Breindy Klawansky, a Johannesburg-based musician who sings songs she composes in biblical Hebrew, was inducted into the Recording Academy or Grammy’s class of 2024 at the end of June.
“It’s exciting,” Klawansky told the SA Jewish Report. Not only does she get to submit her music for consideration at the Grammy Awards, she can also submit music on behalf of other people.
But it hasn’t changed how she sees her music, Klawansky says, rather “it changes the way other people see my music. It can make them think.”
She’s proud, she says, because she’s not only representing South African music, but Jewish music. Klawansky sings her compositions only in biblical Hebrew because “I resonate with the words. The words have so much weight and beauty to them. Composing the melody to these words just makes the most sense.
“My music is steeped in Jewish culture, and since I sing in biblical Hebrew, it’s hard to separate it from that,” says Klawansky, “But I also believe that music can and should be seen for what it is. If someone isn’t Jewish or doesn’t understand the words and meanings of the lyrics, they can still appreciate the music.”
The process of getting inducted into the Recording Academy was quite lengthy. Klawansky had to get recommendations from two peers in the music industry and provide the academy with information about her music career, her social media personae, and her live performances.
Klawansky found out about it on 26 June from composer Professor Jeanne Zaidel-Rudolph, a mentor of hers and one of the people who gave her a recommendation to the Recording Academy.
“I was sitting at home doing homework with my children, and I opened my email to see a message from the Recording Academy saying that I was going to be inducted,” said Klawansky.
Klawansky has been working on her music since 2011 with her husband, Matt, after studying music at the University of the Witwatersrand.
The pair have released two albums and several singles together. They adhere to the halachic principle of Kol Isha, meaning that the music is primarily meant to be heard by and performed by women.
In 2019, they were nominated for Best Alternative Album at the South African Music Awards (SAMA) for their 2018 album Ruth Ave.
The SAMA nomination allowed them to collaborate with Maskandi SAMA-nominated artist Mbuzeni Mkhize on a single together.
“Mbuzeni is Zulu, and doesn’t speak that much English, but he’s a brilliant musician, and it has been amazing working together,” says Klawansky. “We’re taking the Hebrew texts, he’s singing in Zulu, and Matt’s producing it, and we just we see how it moves. Mbuzeni will play an instrumental, I’ll hear a melody, and he’ll sing over the melody.”
Klawanksy says one of the interesting things about the South African music scene is that white artists are increasingly collaborating with black artists. The SAMA nomination and induction into the Recording Academy allows her to increase her artistic collaboration.
“Collaborating in general is an interesting process. You don’t just collaborate with anyone, you find someone who you connect with, resonate with, who you’re inspired by, and who is a good musician. This can take your music to a more global level, which is what Matt and I are doing with Mbuzeni,” she says.
“Since being inducted into the Recording Academy, I’ve also been able to network with music artists from around the world, and I’ve been connecting with other Jewish musicians from around the world.”
Klawansky says many Jewish artists in the Recording Academy are trying to introduce a Jewish music category to the Grammy’s because “it’s hard for it to be considered for awards because it doesn’t fit into a particular category, it has to be considered something else. Hebrew music is considered in the European global category, for example.”
“It’s cool to be a Jewish South African musician and to be able to talk to these other Jewish artists because it almost feels like it’s hipper and more relevant to be in South Africa than in New York,” she says.
Being inducted into the Recording Academy has motivated Klawansky to work on making music while continuing to run her music school for children and teach the magic of music to future generations.
