Chutney’s debut album is a klezmer ‘tasting jar’

Making an album has been on the cards ever since the Sydney-based klezmer fusion group Chutney first formed back in 2020.

Since then, the band has grown from a trio to a six-person ensemble; performed over 100 gigs; gone viral on social media; embarked on a national tour; and released a popular single worthy of attention from Rolling Stone.

Today, they finally released their debut album, aptly named Ajar, on Spotify.

“Recording an album has definitely been the most complex, biggest and expensive project I've ever run,” Chutney’s band leader and violinist Ben Adler told The Jewish Independent.

“It blew out well beyond what we imagined, mainly because we're all perfectionists. There is a permanence about recording an album, especially these days – once something's up on the internet, it’s there forever.”

While an album was always the goal, the band only took the endeavour seriously about two years ago.

After a series of grant applications were rejected, Chutney turned to its community, where a three-month crowdfunding campaign – gathering over 80 Jewish and non-Jewish donors – and a Chanukah fundraiser helped raise enough funds for recording to begin in April 2023.