A clean and dry year: seven points about the Israeli music of 2015
The audience raised its voice louder than ever, Israeli music conquered the television, and female singers made history.
In the meantime, pop took over everything, hip-hop gave it a counterpoint, and what happened to oriental music and indie?
Summing up the 2018 edition
Nadav Menuhin
09/24/2022
Saturday, September 24, 2022, 8:28 p.m. Updated: Sunday, September 25, 2022, 10:33 a.m.
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Faye, who is that?
For many years the figures were bleak: Israeli music was dominated by men, with women being played less and disappearing from the charts as well.
Well, ladies and gentlemen: a makeover.
The four most played songs on the radio this year are by female singers or with their participation, as well as eight of the first ten places in the annual Galgalat parade - an achievement that has not been equaled since 2018, more than 30 years ago, when Kashrita, Gali Atari and Jordana Erzi dominated the parades Anna Zak
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Nono, Noa Kirel, Narkis, Yasmin Moalem, Nega Erez, Agam Bohbut, Netta Barzilai, Eden Ben Zaken, Ella Lee, Coral Bismuth, Eden Darso, Echo, Yuval Dayan, Marina Maximilian and others conquered the radio, TikTok and above all the audience, and led them with their own hands, as Ronan and the voice of a revolution. It is important to recognize this moment, but it is equally important to emphasize that there is still a long way to go: at festivals or huge shows, for example, female singers are still a small minority. But if we rely on the current generation in Israeli music, this too on the way to change.
Pop up
Anna Zak sent us all to sleep, Noa Kirel was sent to Eurovision, Nono created a fascinating character that conquered Tiktok and the hipsters together, Agam Bohbot took over the expansions, Ran Denkar continued to reinvent himself and Margie upgraded with a series of singles that proved what a bright future awaits him.
Statik and Ben-El did break up this year, but the scene they helped raise reached an almost terrifying dominance in 2015, one that leaves no room for almost anything else, and even frustrated quite a few people.
But there is nothing to panic about Israel's alignment with the world: the professionalization of Israeli pop and the multiplication of its strong forces encourages competition and brings out of the industry better, more invested and more diverse productions.
One of the places where we could feel this abundance this year was around Pride Month, when a world that used to not be sung about at all and in the last decade usually provided barely one song a year - today it is a must for almost every significant pop artist.
This connection may seem obvious at the moment, but it mainly teaches that this scene knows how to be funny, original and caring when it wants to be.
Good news, isn't it?
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Static and Ben El were the escapist and excessive refreshment of an entire generation, until they wore out
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Don't Light Them Up: The Contradiction of Hip-Hop
The void left behind by Israeli rock, in all that concerns the production of meaning, community and depth, is filled with great success by the new wave of hip-hop, and the final stamp came in the huge show "All the Cash" that put on dozens of rappers in front of a full hall.
Not a passing trend, not a random coincidence - but an existing fact, an active and diverse movement with a huge audience and camaraderie that other genres can only envy.
Besides the excellent songs, for many who look for content, heart and resistance in contemporary music and don't quite find them, the current generation of Israeli hip-hop has become an address, not to mention a counterpoint to the engineered pop hits.
To mention a few prominent names: Eden Derso took a significant step forward;
Teddy Ngosa delivered a breakout year;
Cohen presented a fine first solo album;
Echo shone in Hebrew;
Varvid Plotnik once again proved that he is one level above everyone else.
But in the history of the genre in Israel, Tashpav will be remembered especially because of two other forces: Tuna, for whom everything came together in the fourth album and a live version that became one of the biggest songs of the year; and especially the song in which Paul Trunk hosted Jimbo J, which became perhaps the song of the year The most surprising thing is years - pressure on kibbutzim and the periphery that unexpectedly broke all the charts. Is this a protest vote against pop? A candidate that is convenient for everyone? A rebellion against the stressed Israeli pace of life? What does it matter, the main thing is that there is applause at the end of the song.
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Israeli hip-hop celebrated with a magnificent victory party.
When the power was already gone, the climax finally arrived
To the full article
Careful, the crowd is angry
Along with several incidents of ugly behavior at shows, this year, more than in previous years, we heard the audience talking: about the prices at Eyal Golan's concert, about Indingev's lineup, and in the case of Omar Adam - both about the "Cockadilla" storm and about the duration of his concert at Yarakon Park .
In a country where everyone has something to say, the conversation is not the story - but the results: Liam Productions denied anything to do with the prices, Omer Adam provided compensatory performances and Indingev's lineup changed following the protest.
This teaches us one thing: in an era of huge concerts, festivals and social networks, the center of gravity in the relationship between the artist and the audience is updated in favor of the latter.
We don't see the long-term consequences of this process yet, but don't worry - they will come.
The crowd got angry, the singer pissed off.
Omer Adam (Photo: Flash 90, David Cohen)
Play, sing and watch
After "The Heiress" and "The Shop That Has Everything" last year, Israeli music became a main player on television this year, with the sister series "Had Kolach" and "Mangan Vesher" which corresponded with the mythology of rock and Eastern music respectively;
Aviv Gefen's autobiographical "Moon Years", which revived some of the great figures of the nineties;
And also the playful series "Shishu and Simho", which turned the military rabbinical choir into a stormy and disturbed arena.
This wave is not over yet: the comedy drama "Who Heard of Eve and Nava", which will be released this year, is going to accompany two graduates of a military band 40 years after the liberation.
Even apart from the songs that are very beautiful in their own right that were born from these series, such as "What at Night" or "Lev Mozahav Medi", this abundance tells a clear story: Israeli society has been telling itself about itself through songs since time immemorial - and the legacy of Israeli music, of all styles and eras, still very relevant to our story and reflects it.
More than that: this sequence reflects a thirst for this legacy on the screen, in an era of endless reality and empty current affairs throughout most of the hours of the day.
Maybe we won't stop singing after all.
Musicians, dancers, children and nephews: the 10 best Israeli series of 2015
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"Play and sing" and "Echo of your voice" proved: there are wounds that only songs can heal
To the full article
Where is the eastern music?
The annual charts not only revealed that the pop and hip-hop waves enjoyed most of the cake, but also revealed who was not left: the big stars of Eastern music, who dominate the lists of the most played songs, perform huge shows and prosper as usual - disappeared almost completely from the summaries.
The status of Aden Ben Zaken, Moshe Peretz, Itai Levy, Aden Hasson and Omer Adam is indeed assured, and no one will dispute their place in Israeli culture, and yet: it seems that after a few years - the pendulum is currently moving in a different direction.
Has Eastern pop as we know it reached a dead end?
As an old man sang, "WTF?".
Surprisingly, this trend is taking place precisely in the year when the genre finally won the ultimate honor, with Aviahu Medina's thrilling win at the Israel Prize.
The choice of the country was first of all a recognition of his achievements as a creator, singer, activist for artists and spokesperson of the scene, but also expressed a significant institutional appreciation for the genre after generations of being ignored.
So maybe there were some bright spots for this wing of Israeli music in the 1970s.
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Acknowledgment, correction, justice: awarding Israel to its father state is a historic moment
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And what about indie?
This is not a summary, but we have collected 25 songs from Shpav that we thought didn't get enough attention, and maybe you should give them another listen before Shpva begins.
With the participation of Amir Lev, Oli Danon, Hillel Givon, Stella Gut, Sher Niv, Lemhala, Yuval Mendelson and the trip to Poland, Maya and the Russians, Daniel San Kriaf, Dan Thorn, Yoni Livna and Eden Jamshid, Amitai Aricha & The D-One Project, Yossi Babliky, Michael Gottlieb, Daniel Weil, Or Amarmi Brockman and "Hed Kolach", Shelly Archer, Khalil, Hila Rouch, Nir Matraso, Yael and Patek, Yishai Berger, Nomka, Aya Zahavi Feiglin, Yehua Yaron and the Kobari band.
As they say: it's a shame to miss.
The 20 songs that made our 2015
culture
music
very attentive
Tags
Hurry hurry
Anna Zak
Noa Kirel
Jonathan Margie
tuna
Jimbo J
Ravid Plotnik
Eden Ben Zaken
Omer Adam
the echo of your voice
Lunar years
