Shuli Rand never imagined in his wildest dreams that a dense conversation with God from the depths of difficulty and pain, would become a hit and lead a new wave of faith songs - more than talking from heart to heart.
Fewer composed verses than the originals.
In 2008, the song "Moan" in its depth, directness and clarity, did the unbelievable for that time and became a mainstream anthem.
Rand's metaphorical cry full of images has become the cry of all of us.
"Lamentation" is a wonderful and timeless song that took Rand from the front of the theater stage and marked him as one of the main pioneers in the genre of religious music.
Here is the story behind the song "Moan".
What is the story of the song?
"A poem can be written for weeks or years. In contrast to poems that are written over time, 'Ayekha' was written in one stroke in one night. The situation described in the poem was born from a situation I was in; a spiritual state of loss of mind and joy, the flickering is weak. It is also based on teachings, ways And advice from Rabbi Nachman of Breslav, who mainly says that the darker it is, the more valuable it is. The end of the poem speaks of the importance of the path. The path is more important than the result. And that is the message of the poem.
"Like in the story about the king's daughter who was kidnapped by the black forces. The viceroy went out to look for her in order to return her to her father - he crosses the whole world and goes through endless hardships and in the end finds her in a mountain of gold and fields of violets. In the same story, Rabbi Nachman tells only the result : finding the king's daughter. From a literary point of view, this is an anti-climax that emphasizes what is important in the story - and this is the way."
Shuli Rand - Lament
How was the song born?
"'Iycha' was the second song I ever wrote. Out of the state of mental smallness I was in, one evening this song came to me, burst out of me. It was meant to comfort me and its listeners - that there is value in this journey. God asked the first person 'Iycha', When he hid from him after the sin of the Tree of Knowledge. When the Holy One, blessed be He, asks 'Ayecha', he of course knows where the person is physically.
"In the question 'Iycha' he means to ask: Where are you in the world? Where are you in your life? What is your purpose? 'Iycha' is a guitar song, which came to me with the melody and the words and I didn't have to carve it."
What was the inspiration for the song?
"From the teachings of Rabbi Nachman of Breslav, and from my personal situation in those days. It's a certain state of mind. It doesn't disappear, it comes and goes. 'Moaning' is also a question of disadvantage, and disadvantage, physical and mental, is the essence of all of us. I think many connect to the song This is because everyone takes the idea of disadvantage into their own life story. The root of disadvantage and longing stems from our very existence in this world, after our soul has arrived from a holy place, it is thrown into a world that is all body, imperfection and a struggle between forces. Therefore, each of us has Aycha' and everyone translates it according to their own interpretation."
And the effect?
"Until about 15 years ago, apart from swallows here and there, the religious songs were songs of composed verses, from the "Psalms" or verses from the Torah. 'Iycha' is a cry of faith that deals with God, but it is written in my own words. One of the great innovations in the Breslav Torah is the idea of solitude and personal conversation with God.
Shuli Rand in concert, photo: Tamar Hanan
"The song is a type of composed solitude. I wrote most of my songs in that period out of solitude. Because it is a personal conversation, it is endless. Jewish music could have been a passing trend if it had only been composed of composed verses, but the tone-personal conversation made Jewish music and The songs of faith are a stable cultural phenomenon that has no end. Adi Ran also had a great influence on me at that time."
Live or studio?
"I am not a musician, and therefore, in a deep sense, I had very significant partners in the creation of this song from the album 'A good point' released in 2008. The music producer Shmulik Daniel helped me a lot to find the style of the song and also the one-time guitarist Amit Yitzhak, whose involvement in the The color of the song is very significant, as well as throughout the album.I remember the first vocal take making up most of the final mix.
"We made sure to leave the recording unpolished, a little broken, a little insecure, and it suited the song, its fragility and delicacy, its originality. These were my first times in front of a microphone. There was an attempt to add keyboards, but it sounded a bit inflated to me. We chose a naked version, without Decorations, which is based on a wonderful guitar and cello by Karni Postel, which suited the song very well."
Shuli Rand in a band performance, photo: Assi Efrati
How did the song enter the mind?
"We were thinking about which singles we would choose from the album. There was a thought to choose a more uplifting song. The public relations woman, Ruthie Marom, said, 'Let's go for Aycha.' was the first song I released. In the end we listened to Ruthie and Galgaltz accepted it, at first for a night playlist and after that a day.
I remember the first time I heard the song on the radio.
I heard a screech, a creak, a song that doesn't fit the soundtrack.
"After two weeks that the song was out, there was a first big performance (as a singer and not as an actor) in which I performed the song together with the late Meir Banai and the audience sang his words, like singing in public.
I was shocked.
From my first performances with the song, I felt it didn't belong to me.
'Ayeh' is a song of my audience.
That's how I feel about him from the beginning."
What responses did you get?
"I have a bit of a complex with this song because when I get in a taxi, they immediately say to me, 'Oh Shuli Rand, Icha.' I want to say, 'Guys, I have more songs.' It strengthens and makes them happy, even though it's a slow and sad song. I also think it's a song that has a lot of joy and hope in it.
Shuli Rand, photo: Gideon Markovich
"Unfortunately, I get to sit a lot with terminally ill patients. I come to visit them at home or in a hospital, and two weeks or a month later, I am informed that they are no longer alive. The request is always for this song. There were several cases where I knew it was terminal situations and the last stanza, who talks about our end in this world, I would not sing."
"Sigh"
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Lyrics and music: Shuli Rand
Shuli Rand will perform on March 13 at Barbie Tel Aviv and host Shlomi Shaban.
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