For over a decade, musician Ellie Flier has called Nashville home. During those years, she has carved out a place in the Jewish music scene both locally as a founder of Jewsic City, and beyond Nashville leading services and performing at synagogues and venues throughout the US, Europe, and Israel. And now, after a five-year process that began just before the COVID19 pandemic, Flier’s latest album Out of Darkness is about to drop. “The latest song I wrote was over a year ago, but the latest were written in 2018 and 2019. I’ve been sharing them live for a long time. And now it’s very exciting to be able to share them with the world.”
The album’s title is a reflection on what Flier says was a particularly dark time in her life, after graduate school and a stint living in Italy. “I wrote the song, Out of Darkness, right when I returned from my travels,” she says. That was very early in 2020. “It was an interpretation of the Ma’ariv Aravim prayer, which talks about the celestial bodies, planets, suns, and the movement of them rolling back darkness from light.” She says she for her, it was a metaphor for finding light in dark times.
Not long after writing the song, the pandemic added another layer of darkness for much of the world. “I was doing all these Zoom services for synagogues all over and I would always bring this song in because at the end of the song, it keeps repeating, ‘Out of darkness, there will be light to shine on us again.’”
Ever the song leader, Flier’s live performances are interactive, encouraging people to sing along and use the music to really move them. “I’ll sing it the first time, people sing along with me, and on the third time, I always say, ‘Now sing it like you believe it, and there really is a change that happens.’”
Flier says her overall goal is for people to move beyond what can sometimes be considered stale liturgy to find deeper meaning in the music, rather than saying it by rote. “To find new meaning and new spirituality and new purpose in what it could mean for our everyday lives.”
The record was produced by Cantor Josh Goldberg, of Congregation Micah, whose Kosher Style Records was founded in 2016 in Los Angeles. Goldberg made the move to Nashville in 2022 but continues to produce under the label. He produced Flier’s first album when the two were both living in Los Angeles. “It’s really nice to be able to work with a producer who’s not only a good music producer but also understands Jewish music.”
Goldberg and Flier first met during college at the University of Southern California, before either was involved with Jewish music. Flier studied opera, while Goldberg studied popular music. Eventually they began finding themselves in the same circles, going to the same conferences. Goldberg produced Flier’s first album, so the second one felt like a natural fit. “She is continuing to develop as a songwriter and singer and prayer leader. I think it’s so awesome what she’s doing with Jewsic City. I just hope this new album will continue to get her name and her music out there.”
Goldberg says today there is a wide variety of Jewish music that offers something for everyone. “My hope is that Jewish music as an art form continues to flourish, particularly here in Nashville.” Goldberg says while there are a number of Jewish musicians in Nashville, most of them are not working in the genre of Jewish music.
“There is this age-old question of what is Jewish music?” says Goldberg. “I don’t think there’s any one right answer, but to me if it has any kind of values or anything related to Jewish thought or culture, that’s Jewish music.” He describes Flier’s style as a little bit folk, a little like Janis Ian. “She has this really sweet, soft voice and she writes lyrics in a way that aren’t just a string of translation of the prayer. It forces you to think and feel the prayer in a new way.”
Flier’s is driven by a passion for creating community through music. “What really tickles me the most is when someone else sings my song. When someone hears the music I write and brings it and shares it with their community.”
She continues to be a visiting service leader for congregations, including collaborating with a Huntsville, Alabama rabbi to create a Machzor. “It helped shape the vision we were trying to achieve with the music we chose and the arrangement, and the pieces. He wanted me to use a lot of my music because it is spiritual and meaningful.”
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Flier plans to continue making music and uplifting communities. But she says Jewish music should be part of Jewish life. “I think it’s so wonderful that you don’t have to be a professional musician to write Jewish music. I go to conferences several times a year and there are so many young people who are just learning how to play guitar because they love to song lead in Jewish spaces, and they want to write songs because they feel inspired.”
The album, Out of Darkness, will drop on January 9th on all major digital platforms. For updates and links, visit www.ellieflier.com.
