by MARK SLUTSKY

In the spring of 2001, the Mirror sat down with Montreal hip hop producer, accordion player, magician, journalist and whirling, curly-haired mensch-about-town So Called, aka Josh Dolgin, to discuss The So Called Seder, a five-song EP So Called referred to as a "hip hop seder." Made up entirely of samples, largely from old Jewish records, the little album was a brilliant re-interpretation of the highly ritualized Passover dinner. But it wasn't finished. A work-in-progress, So Called promised a complete album - with rappers - by the next time Passover rolled around.

Well, that was four years ago. And what's happened since? Since that original EP, So Called says, "I've been doing this music, touring, trying to figure out what it is, this Jewish hip hop shit."

He's been doing a lot of figuring out. By his own estimate, So Called played at least 120 shows last year alone, all over the world, from San Francisco to Lodz, Poland, performing at festivals, concerts, and other events, both by himself and with frequent collaborator David Krakauer. Since 2001 he's appeared on numerous albums, including one with British violinist Solomon, Hiphopkhasene, which won the 2004 German Grammy for Best World Music album, as well as two Kracauer records (he's co-producing the next one) and Frank London's Brotherhood of Brass.

So Called's probably the world's only virtuoso Jewish beatmaker/accordion player/magician/showman. For that, he's become something of a star in the world of Jewish music, despite his claim that "I don't know how to play klezmer music! I don't! The more I listen to it, the harder it is to play properly!"

So now it's April 2005, or Adar II 5765 in Jewish parlance, and The So Called Seder: A Hip Hop Haggadah, the proper full-length album, is finally completed and ready to be released on the JDub label, home to Matisyahu. The album follows the seder service in chronological order - a bit of a challenge for the beatmaker. "You still have to make the album flow in a good way. But I guess that's a testament to the genius of the design of the seder. The seder is as ancient as hell, and the word actually means ‘order,' so naturally if you do things in that order you're assured a pretty solid flow!"

As promised, the songs finally feature rappers as well as other musicians, including Dolgin himself, Hasidic dancehall toaster Matisyahu, Krakauer, locals Katie Moore, Bless, P Love and Ego Testical, Mr. Bungle bassist Trevor Dunn, and... Killa Priest? Yes, the Wu-banger himself makes an appearance on "The 10 Plagues."

"He'd been in the studio [in New York] I was using two weeks before. I was just thinking out loud, and I said, ‘I should get Killa Priest on this track!' And the engineer was like, ‘Why don't you call him? I have his number, he was just here!'" That same night, Killa Priest showed up (15 minutes early, So Called notes), spent a half hour in the corner writing rhymes, and killed it. "I was blown away!" So Called says.

With The So Called Seder finally put to bed, the Mile-End resident who "puts the Jew in jukeboxes" is concentrating on his next album Ghettoblaster, an even more star-packed record. "It's not a concept album," So Called says, "just dopey dope tunes."

CD launch at Main Hall on Saturday, April 9, 9 p.m., $10

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