Ivri Lider

Today our travels take us to the land of Israel, which has developed a thriving gay scene in the last few years. Israeli gay cinema is remarkable, and there are also a few shining examples in Pop music. Ivri Lider is one of the most prominent.

Ivri Lider (Hebrew: עברי לידר‎‎; born 10 February 1974) is an Israeli Pop star and part of the duo TYP also known as The Young Professionals. He is one of the biggest-selling contemporary artists in Israeli music, and has won the Male Singer of the Year honor from Israeli national and local radio stations since entering the Israeli music scene in the late 1990s. He has sold more than 200,000 records.

Born on a Kibbutz in 1974, Ivri took his first musical steps while still in high school. At the age of 17, he started a group called Everyone Does It Like This, whose gigs included a performance at the legendary Roxanne Club in Tel Aviv. As he continued to refine musical skills throughout his teen years, renowned Israeli modern dance choreographer Anat Danieli commissioned Lider to compose the music for two of her pieces, Kisses and October. Shortly thereafter, he was tapped by Ohad Naharrin to compose the music for Kaamos, which Naharrin choreographed for the famous Dutch dance company, NDT. And at the young age of 21, Israel’s leading dance company, Bat Sheva, chose Lider to compose the entire score for Z/NA, making him the youngest person to compose an entire evening of music in the company’s history.

A couple of years later, Helicon Records signed Ivri to produce his first album after receiving his demo tape in the mail. His debut album, Melatef Umeshaker (Caressing And Lying), was produced by Yo’ad Nevo and released in 1997. The singles Leonardo and Tamid Ahava (Always Love) were overnight radio hits, skyrocketing the record to Platinum status.

Here's Leonardo:

... And here's Always Love:

His second studio album, Yoter Tov Klum Me'kimat (Nothing Is Better Than Almost), was released in 1999. Written entirely by Lider, who co-produced it with Nevo, the album included hit singles such as Chultzat Pasim (Striped Shirt), Ha'kos Ha'kchula (The Blue Glass), and Yoter Tov Klum (Better Than Nothing). The album went platinum.

Here's Striped Shirt:

Here's The Blue Glass:

In January 2002, Lider spoke openly about his sexual orientation in a cover-story interview to the daily newspaper Ma'ariv, which attracted a lot of attention. He later said, "On a personal level, I felt complete and happy with my life and who I am, and I didn't see any reason to not talk about it. It seemed strange to have an interview and not to talk about it, about my boyfriend, about my life. On a less personal level, I felt it's kind of my obligation. When you're an artist and you're doing well and you're successful, you get a lot of love and appreciation and energy and good things from people, and I think you need to give it back. Maybe I can influence people and help younger people that struggle – help them to be able to change their views, and stuff like that."

His coming out to his family happened a few years earlier. In his own words: "I came out really late – at 24 – to my mom first. It went something like this: Me: I met someone last night. Mom: A girl or a boy? [moms always know…] Me: A boy Mom: Oh, cool. There’s pasta in the fridge."

January 2002 also saw the release of Lider's third studio album, Ha'anashim Hachadashim (The New People). This time out, the production was a solo run for Lider, who came up with a new electronic sound. Ha'anashim Hachadashim produced a number of hits, including Batei Kafe (Coffee Houses) and Al Kav Hamayim (On the Water Line).

Here's Coffee Houses:

Here's On the Water Line:

The album also contained a cover of Ehud Manor's Geshem Acharon (Last Rain) that was especially recorded for the Shirutron, an annual fundraising program. Here it is:

During the same year, Lider collaborated with Idan Raichel, who was at the time playing keyboards in his band. Lider produced and arranged the song Bo'i (Come), which went on to become a chart topper for Raichel.

Expanding his scope of interest, Ivri composed original music for Eytan Fox and Gal Uchovsky’s gay classic film Yossi and Jagger (2002). The soundtrack included a cover of Rita’s 1980s hit Bo (Let's) sung by Ivri. This new interpretation of Rita’s classic hit received rave reviews and became one of 2003’s most popular tracks on radio throughout the country.

Ivri also collaborated with actress Meital Duhan. Their show Love and Sex During the Days of Awe combined music, theatre and recitation that were especially created for it.

In 2004, Lider again composed music for another Fox/Uchovsky queer classic, Walk On Water, the soundtrack of which included a rendition of the classic Esther and Avi Ofarim hit Cinderella Rockefella sung by Rita and Ivri.

The soundtrack also features a remix of Ivri’s edgy rock song, Mary La'Netzach (Mary Forever).

Ivri's next album, Ze Lo Oto Davar (It’s Not The Same Thing) was released in February 2005 and immediately became a hit, again reaching gold status in no time. In this album, Ivri decided to create a different sound. An orchestra of 40 musicians played the string instruments heard throughout the album. Ivri’s musical gamble paid off. The album’s first single, Zachiti Le'ehov (I’ve Known Love), was a soft, sweet piano-based single that became an instant success, further solidifying Ivri’s place as a leading Israeli musician.

Another single from this album was Lehavin Et Hamayim (Understanding the Water).

In October 2005, Ivri was given the Male Singer of the Year award from all the major national and local radio stations, and was then awarded Best Male Singer and Best Live Show at the Israeli Music Awards. In June 2006, Ivri’s 3rd collaboration with Eytan Fox and Gal Uchovsky produced the score for their newest feature film, The Bubble (probably my favorite of their movies). This time Ivri also appeared in a beautiful cameo where he sang the Gershwin classic, The Man I Love.

The ending credits of the movie feature another cover song by Lider, Song to the Siren.

Since the original by Tim Buckley is one of my all-time favorite songs, I can't resist the urge to present it:

For Lider, 2007 was a busy year. In May, Sony Music released its first LGBT compilation under their boutique label, Music With A Twist. Ivri (with his song, Jesse), was the only non-American artist chosen to appear on the CD. The video for Jesse received widespread buzz in the blogosphere.

In June, Ivri wrapped up his 2 year, 300-performance tour. For the remainder of 2007, Ivri finished production on Rita’s album, Remazim (Clues). At the same time, he continued working on his 5th Hebrew album, Be'ketzev Achid Be'tnuot Shel Ha'guf (The Steady Rhythm of Body Movements), released on September 2008. The opening track was called Rak Tevakesh (Just Ask).

For Israel's 2008 International Music Awards Lider recorded a quiet and melancholic version of Katy Perry's hit I Kissed a Girl.

In the beginning of 2011, Ivri has completed his work on the soundtrack of Aluminium – a dance performance that has gone nationwide. a Few months later, on July 2011, Ivri has launched his new art-music project The Young Professionals, or TYP, in collaboration with producer Johnny Goldstein, a prodigy in the Tel Aviv music scene. The first single D.I.S.C.O. (a remake of the Ottawan hit) was released in Israel and in France.

On September 2011, Ivri released 20 Seconds, the new single by The Young Professionals.

Ivri's next album came out in 2012 and was called Mishehu Pa'am (Somebody Once). The title track is a beautiful song:

His last album (so far) came in 2015. Ha'ahava Ha'zot Shelanu (This Love of Ours) contains Hayiti Kan (I Was Here), a haunting duet with Nathan Goshen:

Ivri is currently serving as a judge on The X Factor Israel and is hopefully working on his English-speaking album that he has promised us. Don't take too long, Ivri!