Released on August 5, 2025, Ezra Ben-Shalom’s Known and Unknown has emerged as a profound candidate for year-end “Best Of” lists, offering a courageous musical response to a world in conflict. A bold avant-folk record drenched in Jewish tradition, the album is ripe for this specific moment in a world longing to feel connected. Ben-Shalom, whose name translates to “helper son of peace,” views this music as an act of engaging with the oral tradition of his ancestors to address universal questions of suffering and transcendence.
While this is Ben-Shalom’s first solo album, he is a veteran of the Canadian music landscape with a rewarding career as a songwriter and producer. He is a Western Canadian Music Award winner and a JUNO Award nominee who has released seven albums with various ensembles and performed on stages across North America. His collaborative history includes co-writing and co-producing with Bif Naked and playing banjo with Tegan and Sara. Now based in Kelowna, BC, Ben-Shalom channels this extensive experience into Known and Unknown, which stands as the most deeply conjured work of his career to date.
The album’s centerpiece, “Lover in a Tower,” serves as a powerful bridge between Western collective trauma and the specific pain currently felt by Jewish artists. Ben-Shalom originally wrote the first draft of the song on September 11, 2001, at the age of 19. However, it was not until the events of October 7, 2023, that the “old tune came back to him,” allowing him to finally complete a song about serving a vision one cannot fully see.
Listen on Spotify here: https://open.spotify.com/album/7foLg0Y4OfQS8A5srbuFcd?si=4153d06889884c59&nd=1&dlsi=72047b99895e4112
“In Kabbalistic thought, there is a difference between wisdom, understanding, and knowledge,” Ben-Shalom explains regarding the song’s 22-year gestation. “Wisdom is bestowed on you. It’s a flash of light… Understanding is exploring that insight and developing it. And then knowledge is how it changes you once you integrate it on a deep level… The main difference is that now I’m ready to sing it”.
Musically, Known and Unknown bridges the gap between traditional folk and experimental soundscapes. The album was co-produced by Chris Carlson, best known as the bass player for Tegan & Sara and Kinnie Starr. Carlson played multiple instruments and helped capture the “raw states” of the songs, while the more experimental tracks emerged from studio improvisation. Ben-Shalom is currently preparing a new single, “Encompassing Place,” slated for early 2026.