After the period of debt and crisis, Moshik Afia is celebrating a second marriage, the imminent birth of a daughter who will turn him into a father, and new songs he releases at a pace • Immediately after the corona he plans a joint show with his friend Kobi Peretz, promising: The State "
"I want as many children as possible, to have a glorious kiddush table."
Afia
Photography:
Kfir Ziv
At the age of 46, Moshik Afia is about to become a father for the first time.
If all goes well, this coming March the singer will give birth to an eldest daughter with his new wife, Dana.
Good news after the big upheavals in his life in recent years, including a divorce from his first wife, about a decade ago, a well-publicized bankruptcy and a resounding career drop.
At the interview he arrives alert, with a wrinkled forehead and serious speech, but the second the daughter is about to be born - he abandons the defensive pose and becomes a lump of butter with a huge smile smeared across his face.
"It's exciting on other levels," he admits.
"Excitement I have not experienced. I feel hearts coming out of my face and ears, and it is lovely.
"We have not yet decided on a name, we are looking at lists and debating. But we have already bought pacifiers, bottles and clothes for the first few days, so that we do not get stuck. We have not prepared the girl's room yet, because it is not customary before the baby is born. "Bob the Builder, to paint, drill and tidy. I renovated our house to a 'before' and 'after' level, and I really enjoyed it. Everything is ready for the little princess."
What kind of father will you be?
"The best in the world. I will not have to get up at night, because I am awake anyway. I usually go to bed at 5 in the morning and get up at 10, so I will be available to her both at night and in the morning. I used to wake up at 4 in the afternoon, even At 6 pm. Today, when my wife returns from her work at school, I'm already ticking her off for lunch.
"At first Dana would only eat healthy, I 'spoiled' her a bit.
I make fish, and my specialty is meats.
I'm sick of meat.
I learned to cook from watching people on YouTube, and I cook a bomb, real.
If they want me to 'Master Chef VIP' - let them talk to my agent, Roberto.
In the meantime, you can see on Instagram how I help Dana make cookies. "
Are you known for your anxieties about flying and taking medication. Now will you also have an anxious dad?
" Probably so.
I'll keep checking her breathing.
I worry and watch too much.
Dana already says that in this section I will be very problematic.
If I see the girl is about to get hit from the table, I'll get her in front of her.
I know I should not raise children in silk gloves, and I should work on it with myself.
Despite my age, I want as many children as possible.
Kids it's a joy, and I want a magnificent kiddush table.
I feel 30 years old. "
They live in Ganei Tikva in a rented private house.
Dana (33) is a physical education teacher at a state-religious school in Petah Tikva.
"We met almost two years ago through Instagram," he recalls.
"I started with her, and then we switched to long phone calls of five to six hours each call, something crazy. When we met, I immediately realized she was my other half."
She fell in love with the singer "Moshik Afia"?
"No, I pick up on things like that very quickly. She was not a fan of mine. She knew me as a singer, and that's a stigma that might be discouraging. But I'm not Blaine who walks around at night. I'm a good boy in Jerusalem, 'and I say that proudly. I travel straight. Home. I've never taken drugs. I'm afraid to take a pill for a headache, so put drugs in my body? Never? I'm not drinking before shows, nor after. It's not that I'm a monk, I'm sitting at a bar with friends and I drink a glass here and there, but you do not catch "Me in bars at night. It's just not me."
Due to the corona, Afia and Dana were forced to postpone their wedding three times, until they finally got married in August.
"A wedding in holiness, on the roof of the 'Ash HaTorah' yeshiva in Old Jerusalem, right in front of the Western Wall. A place you can visit in the Western Wall plaza. And we did not skimp, it is one of the most expensive places in the country to get married. There were 70-60 guests at the wedding. According to what was allowed in the regulations. "
What made you fall in love with Dana?
"She is an angel, and she is sensitive. She envelops me in caring, love and concern - and supports me."
Different from your relationship with your first wife, Natalie Yakubov?
"I do not want to talk about my ex-wife. I leave it at the past. We divorced nicely, everyone went to his own life. I am not a man of quarrels. It did not leave me scars. We were married a year and a half without children. We came to the conclusion that they are breaking up. Failure? "Life is not just about success. It has to be realistic. I have no problem defining it as a failure. So what. I moved on."
The divorce was just the beginning of the Great Depression that followed.
About eight years ago he experienced a career crash, accompanied by an economic crisis, after failing to meet the contract for the second season of the reality show "Live in LA LA Land", filmed in 2012 in Los Angeles and broadcast on Channel 24.
Due to his flight anxiety he refused to board the plane , Which led to the cancellation of the contract with the production of the plan and immersed him in financial debts, due to the obligations he assumed on account of the salary he was supposed to receive from the plan - NIS 750,000.
He soon found himself in a financial turmoil, at the height of which he owed four banks a total of about one million shekels.
In 2014, he declared himself bankrupt.
"My debt was to the banks, not to any private creditor," he clarifies.
"I offered the banks to close the debt in the amount of about half a million shekels, but they refused. 'Dry me' like a bankrupt for five years, they did me an injustice. They strangled me, just because of my name, because I am the famous singer.
" Millions.
I paid millions of shekels in taxes.
I have never worked in 'black'.
From my first day in the profession I am only with invoices.
All the conduct against me in this matter was a joke.
The business could have been completed in five minutes, and for much less money.
"In the end, I closed the debts at NIS 400,000, which is NIS 100,000 less than I offered them five years earlier. They did a 'haircut' for me, but if you check, you will find that debts like mine have been closed in the past with much, much less."
Who covered your debts to the banks?
"I covered, for myself. For my participation in 'Big Brother' I received, for example, 150 thousand shekels? It went there. And all sorts of other things I did. I closed the debts, and a year ago I finished paying everything. Today my table is clean. I do not have to. "Nothing for anyone. At the bank, I'm a plus."
What did the fall leave you with?
"I crashed, everything exploded inside me. I felt like I was put in a washing machine and everything was squeezed out of me. There were moments when I broke down. I suddenly moved from a penthouse to a small rented apartment, starting from scratch, but a minus four place. And that's fine.
"
My parents, Jacob, a taxi driver, and Dalia, a retired kindergarten teacher, were my support wall at the time, alongside my siblings and friends who have been with me since childhood.
There were friends who disappointed me, but leave names.
Today I can say that the difficult period fortified me.
I discovered how strong I am and learned what I am worth.
And here, today I'm going to dismantle the country.
In this passage I salute myself.
Because from the lowest place you build yourself.
"Today I am much smarter, with much more life experience. I have learned not to repeat mistakes, not to be overly extravagant. I no longer spend money like I used to. I do live, buy, pamper my wife, and I lack nothing, but Ten years ago the waste was pointless, unjustified, at the level of contempt. God made me an education series. "
You mean the luxurious Jaguar you bought at the time?
" I actually needed the Jaguar, because I plowed the land in shows, so why not drive a Jaguar .
If a person works, earns and earns a decent living, he also deserves to be pampered.
But I pampered myself too much, I agree.
Everything I saw I would buy, whether I needed to or not.
I learned, and life goes on. "
Are you still afraid to fly?
" I have flown in the past, for shows in France and Bulgaria, relatively short flights.
The last time was a show in Varna, a few years ago.
I am also claustrophobic, it is difficult for me to stay indoors for hours.
It is also difficult for me when things are out of my control.
"Being locked in a box for a 12-hour plane to Los Angeles, without being able to move and without being able to get out of there, is great for me. There's also no chance I'll take a sleeping pill and wake up after 12 hours. I don't touch pills. If once every few years I'm very sick, I "I take antibiotics alone, without a doctor's prescription. There is no chance that I will swallow a pill and throw it on the plane like a rag. I need to have control over myself. I also stopped performing on cruises, because it drove me crazy to be stuck in a ship for so long."
Today, he says, he will consider flying or sailing only if Roberto Ben-Shoshan, his manager from the beginning of 2020, arranges the trip for him.
"For Roberto I will make every effort, I can not disappoint him. Also with him, as with my wife, I met once for coffee and immediately realized that 'this is it'."
How is Roberto different from the management you received before him at Liam Productions, the company of Eyal Golan and Bnei Peretz?
"Different in everything. Professionalism, humanity, management. After 24 years of career there is no happier and more satisfied than me professionally. I arrived in heaven, I could not ask for more. I did not let my son and Eyal manage so much. I was more with my hand on the pulse. With Roberto I released everything "I went from manager to manager. I gave him the reins. Roberto now sets everything for me. He's like a dad to me. What he tells me, I do. And I'm very upset about what's going on.
" He set up a team that works around me and takes care of everything, and everything ticks like a doxa watch , At the highest level.
I, except bowing to them for the work they do, do nothing.
Just singing.
I trust Roberto to take me as far as possible, he's a genius.
I have open doors in the best recording studios in the country, and in the most respected writers and composers in the Mediterranean genre today. "The
contract between you is half and half? Roberto invests the money and takes half of the profits?
"How much does he invest? Ask him. A 50-50 contract in my opinion is Pierre Inaf. It's true that singers moved to the front of the stage today in the managerial section, but the manager's job is no less difficult today. It's being available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, not just answering phones Look at the managers only when the artist is successful, and then tell them how much money they are making. But a good manager makes a way with you, builds you, invests in you, spends his whole life for you. So when it succeeds, he deserves to enjoy the fruits no less than you. It's harder than me, believe me. "
* * *
He was born in Holon, the eldest in a family of four children.
At every opportunity he grabbed a microphone near.
At the age of 21, he released a debut album, and even then stood out in a thick and beautiful voice, which suited the Turkish genre that was then the bon-ton.
His big break came in 1997 on his third album, with the hit "Total Kiss".
He appeared with the song on television, on Dudu Topaz's "First in Entertainment" program, after selling his car and donating the money to a charity - a condition set by the production.
For years, Afia was considered a promise that was not fully realized in Mediterranean music.
He had other big hits, such as "Sweet Dream" (with Shlomi Saranga), "I'm Not Available" and "Breaking the Silence", but he failed to leverage himself to the biggest stages.
At a time when Mediterranean pop reached its peak of popularity, in the years 2014-2009, Afia was not able to qualify for the truly top of the genre's stars.
Colleagues of his generation, such as Lior Narkis and Kobi Peretz, who like him began their youth in the Turkish genre, and like him cut into the mainstream of oriental music, became bigger stars than him, with performances at the Yad Eliyahu Hall, Caesarea and the Tel Aviv Hall of Culture.
Afia also closed a performance at the Hall of Culture, but canceled it at the last minute, after calculating that the financial outlay would exceed the expected income from the show.
At the same time, new names emerged, such as Moshe Peretz and Dudu Aharon, who overtook him in the round.
There is nothing to talk about comparing Eyal Golan and Sarit Hadad.
Now, he is "face forward," as he defines it.
"I have a new show together with Kobi Peretz, which was supposed to premiere in Caesarea last August 5, but was postponed because of the corona. Everything is ready, the production, the choice of songs, we worked on it. We only have to go on stage and perform.
" A year-long duet called The Nights, which reached 4 million views on YouTube.
By the way, I do not buy views, because I do not come to work on myself.
We will soon be releasing a rhythmic duet, a song that will burn the country this coming summer.
He will be out alongside a new date for the show in Caesarea.
"When we get out of the corona something big is waiting for us together, a huge tour, on all the big stages I always dreamed of conquering, and to this day I have not reached. Now is my time to do it. So I call on all my audience to get vaccinated and get a 'green passport' so we can meet In performances. "
How is the connection with Kobi Peretz?
"Kobe has been a friend of mine for more than 20 years, from the beginning of his career. When we were young we recorded all kinds of duets ('My brother hurts', 'My friend hurts', 'Why my God'), and for years the audience wanted us to sing together again. Today you see "It's on social media. The audience there says what they want to hear. Our two audiences pushed us into it."
You have no problem sharing the stage and fame with him?
"Suddenly, Kobi is my brother. I have always praised his success. In general, I enjoy seeing others succeed. We broadcast on more or less the same musical line. Now we have the opportunity to put together the biggest show in Israel. I'm almost sure that's what's going on. to be".
What is your current status in Israeli music?
"I know my vocal qualities, and I know exactly what I'm worth as a singer. I'm good in my place, and I get enough appreciation. My songs are played everywhere, and I'm circulating at insane levels. There's no doubt my winning 'Big Brother,' "You contributed a lot to me. I got there as a well-known singer, but no one knew who the real Moshik was. To this day, I get crazy love from the audience as a result."
There was an expectation that it would take you to the top in the country.
"When the corona is over it will happen, I'm sure. There's a natural and healthy competition, and I have something to offer. I have an audience that goes with me for more than two decades, that every show of mine for them is like 'such a life'. Every song of mine reminds them of an event in their lives."
When you see success like that of Omar Adam, are you jealous?
"No, why should I be jealous? I praise him, that he will succeed. I never wanted to be like anyone else, I am content with what God has given me.
All is well, I have nothing missing, I'm happy.
All ten.
Just get rid of this disturbing corona. "In the
past you were one of the few who agreed to admit to performances in front of crime family members, do you continue with that?
" I respect anyone who wants to watch my performance and invite me to it.
What, are they not human?
They do not like music?
They are an audience like any other audience, and pay even more money than the price others pay.
I'm not ashamed to say that I appear before them, nor do I have a reason. "
* * *
Ten days ago, Afia released a new single called "Tin Songs", which reached half a million views on YouTube.
The song, in which he again demonstrates a vocal power that knows how to move, opens with the words: "I'm already tired of tin songs, everything sounds the same, the same thing / cheap rhymes from the shelf, I also fell it is addictive, but must."
Is it possible to deduce from this that you are polluting the music of other singers?
"It's a love song about someone who underestimated his routine and was left alone at the end. As for the sting at first, the intention is that there will always be both quality songs and tin songs. That's the reality. I don't mean a specific genre, and I immediately admit I got songs like that, tin. I also sing about myself, stinging myself.
"I have released 18 albums to date.
I have more than 200 songs, most of them high quality, ballads that will be sung in two hundred years, such as "There is no logic in love", "The One", "What about you" and "Breaking the Silence".
And there are also commercial songs, less profound, that are destined for success and their shelf life is shorter.
And that's fine. "
What do you think of the young pop who took over the radio?
" They have great music, and I applaud, for example, Static and Ben-El.
I love hearing Noa Kirl, and not just because she's also represented by Roberto.
She is the most successful singer in the country.
Her songs are not only for 15 year olds, I hear them too.
They make merry at events. "Are
you played on the radio?
" Radio Pargan for duets I released this year with Kobi Peretz and Yaniv Ben Mashiach, 'Beautiful as Shabbat.
There were times when they played less, and that's fine too.
Not all of the songs I released were 'Bingo'.
I'm a realistic person, not living in a movie that I'm a celeb.
"There is no person in the country today who does not know who I am, but I stick to the slogan that stars are only in the sky."
* * *
He's dressed like an '80s rocker, with a black leather jacket, black shirt, black jeans, black leather shoes, and gold jewelry — a necklace, a bracelet, and a watch.
Proud, he says, of all the gray and white hair he has, and that only makes him look better ("I worked hard for the white hair - it's beautiful").
His body, as usual, is thin, but Afia reports that he eats what he wants, and at the hours he wants, without knocking an account.
"My wife Dana, who is a physical education teacher, was partially able to get me to do fitness. At first I would go out for walks and runs with her, but today there is much less."
In the meantime, he continues to smoke Marlboro Gold cigarettes, and he says he finishes a box in a few days.
"I want to quit, I've reduced a lot, in the meantime I'm enjoying the little that is left. Smoking has a positive effect on my voice, because I have a bass voice and I'm not afraid to lose the high notes."
So your general well-being is good?
"Shlomi is relatively good at what the world is going through. I saw my neighbor, who fell ill in Corona, being transported from his house in a wheelchair into an ambulance, so I take the epidemic very seriously. I'm dying to get vaccinated, but it would not be nice for me. "I will not do a combina- tion to get vaccinated. It is not appropriate. But I want to end it already. I do not mind performing with a tail either. I have not performed in front of an audience in a normal way for a year. We are nearing the end of the epidemic, so I will wait a little longer."
Unlike his friends in the Mediterranean genre, who are occasionally documented in underground appearances at weddings and private events, Afia refuses to perform where and when it is forbidden by Ministry of Health regulations.
"I received invitations to underground performances - and I refused," he says.
Didn't show up at all?
"Throughout the Corona period, I only performed twice. When it was still allowed to perform in an open space for 40 people, I performed in the Hadera area. A second performance was on Independence Day, produced by Radio Lev HaMedina and Israel Today, which was broadcast live on Facebook and reached one million views.
"I'm not built for small shows in private homes, with a guitarist and keyboardist.
To me it does not work, because I am expected not only to sing ballads, but also to dance and make happy, and for that I need my band.
I have standards of a show, with six musicians, an amplifier and my sound technician, that I am not willing to go down to perform in front of 20 people. "
And what about the money you can make from it? It is not lacking?
" Everyone lacks money.
No one now has a livelihood.
I received a penny and a half from the state.
We need to give more to everyone who deals with the cultural industry, because we are the ones who donate performances and volunteer on a daily basis.
Where do I get money for the songs and clips I put out every month or two?
Thank God.
Career first of all.
I do everything necessary.
We'll just go through the corona, and everything's fine. "
What do you regret?
" I do not regret anything.
Nothing.
I believe in god.
The name navigated me to what I had to go through, even the bad times.
I got an education series, and I accept everything with love.
Whoever conducts himself as I proceeded - his end is known.
It's good that I got it while I got it. "
And where will we see you in five years?
" "I'm finally fulfilling my dreams, with my family and career."
shishabat@israelhayom.co.il