Nothin' Sez Somethin': Israel

30 June 2013

Israel

Well, that was a close call. After everything that was going on in Cairo, I thought I better slip across the border into Israel as soon as possible. Then I find out I’d been flagged on some Muslim Brotherhood watch-list because of my past as a magazine editor/journalist, my Narco-anarchist Party affiliation, & some alleged illegal operations I may have become associated with in the previous Century. I called in a favor with a contact I still had with the Yamas (stemming from some wet work I had done for the HaMossad leModi’in uleTafkidim Meyuḩadim during the Brown/Goldman/Simpson thing). Now I’m sitting in a suite overlooking the beach at the Dan Tel Aviv on the Israeli chit. Sweet. Here’s some really non-Middle Eastern music to start off the Middle East. Just exercising my middle finger before I get underway.

Seventeen Migs of Spring was formed in 1999. Its members are Gurfa, K-67, & B-74. With names like that, do you really think there’d be much information about these characters? The album is Hamasger, which just adds to the obvious mystery they’ve got going on here.

Their sinister soundscapes are generated mostly in the physical domain, with spoken & manipulated words & indistinct noise-making devices. The majority of the electronic components of their sound are orchestrated by means of banks of inter-connected equipment. When things get hectic the musicians become rather frantically animated in a way that bloke-with-laptop acts never do. Their music leans heavily towards cold, dark ambient trips, punctuated with digital glitchery that has a decidedly industrial edge. The overall effect is a highly competent & pleasingly hypnotic mixture of different, often conflicting cultural, philosophical, & musical influences. It is hard to categorize or label. Their sound is very different from release to release. Every live appearance is unique & they are one of a kind, never to be repeated performances. Their sound & style is always evolving.

This recording is from their Hatzofe period. Tracks 1 & 2 were recorded live in Kolnoa Zamir on June 12, 2004. “Chatters” features Synichkin on guitar (electro magnetic interference sounds). Tracks 3 to 10 were recorded live in Hatzofe Club on March 27, 2004. “Three Wonders of Spring” was recorded live during an ambient break in Penetrating Crankshaft’s live set in Hatzofe Club on January 15, 2004. It features Gurfa, Uliana Korentabak, & Sevil on amplified qwerty keyboards.

Seventeen Migs of Spring- Hamasger, Tel Aviv Soundtracks, 2004.

decryption code in comments

Tracklist -

Noises

Chatters

A. B. Fields

Spring

People

Soog Beth

Tickets to the Moon

Microbes

Level of Speech

Swallow

Three Wonders of Spring

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Eatliz first appeared in the Israeli indie scene in September 2002. The group originally earned its following through word to mouth & extensive touring of Tel Aviv clubs. Eatliz’s fans used to invite others to come & see ‘the best band you haven’t heard yet’. That changed in October 2007, when Eatliz released their full length debut Violently Delicate on the Anova Music label.

The material on this album was mostly written in the band's earlier years, between 2003 & 2005. Most of the songs were credited to guitarist Guy Ben Shetrit & former singer Maya Dunitz. Only two songs are credited to current singer Lee Triffon. The album's first single "Attractive" became successful around Israel, playing on all big radio stations. Soon after, the single also received a massive radio airplay in Germany, which led to the invitation of the band to play at the Popkomm Festival in Berlin.

Eatliz is the second musical project initiated by Guy Ben-Shetrit, guitarist & main writer for the Israeli punk band Infectzia. The songs Ben-Shetrit writes for Eatliz (butcher shop in Hebrew) are in English. His complex compositions & arrangements move between various musical styles in a way which seems nearly impossible. Different songs feature influences of hard-rock, surf, punk, goth, & power-pop; sometimes all within the course of a single song. The band usually describes its music as “complicated pop” (it is probably more accurately modern prog).