Asaf Avidan Is a Unique Voice in Today's Music Scene. Jon Pareles of T
Asaf Avidan Into the Labyrinth Part i (Solo performance) Asaf Avidan is a unique voice in today's music scene. Jon Pareles of the New York Times described him as a special hybrid, “An artist that writes like Leonard Cohen, sings like Robert Plant, and has the charisma of a cabaret performer.”, while Bob Boilen of NPR (said to have stopped his car when he first heard Avidan on the radio) writes, "Billie Holiday, Janis Joplin and Bob Dylan are all in there, but they add up to a wholly original sound, with songs that are beautifully written and fervently performed.” Avidan, A bestselling, Platinum certified, mass followed star across Europe and his native country of Israel, left the continent of America untrodden until just two years ago, and so is significantly less known in the U.S. Avidan, the son of two diplomat parents, picked up a guitar fairly late in his life, at the age of 26, due to a mythological breakup from his long time girlfriend, which later found his way into his first songs and EP, “Now That You're Leaving.” Released independently in a few shops in his hometown of Jerusalem, The mini album and Avidan quickly received attention and acclaim, and Avidan began performing across his small country with a guitar and harmonica and his armour piercing voice and lyrics. As the demand for larger shows and a new album grew , he gathered local backing musicians around him and nicknamed them The Mojos. Now, performing and recording as Asaf Avidan & the Mojos, they made 3 successful studio albums (The Reckoning, Poor Boy-Lucky Man, Through The Gale), toured the globe, signed with Columbia Records in Europe, and made a name for themselves as one of the best live performers across Europe.
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