Asaf Avidan

Asaf Avidan (2011)

Chart positions Explanation of the data

Albums

The Reckoning   DE 23 08/31/2012 (9 weeks)   AT 31 08/31/2012 (6 weeks)   CH 33 02.09.2012 (17 weeks) Different pulses   CH 39 12/09/2012 (11 weeks) Gold shadow   DE 75 02/06/2015 (2 weeks)   CH 12 01/18/2015 (11 weeks) The Study on Falling   CH 18th 11/12/2017 (5 weeks)

Singles

One Day / Reckoning Song ( Wankelmut Remix)   DE 1  platinum 06/15/2012 (51 weeks)   AT 1  platinum 07/13/2012 (34 weeks)   CH 1  × 3 Triple platinum 07/29/2012 (48 weeks)   UK 30th  silver 09/29/2012 (7 weeks)

Asaf Avidan (* 23. March 1980 in Jerusalem ) is an Israeli folk rock - musicians . His singing is characterized by his very high pitch and is sometimes compared to that of Janis Joplin or Robert Plant .

Career

Asaf Avidan grew up as the son of Israeli diplomats in Jamaica, among other places . Musically he was influenced by his parents' extensive record collection, which contained a wide variety of styles. Later CDs were added by his older brother who worked as a manager of a record store. Avidan names the bands and musicians Bob Dylan , Leonard Cohen , Tom Waits , Nirvana , Soundgarden , Pearl Jam , Led Zeppelin , Jimi Hendrix , The Doors , Radiohead , Muddy Waters , John Lee Hooker and Blind Willie McTell as important influences , but also classical ones Music, for example by Chopin and Beethoven .

After attending a Metallica concert at the age of 13 or 14 , he wanted a drum kit because he wanted to be like Lars Ulrich . Since the drums were too big and loud for the apartment, he got an electric guitar. But he couldn't get past a guitar lesson. He only took it out again during military service. He was an outsider in the army. He then taught himself a few chords, and wrote and played songs to express his feelings. After he no longer needed this outlet for his emotions after completing his military service, he put the guitar aside again and studied film and animation. During this time he was in Israel for thirteen years as a voice actor for the television series The Smurfs , among others .

It was only after separating from his long-time girlfriend that he took out the guitar again to use music as a means of expression and decided to become a musician. He released six songs in which he dealt with the breakup of his relationship in 2006 as his debut EP Now That You're Leaving in Israel . Avidan released the EP - as well as all other albums - on his own label Telmavar Records , which he founded together with his brother Roie Avidan. For a tour of clubs in Israel he put together a band called Asaf Avidan & the Mojos with bassist Ran Nir, drummer Yoni Sheleg, guitarist Roi Peled and cellist Hadas Kleinman .

The band released the album The Reckoning in 2008 . The reaction to the album has been largely positive and has earned Avidan a nomination for best Israeli artist at the MTV Europe Music Awards . The title Weak of the album The Reckoning was part of the soundtrack to the film The Tree (2010). In 2009 the album Poor Boy / Lucky Man followed . The songs are thematically about a boy who is born with a hole instead of a heart. It was originally released with two different covers: a poor boy and a lucky man version.

For the two albums The Reckoning and Poor Boy / Lucky Man , Asaf Avidan & the Mojos signed a license agreement with Sony / Columbia Records for the distribution of the albums in Europe. The albums were officially released in parts of Europe with some delay ( The Reckoning 2010 and Poor Boy / Lucky Man 2011).

Asaf Avidan & the Mojos were able to gain a considerable fan base on their tours in Israel. They eventually filled large halls when they performed. Her albums achieved gold status in Israel. Appearances in Europe followed, including two appearances at the WDR- Rockpalast . Avidan can also be heard in the opening act of numerous well-known musicians, for example for Morrissey in Tel Aviv in 2008, for Bob Dylan in the Ramat Gan Stadium in June 2011 or at a The Who tribute and benefit concert in Carnegie Hall in the year 2010.

In 2010 the third album by Asaf Avidan & the Mojos Through the Gale followed . It is a concept album about a captain who wants to travel to the realm of the gods with his crew in search of immortality. Ultimately, he learns that a journey without a home and a life without death are pointless. The mood of the various stations of this voyage is captured musically.

In July 2011, the Mojos announced a creative break to pursue solo projects. Asaf Avidan toured with an acoustic program through Israel, France and Germany, accompanied by the cellist Karni Postel. The positive reactions of his audience prompted him to record a live acoustic album.

Part of the song Reckoning Song was used as an edit in the Remix One Day by the Berlin musician and DJ Wankelmut . One Day enjoyed great popularity on the Internet platform SoundCloud and on YouTube and was released as a single in June 2012. After six weeks the song was in the German top 10 and after three more weeks it reached number 1 . It was then published in the neighboring countries and also rose to the top of the chart in Austria and Switzerland as well as in Belgium , the Netherlands and later Italy . On August 17th, the album The Reckoning , on which the original Reckoning song originally appeared, was re-released with the remix as an additional track. The re-release entered the German album charts at number 23. The official music video for One Day has been viewed over 100 million times since it was released on YouTube in June 2012 through June 2013.

In the meantime, the previously announced “creative break” by Asaf Avidan & the Mojos has resulted in a final breakup of the band. At the end of their joint career, the DVD Final Stages was released. It contains recordings of various performances by Asaf Avidan & the Mojos during the last three years they have been on tour together, mixed with backstage recordings and interview excerpts.

A new solo album by Asaf Avidan with the title Different Pulses was released in Israel in September 2012 and in Germany on November 23, 2012. The first single from this, Different Pulses , was first released on YouTube and SoundCloud on May 7, 2012, and later also in the download stores. The single contains two remixes as B-sides as well as Conspiratory Visions of Gomorrah also from the album Different Pulses . Another song, Cyclamen , was released on YouTube and SoundCloud on August 20, 2012. The album was produced by Tamir Muskat, the drummer for the band Balkan Beat Box . With a few exceptions (trumpet, trombone and bass clarinet), all instruments by Asaf Avidan and Tamir Muskat are played. They recorded the album in stages when they had time together between their tour dates. While Asaf Avidan tried to record the music as he played it live on previous albums, this time around he wanted a studio recording that was different from the live game. This presents him with a special challenge to play the songs live. Asaf Avidan chose the album title Different Pulses on the one hand because the album differs stylistically and in the production process from the albums with the "Mojos", on the other hand because of the basic theme of the album: the search for love, peace and / or security in that Know never to find it, because there are always different impulses / pulse beats that can never be fully synchronized.

Discography

Albums

• 2008: The Reckoning (Asaf Avidan & the Mojos)
• 2009: Poor Boy / Lucky Man (Asaf Avidan & the Mojos)
• 2010: Through the Gale (Asaf Avidan & the Mojos)
• 2012: Avidan in a Box - Live Acoustic Recordings (Asaf Avidan, download album)
• 2012: Different Pulses (Asaf Avidan)
• 2015: Gold Shadow (Asaf Avidan)
• 2017: The Study on Falling (Asaf Avidan)
• 2018: In A Box II (Asaf Avidan, download album)

EPs

• 2006: Now That You're Leaving (Asaf Avidan)

Singles

• 2010: Weak (Asaf Avidan & the Mojos)
• 2010: Little Stallion (Asaf Avidan & the Mojos)
• 2012: One Day / Reckoning Song (Asaf Avidan & the Mojos, Wankelmut Remix)
• 2012: Different Pulses (Asaf Avidan)
• 2013: Love It or Leave It (Asaf Avidan)
• 2014: Over My Head (Asaf Avidan)
• 2015: Gold Shadow (Asaf Avidan)
• 2017: My Old Pain (Asaf Avidan)

Box sets

• 2012: The Mojo Collection (Asaf Avidan & the Mojos; contains the three albums The Reckoning, Poor Boy / Lucky Man and Through the Gale)

Video albums

• 2012: Final Stages (Asaf Avidan & the Mojos)

swell

1. ↑ ^{a b} Chart sources: Germany - Austria - Switzerland - UK
2. ↑ Awards: DE AT CH
3. ↑ The new Janis Joplin comes from Israel at laut.de, accessed on September 12, 2012
4. ↑ Asaf Avidan & The Mojos: Poor Boy / Lucky Man at rollingstone.de, accessed on September 12, 2012
5. ↑ [1]
6. ↑ Interview with Asaf Avidan ( Memento of the original from December 11, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
7. ↑ Interview with Asaf Avidan and Ran Nir on Motor.de ( memento of the original from October 26, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
8. ↑ Interview with Asaf Avidan ( Memento of the original from December 11, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
9. ↑ [2]
10. ↑ Interview with Asaf Avidan ( Memento of the original from December 11, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
11. ↑ 1 Live : Interview by Tina Middendorf with Asaf Avidan, November 30, 2012
12. ↑ Information on the content of the published albums on Asaf Avidan's Facebook page
13. ↑ Interview with Asaf Avidan ( Memento of the original from December 11, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
14. ↑ Interview with Asaf Avidan and Ran Nir on Motor.de ( memento of the original from October 26, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
15. ↑ Recording of the WDR Rockpalast performance on July 25, 2009
16. ↑ Recording of the WDR Rockpalast performance on August 14, 2009 at the Haldern Pop Festival
17. ↑ asafavidanmusic.com: Asaf Avidan Tourdates - Opening for Bob Dylan ( Memento of the original from August 31, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , accessed May 8, 2012. 
18. ↑ fastforward-magazine.de: Akustik-Tour Deutschland , accessed on June 26, 2012.
19. ↑ thebox.asafavidanmusic.com: About ( Memento of the original from June 15, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , accessed June 26, 2012. 
20. ↑ Archive link ( Memento of the original from May 15, 2017 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
21. ↑ YouTube : Different Pulses
22. ↑ SoundCloud : Different Pulses
23. ↑ YouTube : Cyclamen
24. ↑ Interview with Asaf Avidan ( Memento of the original from December 11, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
25. ↑ thebox.asafavidanmusic.com: Album "Avidan in a Box" ( Memento of the original from April 18, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , accessed April 22, 2012 
26. ↑ Archive link ( Memento of the original from May 15, 2017 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  

Web links

Commons : Asaf Avidan  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• Official website (English)
• Asaf Avidan at Discogs (English)