Zusha is an American Hasidic folk rock duo from Manhattan, New York. Formed in 2013 by lead vocalist Shlomo Gaisin and guitarist/vocalist Zachariah Goldschmiedt, their music pairs traditional Hasidic nigunim (wordless vocal melodies) with elements of folk, rock, soul, jazz, ska, and reggae.^[1][2] They have performed at venues including the Bowery Ballroom and the Knitting Factory.^[2] Their 2014 self-titled debut EP reached No. 9 on Billboard's World Albums chart,^[3] while their debut album Kavana (2016) reached No. 2 on the same chart.^[4] Their song "Pashut" appeared in trailers for the 2017 film Menashe, while another song, "Yoel's Nigun", was sampled by rapper JID for his 2022 single "Dance Now".^[5]

Zusha was formed in 2013 by Shlomo Gaisin, Elisha Mlotek, and Zachary Goldschmiedt. Gaisin had previously led the Jewish rock band JudaBlue, while Goldschmiedt had sung and produced for the electronic funk band Ch!nch!lla.^[1] He and Mlotek met at New York University's Chabad house, and both were later introduced to Goldschmiedt through their mutual friend and first manager Dani Bronstein. They began rehearsing in friends' apartments, recording their sessions via iPhone, until Bronstein and Rabbi Avram Mlotek encouraged them to share their music publicly.^[1][6]

Zusha's self-titled debut EP was recorded and produced by Mason Jar Music and released on October 28, 2014, two days after the band's first show at the Mercury Lounge with Levi Robin.^[1][7] The EP subsequently reached No. 9 on Billboard's World Albums chart.^[3] In December, they performed at the Knitting Factory^[8] and opened for Soulfarm at the Highline Ballroom.^[9] The EP features cover art by Hasidic expressionist artist Chezi Gerin.^[10]

In 2015, they gave a Purim concert with G-Nome Project at the Bowery Ballroom^[11] which featured a surprise guest appearance by Matisyahu.^[12] They played a Havdalah concert at the Atlanta Jewish Academy during the Atlanta Jewish Music Festival ^[13] and also performed at the Kulturfest Yiddish Soul concert at Central Park's Rumsey Playfield, alongside Hasidic pop stars Avraham Fried and Lipa Schmeltzer, cantors Joseph Malovany and Yaakov Lemmer, and klezmer trumpeter Frank London.^[14] In May, they played at the Washington, D.C. Jewish Community Center as part of the Washington Jewish Music Festival.^[15]

The band's first full-length album, Kavana, was released on January 5, 2016, and subsequently reached No. 2 on Billboard's World Albums chart.^[4] A music video directed by Joe Baughman was filmed for the song "Mashiach" and the album's song "Pashut" was featured in the trailer for the 2017 film Menashe, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival.^[16]

A Colorful World, Zusha's second full album, was released on September 4, 2017. That same year, Elisha Mlotek left the group to pursue filmmaking.^[17]

Zusha's third full album, When the Sea Split, released on September 1, 2019. In 2020, the now-duo were featured on the singles "Anim Zemirot" by The Portnoy Brothers and "Karvah" by Eitan Katz, and in December they released Likavod Shabbos, a collaborative EP with singer Beri Weber. Amid a string of singles, Zusha released the EP Cave of Healing on March 14, 2021. The following year, a fourth studio album, Open the Gates, was released on January 17, 2022, featuring collaborations with Eitan Katz, Ishay Ribo, and Eviatar Banai.

Later in the year, rapper JID's single "Dance Now", from his third album The Forever Story, used a sample of "Yoel's Niggun" from Zusha's debut EP. The sample was the idea of teenage producer Aviad Poznansky, who had heard the original song from a counselor at Camp Yavneh, and Gaisin, Goldschmiedt, and Mlotek are credited as writers on the JID song.^[5]

Zusha's music combines the wordless vocals and improvised nature of traditional Hasidic nigunim with elements of folk, rock, soul, jazz, funk, reggae, ska, and EDM.^{[1][2][15][18][19]} Reviewing a 2014 concert for Tablet, Hillel Broder noted the band's jazz-influenced scales and use of reggae and surf rock rhythms.^[7] The St. Louis Jewish Light quoted a description of their 2016 album Kavana as "Beirut, Bon Iver and Sufjan Stevens meet the Crosby, Stills and Nash of Hasidic music".^[20] The band themselves have cited influences including Shlomo Carlebach, Bob Dylan, early Matisyahu, Damian Marley, Shlomo Katz, and Yosi Piamenta.^{[6][1][21][22]} In an interview for their 2019 album When the Sea Split, Gaisin noted that they had shifted from wordless nigunim towards more lyrical songs.^[21]

Speaking to HuffPost in 2014, Jon Stratton, a Curtin University professor and scholar of Jewish-American music, described the band as "part of a new Jewish tradition that affirms Jewish and especially Judaic life in the diaspora while utilizing elements of the local, here American, musical tradition".^[23]

The band is often associated with Hasidic Judaism and attribute much of their inspiration to the texts of the Baal Shem Tov and his students' teachings.^[23] Early in their career, the band were frequently associated with Neo-Hasidism and the Hasidic hipster movement; the band has rejected both labels, arguing their music was a return to the origins of Hasidism rather than a new interpretation.^[15][23] They have also shied away from being labeled as a Jewish band or religious music, hoping instead to appeal to a more universal audience.^[1][23]

• Shlomo Gaisin – lead vocals (2013–present)
• Zachariah Goldschmiedt – guitar, producer, vocals (2013–present)

• Chemy Soibelman – drums (2018–present)^[24][25][26]

• Elisha Mlotek – percussion, vocals (2013–2017)

• Kavana (2016)
• A Colorful World (2017)
• When the Sea Split (2019)
• Open the Gates (2022)

• Official website