Pharaoh's Daughter

"Haran"; Oyhoo Records

3 stars (out of 4)

--By Jeff Gifford

Pharaoh's Daughter leader Basya Schechter grew up steeped in Hasidic culture and the hundreds of Biblical and other Jewish texts and prayers that she was taught to memorize at home, at synagogue and at Yeshiva. As a teenager, she became a fan of '70s psychedelia and rock. Then, she became a hitchhiking, globetrotting musician, picking up influences from nations as diverse as Turkey, Morocco, Zambia and Malawi. "Haran" brings all this experience together in a driving, instrumentally rich set that feels like travel and respects no boundaries. Schechter's voice, singing in Hebrew, Aramaic and Ladino, glides over her compositions, which flow from desert drone into African grandeur, and even reveal an occasional Celtic ring.

RIYL: The Idan Raichel Project, Ofra Haza