Line-up: GILI YALO vocals; AMIR SADOT bass guitar; ILAN SMILAN: guitar; YONATHAN GITLEMAN percussion

Gili Yalo is one of the most intriguing musicians in the music scene in Israel. Gili combines Ethiopian roots with Soul, Funk, Psychedelic and Jazz music. Gili Yalo incorporates sounds from traditional Ethiopian music into a contemporary music production. The result is an exceptional, rich, vivid melody accompanied by Gili’s unique voice with lyrics in both English and Amharic.

The music made by Gili Yalo embodies his own personal story, which inspired the rhythm and flow of the whole project. And what a story he must tell: Operation Moses was the covert evacuation of Ethiopian Jews from Sudan during a famine in 1984. These Ethiopian Jews fled from their native land on foot to refugee camps in Sudan. Together with his family, Gili Yalo made this perilous trip, walked through the desert towards the “Promised Land” and sang to his beloved ones. During this exhausting and emotional journey, the music encouraged Gili and his family to keep on moving.