Hi Eyal, can we start with a bit of background? What is your journey through music that has brought you to where you are today?
Sure, well, let’s start from today and work our way backwards. I’m currently on a local Israeli tour with my band till January, and at the same time working on my debut album set to hopefully come out next year.
We’ve been playing together for a bit over a year now, and that is following about a four-year hiatus from music when I was touring with my previous band. I’m 44 at the moment, and really started working on music professionally somewhat later in life. The first time I ever went on stage was in 2016 in an open stage event, and shortly after, I started to perform at regular monthly gigs at a legendary Tel Aviv spot called Tsuzamen (it means together in German). And I will forever be grateful to Maya, the owner, for believing in me and letting me do gig after gig there when I was such a newcomer to the music scene.
The recent singles and accompanying live videos reveal your music to be often spacious and understated. Is this a style that has always defined your music, or is it a more recent development?
I think it has always been that way. I usually give birth to my songs through a pretty intimate one-instrument raw tune, guitar or piano. And that has to be the essence of the song, if it’s not strong enough or honest enough at that, if it can’t stand alone, then I feel I have to go deeper for something else that carries more weight. On that, I can add a lot of other layers, and I’m sure as I go onward into my musical journey, that will be further experimented with. But I always like to start small.And there are some excellent players in those live videos. Could you please tell me a bit about who you are working with there?
Yeah, sure, first of all, I feel privileged to be working together with all of them; they’re all awesome and accomplished players in their own right, and each plays with the top acts in Israel. Omer Hershman, responsible for the amazing electric guitar sound, is also the producer of the album. He’s highly proficient in a vast spectrum of musical genres, including his own solo projects, which now lean into mostly electronic music on analog synths.
Adi Gigi on bass brings so much richness in tonal substance, groove, and imaginative bass lines and musical directions. He does so while also being a solo artist, currently touring with his original music. Last but not least, Barak Kram on drums brings tons of high energy and spirit, while balancing a lot of the creativity and punctuality needed to be an excellent percussionist.
I feel it’s important to highlight that all of that is, of course, super important, but what brings it all together is that we all get along really well, we enjoy playing music together, and respect each other. That goes a long way, and I feel it has a really positive effect on the music and on the live performances.
Live performances and studio recordings are often very different forms. Are these songs representative of your overall sound, or are they more music made in the moment?
Yes, they do represent the sound of the collective songs in the upcoming album, and we are currently working on keeping the arrangements close to the vibe of the live performances. We essentially recorded all the songs live, so they will have that raw live feel, even though we will be, of course, adding additional instruments and voice harmonies, etc.
Your songs perfectly balance rock energy and a more acoustic, folky delicacy. How hard is it to balance such opposing sonic forces?
I’m not sure they are opposing forces, at least not when we try to play them together. We try to make them complementary forces that can convey honestly what we’re trying to say in a song, musically and lyrically.
We mostly start with a delicate raw one-instrument and vocal product, and then, when fitting, add layers of rock energy or other styles, which can sometimes deepen the taste of the musical stock. It can take a really personal and private song on a journey through a cascade of different meanings and emotions, and in some gigs we’ve had people get into these deep reflective listening states, and other people would just get up and dance to the music.
It enhances the different meanings and perceptions one could get from a song, and it lets everyone kind of take it their own way. It eventually has the potential to be even more personal than the personal raw bit we started from.
Over the years, I have written about many bands from Israel, particularly Tel Aviv. Does the city, and indeed the country, have a vibrant music scene?
Yeah, for sure, Israel is abundant in many great musicians, and it sometimes feels like Tel Aviv has one of the most talented musicians per square mile ratios in the world. One of the downfalls is that it is such an expensive country to live in, and also a small country, hence a very limited local market, so it’s difficult to make a living as an independent musician here. But even though, if you’re walking in Tel Aviv and friendly enough to talk to people, you’ll find out pretty soon that every second person has either a dog or a guitar or both.
And finally, what does the future look like for you, both musically and personally?
I’m gonna get that just off the top of my head, cuz I’m not by my crystal ball at the moment. But, plans for the near future are the local tour we’re currently on, and we still have quite a few venues left until January, so be sure to check them out if you’re in the area. We’re going to do another full local tour around this upcoming spring, and we are looking into opportunities for touring abroad as well, so that may come into fruition around summer or next year, hopefully. Plus, of course, the album is coming along and will probably be released later next year, and there are already many songs stacked up for the next album as well.
Thanks for taking the time to talk with me, and best of luck with the rest of the tour, the album to come, and everything else that you are doing.
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