SAMA-award-winning singer, songwriter Yoav is back with his new indie-pop single titled, “7 Years”. No stranger to the music industry, Yoav has earned himself a SAMA award back in 2011 for best English Alternative Music Album and earned a nomination in 2013 for best Alternative Album.
Yoav has performed extensively all over the world, including performances at Coachella and Glastonbury. His latest collaboration with Pascal & Pearce, “Belong” is currently on the KFM Top 40.
Yoav explains “7 Years”
“I read something about a spiritual tradition that suggests that most every human goes through a 7 year cycle of hard times and this resonated with me. I feel like I am in the thick of my 7 year cycle. maybe starting to come out the other side now. And on another level, perhaps the human race is going through something like this at the moment too. The song also has an element of hope, as I’m here still standing and excited for what’s next. There’s something special about this song that pleases me immensely.”
Coincidentally, ‘7 Years’ is also Yoav’s 7th radio single in South Africa. The music video for the single was filmed in some beautiful remote nature sports around Cape Town. It was shot in deep midwinter and the video was filmed guerrilla-style with director, Christian Ghammachi.
According to Yoav “The song has something of a post-apocalyptic spaghetti western, by way of the Andes, kind of feeling and I wanted to capture that with the visuals. The song is deceptively simple and just a shade mystical just like the music video.”
While ‘7 Years’ can be described as an indie-pop release, Yoav often finds it difficult to categorize himself in one particular genre
“I struggle to describe my sound. If I had to pigeonhole it, I’d say something like electronica-influenced indie-folk, but there is a fair bit of pop in there too. I use my acoustic guitar to create electronica-esque beats, riffs and textures, which are layered over the top of my introspective, somewhat spiritual and hopefully melodic songs.”
He grew up in Cape Town-son of a Romanian architect and a South African opera singer- before being discovered by a record executive in the US and brought to New York to develop his songs and skills.
Yoav explains
“Everything influences one in some kind of way. On the one hand, I was raised in a household that was big into classical music and I think some of the structure and harmony of that music I grew up with has been infused into my songwriting.”
“On another level, I was always the odd one out, outsider kid – even within music scenes, there’s a feeling of not quite fitting in and that’s very much influenced the songs I write and what I write about. Things look different when you are looking in from the outside.”
Yoav is no stranger to the music industry. After years of ongoing success, what is the key to a career with longevity?
According to Yoav One has to be stubborn – perhaps to the point of foolishness
“Never give up. Keep improving your art and upping your skills and levels whenever and wherever you can. And somehow try to keep loving music, getting jaded is best avoided.”
The pandemic has changed a lot for many people and many have been forced to adapt. When asked, Yoav describes the experience to have been an interesting one.
“I was really thrown back on myself. It’s been almost like a creative retreat in some ways. Obviously, gigs have been taken out of the equation for now, but perhaps more introspection and humility will be good for music, art and the human race in general. By necessity, I learned how to produce my own music in my makeshift bedroom studio and 7 Years is the first of these new creations.”
“I’m so excited to be able to create and produce my own music now with my newfound production skills. I have a number of new songs coming through, two of which are very lovely indeed. I shall be releasing my own songs intermittently rather than waiting to put everything out on a full record as I have done in the past. For sure some new collaborations with musical and visual artists will be forthcoming too.”
Watch the music video for “7 Years” below:
You can stream “7 Years” on Spotify and all the other major music streaming platforms.
Watch this space for updates in the Music Videos category on SA Music Zone.
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