Biography
Idan Raichel was born in Kfar Sava, Israel. Raichel began to play the accordion at the age of nine. He was attracted to long hair, gypsy music and tango, and studied jazz piano in high school, which improved his improvisational skills and ability to collaborate with other musicians.
Raichel served in the Israel Defense Forces army band, touring military bases performing covers of Israeli and Western pop hits. As the musical director of the group, he became adept at arrangements and producing live shows.
Following his military service, Raichel became a counselor at a boarding school for immigrants. The school was attended by many young Ethiopian Jews, who introduced him to Ethiopian folk and pop music. Whilst many of people in the school rejected their own cultural traditions in an effort to assimilate into mainstream Israeli society, a small core of teenagers remained fans of Ethiopian music, passing around cassettes of songs by Mahmoud Ahmed, Aster Aweke and Gigi. After hearing them, Raichel began to frequent Ethiopian bars and clubs in Tel Aviv. In April 2007, Raichel traveled with Save a Child's Heart to Rwanda and Ethiopia.
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