Noga Erez (/ˈɛrɛz/; Hebrew: נֹגַהּ אֶרֶז; December 26, 1989) is an Israeli singer, songwriter and producer.[1] In 2017, her song "Dance While You Shoot" was used by Apple in an advertising campaign for its music streaming service.[2] In the same year she released her debut album, Off the Radar, to critical acclaim. Her second album, Kids, was released in 2021, and followed by The Vandalist in 2024.

Noga Erez
Erez in 2017
Erez in 2017
Background information
Born (1989-12-26) December 26, 1989 (age 34)
Israel
OriginTel Aviv, Israel
GenresElectro-pop, EDM, alternative pop
Occupation(s)Singer-songwriter, producer
InstrumentVocals
Years active2011–present
LabelsNeon Gold Records/Atlantic Records (2022-present)
City Slang
Websitenogaerez.com

Early life

edit

Erez grew up in Caesarea, Israel, from the age of six and was raised Jewish.[3] She studied composition at the Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance.[4][5] Through her childhood and while growing up she explored different instruments and studied different styles of music. Erez was a part of different groups and ensembles as a vocalist, keyboardist and percussionist.

She was conscripted as a soldier in an Israel Defence Forces's military band at age 18.[5]

Career

edit

2011-2016: Career beginnings

edit

Early in her career, she was in an indie-folk band, The Secret Sea, before she gravitated towards jazz.[6] In 2011 Erez worked on a jazz album, which she almost finished and decided to scrap and move to writing and producing electronic music.[6]

On stage, Erez performs as a three-piece-band with herself on vocals, Ori Rousso (sampler, synthesizer) and Ran Jacobovitz (electronic drums, percussion).[4]

2017-2020: Off the Radar

edit

In 2017, Erez was included in Forbes Israel’s "Under 30" list.[7]

Erez’s first single, "Toy", received a rave review from The New York Times: "the Israeli singer and electronic-music producer Noga Erez gives ‘Toy’ a beat that jitters and heaves, ratchets across the stereo field, speeds up fitfully and stops for a moment of dead silence halfway through the song; the melodies are brief modal phrases hinting at Middle Eastern origins… It’s a sparse, thorny, unstable track — and haunting, too."[8]

Erez produced her first record "Off the Radar", which was released 2 June 2017 via City Slang, with her partner Ori Rousso.[9][10] This release was followed by festival shows at Primavera, SXSW, Pitchfork Paris, Roskilde, MELT! Visions Festival, Convergence and Great Escape in 2017. She also toured the UK and Europe in 2017.[11]

2021–present: Kids and The Vandalist

edit

On January 13, 2021, Erez announced her second studio album, Kids.[12] It was released on March 26, 2021. On April 12, 2021, she appeared on "Jimmy Kimmel Live", performing the album's first single, "Views".[13]

In June 2022 it was reported that Erez had signed a new record deal with Neon Gold Records/Atlantic Records.[14] On August 31, 2022, Erez collaborated with the rock band Weezer on a remix of the band’s song "Records".[15] On September 16, 2022 Erez collaborated with the American rapper Missy Elliott on a remix of Erez’s song "Nails".[16] On September 16 and 17, 2022, Erez was the opening act for the British band Florence and the Machine at Madison Square Garden. In June 2023, she performed with British artist, Robbie Williams at his Tel Aviv concert. They performed his 2000 song, Kids, which he previously recorded with Kylie Minogue.[17]

In September 2024, she released her third studio album, The Vandalist. The album features collaborations with Robbie Williams, Eden Ben Zaken, Dillom and Flyana Boss.[18][19] It is her first album release with Neon Gold Records/Atlantic Records.[19] The making of the album was documented in the upcoming yesDOCU documentary, Noga. The film, directed by Benji and Jono Bergmann, delves into producing an album amid complex personal and geopolitical challenges.[20] The Robbie Williams collaboration, "Danny", was released as a single on18 September 2024.[21]

In November 2024, Erez will join the Summer Carnival tour of Pink for two concerts in Tulsa and Arlington in the United States.[22]

Influences

edit

Erez's musical style draws influences from alternative, electronic music, and sample-based hip hop, but is also strongly influenced by political circumstances both in her country and globally, though she has been reticent to describe her work as political.[23] In an interview with The Guardian, Erez describes her songs as her way to "process the issues that bother me about the world".[5] Her music also references her musical influences such as Flying Lotus, Björk, Frank Ocean or Kendrick Lamar.[9] With a mix of drum computers, synthesizers, and vocals she describes the chaos in the environment she grew up with, through bass-heavy and danceable tunes.

Personal life

edit

Ori Rousso is both her partner and musical collaborator. The pair are expecting their first child together in January 2025.[19]

Politics

edit

In a May 2018 interview with Germany's DW-TV, she expressed support for a Two-state solution.[24]

In July 2021, comments she made about the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement to Huck magazine in London provoked controversy in Israel. In the same month, she distanced herself from the comments: "I do not support the BDS movement and never did...I love Israel and do not support any kind of boycott of the country, my people, and any expression of hatred," she wrote. "In my innocence, I did not understand how important the choice of words is and how deceptive the written word can be. I thought the answer I gave would be quoted verbatim, without them cherry-picking certain parts to make the headline sexier. I was wrong."[25] In a separate 2018 interview, Erez said that the movement's methods do not serve peace in the region and unfairly target musicians: "I’m hoping people read the message behind an Israeli musician."[26]

In February 2023, she protested online about the 2023 Israeli judicial reform proposals.[27]

In May 2024, she performed in a Tel Aviv rally demanding the release of hostages amid the Israel–Hamas war hostage crisis. Eden Golan, Netta Barzilai and Lola Marsh also performed. Family members of hostages also spoke, including Rachel Goldberg-Polin, mother of American-Israeli Hersh Goldberg-Polin. Ambassadors from the United States, United Kingdom, Germany and Austria also addressed the crowds. Former Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton also appeared in a video message.[28]

In her 2024 single, "PC People" she takes on the extremes of woke and cancel culture in a tongue-in-cheek way. Erez urges fellow liberals of the need for an "an authentic exchange of ideas and dialogue."[18]

Discography

edit

Studio albums

edit

Singles

edit
  • "Toy" (2017)
  • "Sunshine" (2018)
  • "Bad Habits" (2018)
  • "Cash Out" (2018)
  • "Chin Chin" with Echo (2019)
  • "Views" featuring Reo Cragun & Rousso (2020)
  • "No News on TV" (2020)
  • "You So Done" (2020)
  • "End of the Road" (2021)
  • "Story" (2021)
  • "Knockout (Against the Machine)" (2021)
  • "The "A" in Amazing" (2021)
  • "Industry Baby" (2022) (Cover of the Lil Nas X song of the same name)
  • "NAILS" (2022)
  • "NAILS (feat. Missy Elliott)" (2022)
  • "Quiet" ( written as a theme song for the Netflix movie "Heart of Stone" 2023)
  • "Come back home" (2024)
  • "Vandalist" (2024)
  • "PC People" (feat. Rousso) (2024)
  • "Godmother" (feat. Eden Ben Zaken) (2024)[29]
  • "Danny" (feat. Robbie Williams) (2024)

Music videos

edit
Title Year Director(s) Ref.
"Dance While You Shoot" 2016 Zhang + Knight [30]
"Pity" 2017 [31]
"Toy" Hen Makhluf [32]
"Off the Radar" Eden Kalif, Daniella Meroz [33]
"Balkada" Noga Erez, Ori Rousso, Omri Ben Shalom [34]
"Bad Habits" 2018 Shlomy Reuven, Morch Landsberg, Noga Erez, Ori Rousso [35]
"Cash Out"
featuring Sammus
Hen Makhluf [36]
"Chin Chin"
with Echo
2019 Shlomy x Morchi [37]
"Views"
featuring Reo Cragun & Rousso
2020 Indy Hait [38]
"No News on TV"
featuring Rousso
FISHnCHIPS [39]
"You So Done" Indy Hait [40]
"End of the Road" 2021 [41]
"Story"
featuring Rousso
[42]
"The "A" in Amazing" Roy Raz [43]
"PC People"
featuring Rousso
2024 Indy Hait [44]
"AYAYAY"featuring Dillom Ori Rousso & Noga Erez [45]
"Godmother"
featuring Eden Ben Zaken
Roei Morad [46]
"SAD GENERATION, HAPPY PICTURES"featuring Flyana Boss Eran Horowitz [47]

Awards and nominations

edit
Year Award Artist/work Category Result Ref.
2018 VIA Awards Noga Erez Best Newcomer Won [48]
2021 Pop Awards "Views" Music Video of the Year Nominated [49][50]

References

edit
  1. ^ "Noga Erez". Discogs. Archived from the original on 15 July 2017. Retrieved 22 January 2018.
  2. ^ Apple's Weakness for Israeli Singers and What It Says About Selling Digital Music Archived 19 March 2019 at the Wayback Machine Haaretz. 7 November 2017
  3. ^ Flying above the radar: an interview with Noga Erez Archived 1 December 2017 at the Wayback Machine TimeOut. 3 August 2017
  4. ^ a b "Apple Music ad features electronic sound of Israeli musician Noga Erez". Archived from the original on 22 March 2018. Retrieved 22 January 2018.
  5. ^ a b c Hutchinson, Kate (14 May 2017). "Noga Erez: 'I get told by people not to talk about what is happening in Israel'". the Guardian. Archived from the original on 23 October 2017. Retrieved 22 January 2018.
  6. ^ a b Noga Erez Is Out of Quarantine Tablet. 6 July 2021
  7. ^ Lerner, Rebecca. "Under 30 Musician Noga Erez Is A Rising Star In Israel's EDM Scene". Forbes. Archived from the original on 22 March 2018. Retrieved 22 January 2018.
  8. ^ Just Off The Radar Archived 27 March 2019 at the Wayback Machine The Jerusalem Post. 28 March 2017
  9. ^ a b "Tel Aviv's Fearless Noga Erez and Her New Song "Off the Radar"". Noisey. 4 April 2017. Archived from the original on 1 December 2017. Retrieved 22 January 2018.
  10. ^ "Noga Erez Imagines A Dystopia Where The Hand-People Judge Us All". NPR.org. Archived from the original on 1 December 2017. Retrieved 22 January 2018.
  11. ^ "Noga Erez shares a new video for 'Balkada'". DIY. 17 October 2017. Archived from the original on 24 January 2018. Retrieved 22 January 2018.
  12. ^ "Noga Erez Announces New Album 'KIDS' Out March 26 Via City Slang". Guitar Girl Magazine. 13 January 2021. Archived from the original on 24 October 2021. Retrieved 24 February 2021.
  13. ^ Shaffer, Claire (13 April 2021). "Noga Erez Performs 'Views' Among Plants on 'Jimmy Kimmel Live'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 1 June 2022.
  14. ^ Noga Erez Signs With Neon Gold/Atlantic, Releases ‘NAILS’ Single: Exclusive Billboard. 25 June 2022
  15. ^ ynet (31 August 2022). "הפתעה: נגה ארז מתארחת בשיר של וויזר". Ynet (in Hebrew). Retrieved 18 September 2024.
  16. ^ Noga Erez Taps Missy Elliott for “Nails” Remix Flood Magazine. 16 September 2022
  17. ^ Robbie Williams bonds with Noga Erez ahead of Tel Aviv show The Times of Israel. 1 June 2023
  18. ^ a b Noga Erez Breaks Down New Album THE VANDALIST Track by Track: Exclusive Consequence. 20 September 2024
  19. ^ a b c “I’m proud of how uncompromising it is”: Noga Erez on Her Monster Alt-Pop Album, 'The Vandalist' Attwood Magazine. 20 September 2024
  20. ^ CoPro Israel Sets Industry Events, Documentary Slate Including Films About Sigmund Freud, Noga Erez and Oct. 7 (EXCLUSIVE) Variety. 15 May 2024
  21. ^ "Danny - Noga Erez (featuring Robbie Williams)". Spotify. 18 September 2024. Retrieved 21 September 2024.
  22. ^ Israeli Singer Noga Erez Will Make Guest Appearances at Pink's Concerts in the U.S. Haaretz. 23 September 2024
  23. ^ "Noga Erez is making music with a vision out of Tel Aviv, and she doesn't have a Plan B - Loud And Quiet". Loud And Quiet. Archived from the original on 2 July 2017. Retrieved 22 January 2018.
  24. ^ Israeli independence: a bitter-sweet celebration Deutshe Welle. 11 May 2018
  25. ^ 'I do not support the BDS movement and never did' Israel HaYom. 18 July 2021
  26. ^ "Without an army, we would all be dead" // Noga Erez Interview The Message Magazine. 28 May 2018
  27. ^ "גם הדמוקרטיה צריכה תליין": סלבס מוחים נגד המהפכה המשפטית Walla'. 13 February 2023
  28. ^ Ambassadors, musicians headline rally highlighting plight of international hostages The Times of Israel. 18 May 2024
  29. ^ Video: Noga Erez Unveils New Single 'GODMOTHER (feat. Eden Ben Zaken)' Broadway World. 21 August 2024
  30. ^ "Noga Erez - Dance While You Shoot (Official Video)". YouTube. 2 November 2016. Archived from the original on 24 October 2021. Retrieved 24 February 2021.
  31. ^ "Noga Erez - Pity (Official Video)". YouTube. 31 January 2017. Archived from the original on 24 October 2021. Retrieved 24 February 2021.
  32. ^ "Noga Erez - Toy". YouTube. 8 March 2017. Archived from the original on 24 October 2021. Retrieved 24 February 2021.
  33. ^ "Noga Erez - Off The Radar (Official Video)". YouTube. 15 May 2017. Archived from the original on 24 October 2021. Retrieved 24 February 2021.
  34. ^ "Noga Erez - BALKADA (Official Video)". YouTube. 17 October 2017. Archived from the original on 24 October 2021. Retrieved 24 February 2021.
  35. ^ "Noga Erez - Bad Habits (Official Video)". YouTube. 5 June 2018. Archived from the original on 24 October 2021. Retrieved 24 February 2021.
  36. ^ "Noga Erez - 'CASH OUT (feat. SAMMUS)' (Official Music Video)". YouTube. 12 September 2018. Archived from the original on 24 October 2021. Retrieved 24 February 2021.
  37. ^ "Noga Erez & ECHO - Chin Chin (Official Video)". YouTube. 15 July 2019. Archived from the original on 24 October 2021. Retrieved 24 February 2021.
  38. ^ "Noga Erez - VIEWS (feat. Reo Cragun & ROUSSO) (Official Video)". YouTube. 24 February 2020. Archived from the original on 24 October 2021. Retrieved 24 February 2021.
  39. ^ "Noga Erez - NO news on TV". YouTube. 23 June 2020. Archived from the original on 24 October 2021. Retrieved 24 February 2021.
  40. ^ "Noga Erez - YOU SO DONE (Official Video)". YouTube. 26 August 2020. Archived from the original on 24 October 2021. Retrieved 24 February 2021.
  41. ^ "Noga Erez - End of the Road (Official Video)". YouTube. 13 January 2021. Archived from the original on 24 October 2021. Retrieved 24 February 2021.
  42. ^ "Noga Erez - Story (feat. ROUSSO) (Official Video)". YouTube. 9 March 2021. Archived from the original on 24 October 2021. Retrieved 10 April 2021.
  43. ^ "The "A" in amazing – Noga Erez". YouTube. 13 October 2021. Retrieved 9 November 2021.
  44. ^ "Noga Erez - PC People (Official Video)". YouTube. June 2024. Retrieved 21 September 2024.
  45. ^ "Noga Erez - AYAYAY". YouTube. 17 July 2024. Retrieved 21 September 2024.
  46. ^ "Noga Erez - Godmother (Official Video)". YouTube. 21 August 2024. Retrieved 21 September 2024.
  47. ^ "SAD GENERATION, HAPPY PICTURES (Feat. Flyana Boss) (Official Video)". YouTube. 20 September 2024. Retrieved 21 September 2024.
  48. ^ "Beste_r Newcomer_in 2018: Noga Erez". VUT. Archived from the original on 14 April 2021. Retrieved 24 February 2021.
  49. ^ Mackle, Jenna (17 January 2021). "Welcome to the POP AWARDS 2021, the fourth annual Pop Awards". Pop Magazine. Archived from the original on 11 April 2021. Retrieved 24 February 2021.
  50. ^ "Pop Awards 2021, the 4th annual Pop Awards". Pop Awards. Archived from the original on 2 March 2021. Retrieved 24 February 2021.
edit