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Ya Ghorbati
يا غربتي Divas in Exile
Studio Album (2026)
Enter a landscape where borders vanish and music reigns.
The musical intersections in Laura Elkeslassy’s Ya Ghorbati (يا غربتي), to today’s ear might seem a wistful statement of political and cultural imagination: outdreaming borders and questioning the supposed binary of Arab and Jew. But for early-to-mid 20th century legends like Line Monty, Zohra Elfassia, Habiba Msika, and Salim Halali, they were just the sonic facts of life.
These cultural nexuses continue in families like Elkeslassy’s, the Brooklyn-based musician born and raised in France, with ancestral Jewish roots in Morocco. A spellbinding and raucous retro-futurist cabaret, Ya Ghorbati (or “Oh, my exile”) bridges Elkeslassy’s sense of familial longing for what’s lost with an excavation of the music of past North African Judeo-Arab divas.
Weaving together folk and sacred music from the Maghreb, ranging from traditional Andalusi style, to popular Chaabi, to Francarabe cabaret, Ya Ghorbati moves across time and space to trace a history of political upheaval and exile.
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Executive Production | Laura Elkeslassy & Ira Khonen Temple
Music Direction | Ira Khonen Temple
Music Production | Ira Khonen Temple, Eylem Basaldi, Chris Gilroy, Laura Elkeslassy
Laura Elkeslassy | Vocals
Ira Khonen Temple | Keys, Piano & Accordion
Eylem Basaldi | Violin
Yoni Avi Battat | Oud, Guitar
Rachid Halihal | Oud, Violin
Zoe Guigueno | Bass
Marwan Allam | Bass
April Centrone| Drums, Darbuka, Riq
Nizar Dahmani | Drums, Darbuka, Frame Drum, Tarija
Choir | Laura Elkeslassy, Yoni Avi Battat, Rachid Halihal, Ira Khonen Temple, Marwan Allam, Eylem Basaldi, Nizar Dahmani, Zoe Guigueno
Yafa VeTama | written and composed by Shlomo Abitbol
Sidi H’bibi | inspired by Salim Halali, percussion solo by Nizar Dahmani
L’Orientale | written and composed by Jose de Suza, and originally performed by Line Monty
‘Ala Srir Ennum | originally performed by Habiba Msika, violin taqsim by Eylem Basaldi
Rimoun Ramatni | Gharnati Nuba, oud taqsim by Rachid Halihal
Ya Ghorbati | Ma guitare et mon pays, written and composed by Maurice El Medioni and originally interpreted by Line Monty
Abiadi Ana | inspired by Zohra Elfassia
Ahlan Wa Sahlan | written and composed by Maurice El Medioni, oud taqsim by Rachid Halihal
Alalla Yillali | folk song by Abdessadek Cheqqara, intro composed by Yoni Avi Battat, violin taqsim by Rachid Halihal
Recording & Mixing | Chris Gilroy, Douglass Recording
Mastering | Dan Coutant, Sun Room Audio
Brooklyn, New York 2026.
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