full of rocks, a journey to your heart. As someone who was born in Israel (occupied Palestine), I never felt like I had a place called home, and I feel like my life is an endless journey to follow my heart.
There is a heavy, Sisyphean feel to the song, as if they are painting a long, endless journey. But from 4:51–5:01, there is a change in the groove and the vibe that feels like a moment of relief, new energy, maybe a moment where you feel connected to your heart through the groove and the beautiful lines of the trumpet and piano. Even if after this section, we come back to the ongoing, never-ending path, the search. I feel like I live for these moments of celebration, where my heart feels at home."
3. Batacuda Tamarindo - Elegbará (0'16" - 0'26")
from Batacuda Tamarindo - Batacuda Tamarindo (2019)
“This is a very personal connection. I first heard this traditional Candomblé song, sung by my dance teacher Irineu Nogueira in his classes, and it became associated for me with community, movement, renewal and freedom. This is what his dance classes were about, way beyond dance.
The band members are Irineu’s dearest long-term friends, people you could call family. Alysson Bruno, the singer on this track, is an amazing singer, percussionist and dancer who grew up in his mum’s terreiro (Candomblé house). When he sings, I feel like the sky opens. In this song, he sings to Elegbará/Exu, the orixá who opens and closes paths. It opens the album, which is one of my favourite albums. It always lifted me up in times when life felt really low.
It was hard to choose just 10 seconds. I love when the vocal harmony kicks in, and of course, the groove. But the moment when Alysson sings and his voice rises always gives me goosebumps. It really feels divine. I’ve seen them live a few times, and this moment always gets me."
4. Ebo Tay;or - Heaven (1'20" - 1'30")
from Ebo Taylor - Ebo Taylor (1977)
“Afrobeat and highlife were my first encounters with music from Africa. When I lived in Berlin, I was exposed to it at a party where my friend was DJing. My body just couldn’t stop dancing, and I felt like it knew exactly what to do, like I was home… I didn’t know then that, a few years later, I would spend a lot of time in Senegal, making music and dancing. Then, when I started DJing, I played a lot of ’70s music from around the world. This song often came up in my sets. The main hook is great, but that moment when the trumpet reaches that note is when it goes to heaven! :) I always waited for that moment, and I remember looking out at the dance floor when I was DJing and seeing how everyone was lifted and feeling it in that moment! Also, the trumpet is my favourite horn. It turns me on easily."
5. Lokua Kanza - Mutoto (0'03" - 0'13")
from Lokua Kanza - Lokua Kanza (1993)
“While I was working as a DJ in Berlin, way before music streaming times, I used to go to the library, borrow lots of CDs, go through them at home and download the songs I liked, to add to my DJ sets. This song was the first track on the self-titled album Lokua. I knew nothing about this artist, but as I was interested in music from Africa, I took this CD. The first moment of the album got me totally hooked.
The tone and timbre of Lokua’s voice, the vocal harmonies, acapella, felt so pure and healing. I didn’t have a clue what the lyrics meant, but they moved me deeply. I find it amazing how music can touch us so deeply without us understanding a word of it. I’ve since looked up the meaning of the chorus, which is in Swahili: “Usiku inafika” (“Night is coming”) and “Hapa dunia ni mambo mengi” (“There are many things in this world”). It’s a lullaby, and it really does feel soothing. Nowadays, after singing with a Congolese band and with Mandinka artists from Senegal, I know that dunia means “world” in both Swahili and Mandinka. The word may originate from Arabic dunyā, meaning “the world” or “worldly life”."
6. Bessie Smith - Devil's Gonna Get You (2’44” - 2’54”)
from 7" Bessie Smith - Devil's Gonna Get You/ Yes Indeed He Do (1928)
"One of my favourite singers, who inspired me a lot when I started singing jazz. I remember going to audition for a BA in Jazz at a conservatory in Berlin, and one of the songs I wanted to sing was this one. They said to me, “It’s not jazz, it’s blues.” And in my head, I was thinking, but this singer pours her whole soul into her singing, and that’s what matters. I think this is one of my approaches to singing: you’ve got to put all of yourself into it. No halfway.
I chose the moment when she sings, “Don’t want nothing that’s been used, cause it’s second hand.” I love the lyrics and the way she says it. No bullshit. Don’t mess with her, as the devil himself will get you. A powerful, inspiring woman, especially when you think of the context of the time when this song was released: 1928."
7. Esperanza Spalding – I Know You Know (0'00" - 0'10")
from Esperanza Spalding - Esperanza (2008)
“Queen of songwriting, bass, voice and arrangements. I love this song! It was hard to choose a moment, but I’ll go for the first 10 seconds, before the vocals come in (I know, not a typical vocalist’s choice!). I love how strong the bass line is on its own. It could be a melody, a song in its own right. (I’m a big bass lover, which is why I have a bass and voice project.) And I also LOVE how the drums and percussion kick in at 0:06, in such an unexpected way, but so in the pocket! I could listen to this intro over and over again! It reminds me of my song “Encounter”, which also started with a bass line inspired by Jazz Bégin from Martinique. My ex is from there, and after he introduced me to some of that music, the bassline and groove came to me and became the backbone of my song, “Encounter”. I feel like maybe that’s how this song was born too, but who knows!"
8. Gal Costa – “Minha Mãe” (1'33" - 1'43")
“I love Gal Costa and could choose so many of her songs, but this one is close to my heart. The first time I heard it, I started to cry, exactly at the moment when she sings “eu choro de alegria” (I cry with joy).
The song talks about love for your mother, even after she is physically gone. Just holding her picture and thinking of her can lift you up and create more life. My mum passed away four years ago. My first album, IMA (mother in Hebrew), is dedicated to her. In my song “Ima”, one of the lines I wrote is “she continues to create and give life”. I believe in transforming the pain of grief into growth. Grief is a journey with many colours. Through singing and songwriting, I feel that I can connect to my mum, be guided by her, find hope and create more life, more songs.
“Minha Mãe” was first recorded as a duet by Gal Costa and Maria Bethânia, with lyrics by Jorge Mautner and music by César Lacerda. It was written with both singers’ mothers in mind. In this live version, Gal blends it with “Oração à Mãe Menininha”, by Dorival Caymmi, a tribute to Mãe Menininha do Gantois, a revered Candomblé priestess and spiritual leader in Bahia. I love how the audience sings along to the melody while Gal sings the harmony. I always do that in my gigs, so satisfying! :)
The last thing I’ll say about this song is that I discovered it through a playlist I made with a few friends to support a dear friend as she was going through cancer treatment. She is also a mother and an amazing artist, a big inspiration for me."
9. Yemen Blues - Eli (4'12" - 4'22")
from Yemen Blues - Yemen Blues (2011)
“This Yemen Blues album is a real lesson in arrangements. Omer Avital’s work on the arrangements is incredible! Moving seamlessly between different genres and grooves, with Ravid’s soaring vocals, funky horn lines and emotional strings. You can hear all of this in one song!
It was hard to pick just 10 seconds, but I chose the moment that reminds me of my younger self, dancing and jumping up and down at their shows, in a trance (with no alcohol or drugs), purely from the power of this moment and the amazing way these musicians play. I’m also a big sucker for percussion, horns and soulful vocals. When I started my solo project, it was a nine-piece band. Financial necessities made me reduce the format quite quickly, but I still get turned on by lots of percussion and horns supporting a raw, soulful voice!"
10. Yshai Afterman Quintet - Tov Laadam (5'29" - 5'39")
from Yshai Afterman Quintet - Naomi (2019)
“I love so many things about this song. This was probably the most difficult one when it came to choosing the 10 seconds. This song is such a journey, and there are so many amazing moments to select from. I love how the groove (in a 17-beat cycle!) builds up slowly until the chorus comes in. Even with the odd time signature, it still has such a beautiful flow to it.
I was about to choose a moment from the whale guitar (yes, it’s a thing, check it out!) solo, where it plays beautiful ornamentation that sounds like a voice, a moment I always sing along to. Another amazing moment is when the piano solo starts. The song is based on an old poem that talks about the importance of time in solitude: time for contemplation on one’s life and actions, time for insight and personal evolution. I feel the song succeeds really well in expressing the mixed feelings of being alone: the uncertainties, the need to deal with your shadows, but also the insights and deep sense of knowing that can come if you truly allow yourself to spend time with yourself.
That’s what the piano solo feels like, almost an epiphany. I chose 5:29–6:29 because I get goosebumps there. After the breakdown, when the full groove comes back alongside the ongoing, repetitive piano ostinato, it just lifts my soul, and I feel it. So that moment won for me."
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