The album unfolds across eleven songs, each from the perspective of a different person who knew Joka at different stages of her life. Through their stories, the album offers a layered and personal reflection on her journey, touching on themes of survival, memory, and resilience.
Created over three years, "JOKA" is a collaboration between singer, writer, and producer Kyle Morton (Typhoon) and drummer, producer Gidon Carmel. Recorded between Berlin and Portland, as well as through remote sessions, the album brings together different musical influences and perspectives.
“Prelude“ / “Stranger on a Train – 1944“
This song is, in a way, an introduction to the story. It sets us in time and space—Gyula, the hometown of Joka. It opens with the mantra "Don’t worry, we’ll get back to it", sung by many voices. We wanted to create a real sense of exodus. Though we all know that most people didn’t make it out of Auschwitz, I believed (as a father myself) that this was what many parents told their children on the way to the death camps.
“Robi the Brother – 1944“
This piece is based on Robi, Joka's brother. In March 1944, as the Nazis were rounding up the Jews of Hungary, Joka and Robi were offered a choice by their mother, Gitta.
The song is divided into two parts. The first part is a kind of call-and-response between a Jewish male choir, almost like a prayer to Morpheus, the god of dreams. Then Morpheus responds—inviting Robi to let go, to give up, to die. We wanted to create a chaotic atmosphere, weaving in Hungarian and Jewish musical references. The second half of the song is like a camera zooming in on Robi’s death—imagined during a death march. It becomes an internal dialogue between Robi, his mother Gitta, and his sister Joka.
“Gitta the Mother – 1945“
This song is from a mother to her daughter, in the worst place on earth, at a time when nothing was safe.
The chorus refers to an actual event from the memoir, when Gitta lost Joka for one day. In the evening, Joka came back.
It was extremely difficult for me to work on this song, especially as a young father at the time, trying to imagine what Gitta must have felt.
Apparently, Gitta was a very hard person—easily angered, not especially warm—but again, very human.
“Robi the Son – 1978“
Robi is Gidon’s father, Joka’s son. He was named after the brother she lost in Auschwitz.
This song, and much of the album, grew out of letters I found at my parents’ home — mostly from Joka to my father during his army service, shortly before she passed away from cancer. Reading them, and speaking with my father about that time, changed something in me. For the first time, I saw Joka not as a distant, almost mythical figure, but as a real person — a mother, a partner, someone living her everyday life, with all its tenderness and weight.
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Go here for more extensive information on the album and pre-order links: https://joka-music-project.com.
