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Walter J. Kin · In music, RIGLI

I follow the songs
back to who we are

I was born in Derbent, left the Soviet Union in 1990, found my Jewish roots in Israel and built a life in New York. Here I finally became what I had wanted to be since childhood: a man who writes songs.

Earlier recordings and listener memories: Russian-language archive

The work since 2017

First, a Russian bridge.
Now, an English chapter

I founded «Еврейские песни. По-русски» (Jewish Songs in Russian) to bring Yiddish and Hebrew songs to Russian-speaking listeners. My role was project founder, concept creator and creative producer, not writer of the Russian lyrics.

Olga Anikina wrote Russian poetic adaptations and original texts, not interchangeable with literal translations. Elechka gave many of those recordings their voice. Together, we built a catalog that people could understand and sing.

Now I write English versions and new songs, returning to the Jewish sources and carrying that practice into a new language.

My search in this life: to know myself and my people better, and to tell others about it, through songs.

Walter J. Kin

The human chain

Different contributions. Names kept with the songs

Poetry

Olga Anikina

Russian poetic adaptations and original texts. Her contribution is credited wherever her writing is used.

Voice

Elechka

The featured singer on many Russian catalog recordings, bringing an intimate human voice to the words.

Creation & production

Walter J. Kin

Song selection, development and production; English writing and adaptation; the new digital song-story format.

Why keep going?

Because understanding changes what we hear

A melody can cross a border before its words do. I want people to meet both: the feeling in the music and the meaning in the song.

Listeners have shared memories of parents, grandparents and childhood. Some have questioned an adaptation or offered a different source. That conversation matters. The song's new life should not erase where it came from.

The next step is to give English songs a visual life, improve the craft with feedback, and build a songbook others can use. I am a member of the Dramatists Guild of America, based in New York.

Watch & listenWrite to me