September 21, 2023 provided the collective cultural memory in Israel with an image of victory.
On the stage of Park Yarkon - a platform reserved almost exclusively for international artists who come to perform in our districts - there was one position, Noa Kirel.
Israel's number one pop star looked at the large crowd that came to see her, in a performance that was the first of two huge performances she held, on the huge lawn of the park.
Except for momentary interruptions by guests from Israel and abroad, the performance included only songs from the singer's repertoire, and the crowds in the audience, which was made up of a variety of ages, danced and sang with her songs that at this stage already constitute the Israeli soundtrack of the current decade.
This image of victory was Kirel's, just as it was for Israeli pop.
After years when it was pushed under "important" genres and perceived as light, inferior or devoid of artistic value - Sabrian pop made a tremendous leap into the heart of the mainstream.
Kirel, alongside Statik and Ben-El Tabori, Margie, Anna Zak and their friends,
They penetrated to the heart of Israeli culture and became an accurate representation of it - polished, well written and produced, faithful to the local jargon but meeting international standards, and above all speaking to all strata of the population.
For a few years it seemed that Israel had aligned itself with the rest of the world, and finally realized that pan, when served correctly, can be taken seriously.
Then came October 7th.
Along with the lives of all of us that the war changed forever, the perceptions that were shattered and the huge hole that was torn in the heart of a blood-drinking nation, the war inevitably changed - perhaps temporarily and perhaps forever - the cultural DNA of Israel. And to think that on the evening of October 7th on that park stage, and as it did for just three days Earlier, mega-successful pop star Bruno Mars was about to perform.
"justify the pop"
The disappearance of Israeli pop from the playlists, if we put aside for a moment the effective and militant "Harbo Darbo" (more on that later), as a reflex reaction, was a predictable matter.
Between the anxiety over the fate of the abductees and the daily bereavement that the past few months have brought, it didn't really surprise anyone that Israelis don't feel like rushing to the tune of "small bag".
In times of mourning and crisis, the radio stations draw a clear national line.
But the question that is asked here, or perhaps the basic premise, is whether the shock, the war and the national mentality will be reflected in the local creation that will accompany the tribal bonfire.
If the popular and widespread theory marks Rabin's murder as the main catalyst for the disappearance of the Israeli rock that dominated the playlists in the nineties, the generative event that led to the rejection of the loud guitars in favor of a "calm weekend", what are the events of Black Sabbath and the war of iron swords for Israeli music?
"There are ready-made albums that are completely pop and will have to be released, because I don't see a very good pop album being shelved," says Yasmin Yashvi, the chief music editor of Galglatz.
According to her, "There are entire pop albums that are already ready, that the artists who recorded them will look for the right time to release them. I was at the launch of Shahar Saul's new album, which consists of materials that are completely disconnected from the situation in the country. That evening, while I was traveling in a taxi on the way to the launch, we were informed of Idan's injury I stood by a lot of dead soldiers. I mean, there are those who are already trying to raise their heads, there are buds of it, but reality slaps them in the face."
So what do we do from here, when it is not clear how much longer this reality will last?
"I think that those who are more accessible and suitable for their career will turn to more melodic and minor places in the coming year, and for others it will be an interesting test. Maybe they will try to walk between the drops. Release singles around Purim, for example. But Independence Day will be affected by Memorial Day even more this year. They will have to look for dates in the calendar to bring something more rhythmic.
"Those who find it more accessible and suitable for their career will turn to more melodic and minor places in the coming year, and for others it will be an interesting test."
Yasmin Yashvi, photo: from the private album
"Let's take Anna Zeke as a test case: she is really strong, but her successful career is not long. There is no DNA of an artist that says, 'Well, she can bring a lyric or a ballad.'
Vocally, we're not sure she holds a ballad yet.
I love her very much, but let's face it - even lyrically it will feel a bit off.
Noa Kirel can do something more versatile, but how many ballads does she have in her repertoire?
Not a lot."
That is, pop will have to reinvent itself - or be based on timing.
"Pop will have to be justified all the time. It will no longer be pure and simple exuberant joy, as if we were in London or New York. Of course you should also be happy, but you will have to explain why you are happy alongside the mourning and bereavement. It kind of brings us back to the rock of our existence. That's why that for years there was no pop culture here - because we lived on our sword. We really went back to it."
When the war is over, even after a long period of time, pop will feel unnatural?
"Even after '48, there were years without war, and also after '67 and '73, but all the time there was some kind of existential danger hovering over us. In the last decade, we managed to release it a little. After all, a country that has pop is like a 'standard' country, happy, No worries, you can be escapist in it.
"In the nineties, the trance nation did it, but it was always under the radar, in an underground segment. Pop reached the club culture and the mainstream only in the last decade. We learned to love it, appreciate it and understand why it is important. Thanks to producers like Jordi, Stav Begar Vinon Yahel, For example, we learned to appreciate sounds. 15 years ago, I, as a radio editor, could not take a Britney or Gwen Stefani song and put an Israeli song after it, because almost nothing matched it."
Yasmin Yashvi: "Pop will have to be justified. It will no longer be a bursting and pure joy, as if we were in London or New York. Of course you should also be happy, but you will have to explain why you are happy alongside the mourning. This is the reason why there was no pop culture here for years - because our lives on our sword"
At the aesthetic level, local pop did not speak a foreign language at the time.
"The song that was in first place in the annual parade of Galglatz in 2013 was 'Balila' by Idan Raichel, sung by Idan Habib. It's a quiet song, a prayer song, and that's not what happened in parades abroad in 2013.
There was a gap that narrowed between us and what was happening in the world, and it could be that it will grow again, and this will actually also reflect a value and political trend.
It won't just be a cultural gap, but really a gap that will open between us and the world.
They don't understand us, so it makes sense that we stay away from them.
Why would I want to hear what's going on in London if a large part of the British hate me?
It's a gap in being, and culture reflects being."
"exploration phase"
The numbers, as usual, tell a story.
Data from the Media Forest company published about two weeks ago showed that since the beginning of the war, and especially in its first three months, there has been an 80% jump in the playing of Israeli music on the radio - Anna Zak and Margi, for example, experienced a decrease in playing of 93% and 75%, respectively.
On the other hand, Idan Amadi, Yasmin Moalem with "Yahya Tov" or Yigal Usheri with "Lesat Me Depress" - a hit that will probably forever be associated with the return of soldiers home - actually experienced a playlist paradise.
This happens a lot, because their work is made of exactly the ingredients that make up the classic Israeli taste: acoustic guitars, emotion and measured doses of optimism and pain.
But the producer and music consultant Noy Elosh, who has been working in the pop industry for quite a few years, does not think that this is the new normal situation.
"Everyone is working forward," he says, "what happens in the studios today is that all the pop artists are recording. Everyone was ready with some songs for a future release, and of course the war stopped that, certainly in the first months, but everyone is ready with hits. We are now in a kind of situation Intermediate, in the exploration stage. I think we're not yet at the point where the audience is ready to sing like 'Go to sleep,' for example, but everyone is aiming for the summer and working with that perspective. 'Let's wait for spring, for April-May, and see where it goes.'"
"Instant culture works in all kinds of directions."
Noy Aloush, photo: E.P
There are quite a few examples from history that periods of national crisis were reflected in culture for a long time, even after the end of the crisis.
"The point is that the world has changed. The traditional media is not the one to dictate the tone. In the 1990s, after the assassination of Rabin, there was a radio station where they decided what was stately and appropriate now, and the musicians aligned themselves according to that. Look at what is happening in recent days, with the separation of Omer Adam and Yael Shelvia, or with the cancellation of Osher Cohen's wedding. Everyone is dealing with it. In the past, they probably wouldn't have talked about such things during wartime.
"Instant culture works in all kinds of directions. On people's Instagram, a story appears about the abductees, then another story about the breakup of a reality refugee. It is no coincidence that pop rose here at the moment when the network, its intensity, dictated the tone. The music changed. They said, 'Khals, Let them rejoice, let them dance.' So now more texts are being chosen that still have this atmosphere, but think what will happen on Purim and Independence Day.
"I know of municipalities that are starting to book artists for performances, and not just quiet artists. People are planning Hangar and Bloomfield. Look at the area as well: the biggest hit in the country right now is 'Fear of God' by Kfir Zafarir. In the end it's a love song. The hottest singer right now is Sasson Shaolov, who sings Mediterranean love songs. He's crazy at concerts, he's now sold four hangars a week. It won't bring happiness that he sings 'even in the dark hours of the night.'"
Noy Elosh: "After Rabin's murder, there was a radio where they decided what was stately and appropriate now, and the musicians aligned themselves. Now everyone is busy with the separation of Omer Adam and Yael Shelvia, or the cancellation of Osher Cohen's wedding. They used to not talk about such things during wartime."
Nor is Shir Pinto, one of the well-known and busy public relations people in the field - whose clients include names such as Noa Kirel, Subliminal and the Shadow, Skazi, Infected Mashrom and Ido B - not impressed by the temporary lull in the popularity of escapist pop.
"All pop artists work on the day after."
Shir Pinto, photo: Yossi Zeliger
"Unlike other countries, we are a country of happiness," he says.
"Think about how many joys you have on average in a month - thousands of Bar Mitzvah and Bat Mitzvah events, alliances, weddings, 50th and 60th birthdays. What this means is that new music should be played. I can tell you that all pop artists are working on the day after." .
But the post-trauma should also be taken into account. The war will be present here long after it is over.
"There is a definition, born in the nineties, called 'terror music.' And families losing their loved ones - this is not appropriate, and it goes without saying that in the first months there was a great shock in the public, who could not understand and digest the scale of the disaster and the number of casualties.
"The loss touched almost every home in Israel, so it's clear that we were in a long period of mourning, but we are a people of revival, and we are starting to raise our heads. The clubs in Tel Aviv and all over the country, from Haifa to Eilat, are working and working. We are starting to hear sparks of songs that a little more convey optimism, revival , hope. They are also starting to transmit a little joy. This is the nation with the most joys."
Shir Pinto: "Slowly, when we feel stabilization and when it seems that the war is nearing its end, we will see here a flood of songs that we have never seen before in Israeli pop. Optimistic and happy music. Right now we are putting it deep in the cartridge, and waiting to shoot it, to release it to the world."
When, in your opinion, will it be possible to release a song like "Trilili Tarella", which is disconnected from the nature of the war?
"Ben-El Tabori released a few days ago 'Ototo', a pop song that has nothing to do with the war - and it works. It's a pop song for anything that can be played in the streets, a happy song with a relatively high BPM that is successful. Eliad, Eran Yosef and Segev also released A song called 'The day after', whose text refers to the war and the time we live in, but its rhythm is an Afro-American beat, and it can best be played in open spaces.
"I work with many, many artists, and I know many people in the pop and hip-hop industry who work vigorously, non-stop, on the day after. I think that slowly, when we feel a stabilization and when it seems that the war is nearing an end, we will see here a flood of songs that we have never seen in Israeli pop. Music Optimistic and happy. Right now they are putting it deep in the magazine, and waiting to shoot it, take it out into the world."
"emphasis on texts"
In a rough estimate, the dominant Israeli music of the last two decades can be divided into a messenger race, which began with a generation of Ramon immigrants, moved to the undisputed rule of Mediterranean pop, and then gave way to the current era of curling pop that corresponds with trends abroad. To changes in cultural preferences and transformations Deep and imperceptible social processes were promoted in real time, and even if unicorns and panthers will soon return to the fields of music on the radio or dance floors - historically and socially, change is inevitable.
According to Sa'ar Gemzo, a broadcaster and editor at Gilglatz, the fundamental change has already happened a long time ago, and if anything changes in Israeli music on October 7th - it will probably be a textual matter rather than a musical one.
"If the reference is to say previous wars, certainly like the Six Days and Yom Kippur, then these are wars in which the Israeli mainstream taste was still shaped by military bands. They at least pretended to bring the voice of the soldiers," he explains.
"That means it is music that is created from within the IDF, and that carries the IDF ethos and indoctrination - but on the other hand it is also pop.
"The navy band with 'Haska', for example, dominated the parades. It's not that it happened in isolation from civil society - so really it was 'all the people are an army.' But today pop stars join the army after they already have a career. The army does not advance their careers - He's holding it back. The military bands have moved aside, and if they do anything - it's usually covers. They are in no way a significant factor in Israeli music.
"What do the soldiers hear? Avihu Pankhasov, artists who come to sing for them. So the direction changes a bit: instead of the army going out - it starts importing, and this seems to me a distinction that makes some sense. The young people are not really arrested, and it is very likely that there is some scenario where the war ends, We lick the wounds and return to the same point. The world did not stop and wait for us. I think what will happen is that there will be much more emphasis on texts."
So the direction is more from "Harbo Darbo"?
"'Harbo Darbo' is not really representative. It did not create a trend or was born out of a trend, it very much stands on its own. What it does hold is something that happens many times precisely in the performances of artists like Eyal Golan or Omar Adam in front of soldiers: the veil of stars disappears there , and they are recruited for something that is international and nationalistic. Then they hear all kinds of 'flatten Gaza' and calls of that kind, but they will not record such a song.
"Eil Golan can say 'Let's go back to Gush Katif' between songs, but when he records a single it's 'Am Yisrael Chai'. In 'Harbo Darbo' Ness and Stila say 'Let's go to the Arabs'. I don't remember any time in history of the military bands a song with such an arrogant tone, full of glory. 'Yes, we will crush them.' ".
Sa'ar Gamzo: "The Israeli public loves basses and grooves, and it will be difficult to bring people to concerts with melancholic songs and to produce low-key music in this place, in the Levantine space. It simply will not work. We are a people with a very short memory compared to those who call themselves 'the people of eternity' "
So what will be the effect of the situation anyway? Dor Rimon was also born from the wound of the second intifada.
"I assume that we will hear a reference from Ravid Plotnik, Tona and others about the event we went through, but in terms of musical aesthetics - it will still be wrapped in hip hop, a genre that by its very nature relies on texts. As for pop, if it takes a moment to digest, process and let things sink in - it It will depend on time. If we come out of the event with peace agreements, and the situation becomes utopian, I think we will completely skip the stage of mournful texts and talking about the pain. We are very good at this - both at suppressing and lifting. The music here is always high octane.
"The Israeli public likes basses and grooves, and it will be difficult to bring people to concerts with melancholic songs. It will be difficult to produce low-key music in this place, in the Levantine area. It just won't work, not for long. This is also the reason why Rimon's guys had time Fame is relatively short, certainly if you compare it to the time when rock or hip-hop ruled here. We are a people who have a very short memory compared to those who call themselves 'the people of eternity'."
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