It’s “very intentionally in this ‘hood,” Rothman wrote in an email.
That’s all part of Rothman’s plan for her new album, Beautiful Land. The release parties and performances Dec. 10 are intended to be connected to her community-based approach to the music business.

In just six tracks, Rothman creates a universe, transporting the listener to a different realm, one in which emotional honesty and whimsical funkiness reign supreme. Rothman’s music resides somewhere between the intersection of pop, folk, and ethnic, but she transcends all of them. As Rothman’s music demonstrates, we live in a thoroughly cosmopolitan, interconnected time, when such designations are essentially irrelevant labels.

Heavily inspired by her world travels, especially into Jamaica and South Africa, local folk/pop singer Chana Rothman took to the studio to record her latest EP.

“I was struck by people’s incredible resilience,” she said. “Despite having been savagely and systematically oppressed, locals were kind and generous.”

Rothman will perform Dec. 10 at Mt. Airy’s Point of Destination Café, on 6460 Greene St., following the Dec. 6 release of “Beautiful Land.” She will play a family-friendly set at 5 p.m. and an evening set at 7 p.m.

Rothman’s music has been hailed by everybody from The New York Times to The Jewish Tribune to South Africa’s The Witness as a unique blend of reggae, folk, world beat and hip-hop.

Meet our next IndieWoman Model: Chana Rothman, a former Brooklynite now residing in Philadelphia. I have recently and serendipitously met this remarkable woman in the guise of a neighbor no less. She is not only a young mother to a beautiful one-year-old boy, but also an activist, educator, and a talented singer songwriter. Her agenda is simple and to the point: speak, or in her case sing the truth, to unite people and inspire change. Through her funky and unique fusion of world, folk, jazz and reggae beats Chana Rothman doesn’t shy away from calling out our legacy of capitalist greed, the ‘false’ American dream, and her vision for a better world.

While many artists are using art to protest politics, others are using politics to protest art. Chana Rothman, a songwriter living in Philadelphia has seen many of her contemporaries become involved in the protests. “A lot of my friends who are artists joined the protests because a lot of art has been corporatized, and it has shut off the ability for a lot of artists to share their work.” Rothman has herself penned a soon-to-be-released song titled “Wall Street, Main Street.”

Click here for the article with photos of Yom Kippur white outfits at Occupy Philly!

October 12, 2011 – Mordechai Shinefield, Jewish Exponent Feature

Moreover, Bacon said, “Yom Kippur is perfectly timed with the beginning of this movement to have this kind of introspection and think about the ways we’ve participated or profited in a system that led to this.”

Chana Rothman, a local Philadelphia musician, echoed this sentiment. “How did this uneven distribution of wealth happen? We were all complicit. We could have said something.

“Corporations have grown without ethical checks and balances, and we stayed silent for too long. This lends itself to a confessional, to a really deep soul-searching.” Rothman accompanied the egalitarian service by playing the guitar and flute.

A number of the participants said that what was most important was forging a connection between Judaism and activism.