Israeli and Australian musicians recording together

For many new olim, it is hard to find common ground and a shared language with Israelis. This was also the case for Ari Jacob from Melbourne, who made aliyah seven years ago. Pretty quickly Jacob understood that music would be his bridge into Israeli society.

Over the past five years Jacob has worked extensively in the Israeli music scene. He was the in-house music producer for the number one Israeli podcast Israel Story, and formed a band with local musician Shay Perry called Shayari, which performed over 100 shows and recorded an album of original music in both Hebrew and English.

These musical relationships are culminating in an exciting new project: upcoming album Swallow the Sun, which will bring together musicians from Israel and Australia for a three-day recording retreat in the north of Israel.

Simon Starr and Ben Edgar, Australian-based musicians and masters of their craft will spend three days of their short trips in Israel in the studio with Jacob. Starr is producing the album. The rest of the band are Israeli-based musicians and friends, with whom Jacob has recorded albums in Israel and Berlin, performed extensively and spent days and weeks in nature playing music.

“This album is about telling stories and asking questions. Stories of real people from real places. Questions from conversations with imaginary people from inner places,” Jacob explained.

“I started doing this because it felt like the only way to capture something true was by describing real moments, from life itself. Not some perfectly synthesised body of truth or crystallised philosophy, but an ongoing story. A story where the truth is not always felt in the moment, but reveals itself slowly.

“A lot of this has been about killing the gurus to find God in me. To stop searching for the light in the sky. To swallow the sun so that the light shines from the inside out.”

Find out more: headstart.co.il/project/72552

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