“Shomer Salaam” is a creative approach to conflict resolution. Politics don't work. Religion got us into this mess. The military is powerless. Economic sanctions only deepen the divide. It seems like it is up to the arts and culture to bring people from different backgrounds together as one. Interweaving Jewish and Muslim religious references with humanitarian pleas to our sense of collective conscience, Eprhyme wages a form of peaceful warfare on the battlefield of the listener's consciousness. With a chorus lifted straight out of the Torah, this song reminds us of the absurdity of trying to achieve peace through violent means.

Moving effortlessly from Middle Eastern melodies to dance-hall and deep-house rhythms, “Shomer Salaam” is multi-cultural and poly-rhythmic. Combining a re-mixed live recording of a classical Middle Eastern ensemble, with precision production by Smoke of Oldominion, “Shomer Salaam” is a perfect blend of both substance and style.

On the B-side, “My Mouth is a House of Prayer” represents soul music in its purest form. And it bumps. Combining a classic marching band drum break with an Arabic pop vocal chorus, “My Mouth is a House of Prayer” takes you back to the future of a global-local village. Eprhyme's fluctuating cadence and styles float like a stoned butterfly, while the relentlessly hard-hitting beat stings like a spelling bee.

This release is the latest volume in our International Pop Underground series of 7” 45 rpm records.