We sit down with Middle Eastern live act, producer and multi-instrumentalist ITAI to celebrate the first part of his forthcoming series of releases with ‘Unfinished 01 – Re-Birth’ dropping Friday 30th June. We discuss his influences, inspirations, the formula behind his sound and more.
Hi! Great to have you here. How has your year been so far?
Hey hey, thanks for having me (: My year has been very busy so far! Between the first part of producing the majority of “The Unfinished Project” and the second part of it performing the live version of it and preparing to release all the chapters there wasn’t really a dull moment.
Tell us about your new release? What inspired it?
So this is the first chapter of the Unfinished Project musical series, the first track: Re-Birth (aka the pain) I started during Covid. I do feel frequently that there is a lot of pain and suffering in the world, and during peak Covid times it felt even more present. I was starting to express that pain in the track, but in the process there was also some sort of re-birth that came out of this pain, and the track became about how pain turns into creation and how the creative process is similar to birthing. Later on this track became even more personal as me and my partner have been dealing with a process of her having an abortion that carried with it a lot of grief and pain. So the baby sounds at the end of the track grew into having double meaning. This track made sense for me to be the track that introduces this project to the world and I also open my live set with it most of the time.
The artwork of this chapter also reflects a “tree of life”, in which “the deeper the roots the higher the tree” which is also holding the tender baby in its womb.
The second track: Down by the River, is much more of a dancefloor journey, many who have heard it refer to it as a “cinematic track” and in a sense it is the flow of life.
If the first track is a baby, gently held by the tree of life. The second track is the life energy starting in a slow flow and then erupting into a high energy and vibrant stream of life. The melody I played on the EWI using the flute sound, is telling the soft story of a mother coming down to the river to bathe her young child, and children playing around. But don’t underestimate the power of water as they can also be a deadly and powerful stream. This track kind of “sneaks up on you” and suddenly you find yourself rafting in the roaring waters.
Tell us about your Teddy Bear Lounge label? How did that come about?
Well, honestly I mostly wanted to open The Teddy Bear Lounge in order to release the Unfinished Project in the very specific way that I am doing it now. A musical series of 8 chapters or more, released monthly with a story and an art piece. With the busy schedules of the labels of today this mission seems impossible unless I want to release it at the end of 2024. And that seems so far away who knows if I will even still be playing those tracks… So really for me it’s a self releasing label. However if this way of releasing music as a series proves to have value and we learn how to do it and a way that we can help other artist friends tell their stories as well, I would absolutely consider doing similar projects with others.
What is the concept behind the release schedule of ’The Rebirth’. What is the idea behind it and what would you compare it to?
First of all the project is called: The Unfinished Project and the first chapter is called “Re-Birth”. The whole idea behind the releasing schedule and forming musical series was to try and tell a story. In today’s musical world, it seems like albums are getting lost in the noise and for me just releasing a bunch of independent singles or EPs on different labels doesn’t do justice to this project. Therefore I came up with the concept of a musical series in which at the end of each month I will release a chapter. That chapter will include music, but also art and video, with the intention of telling the story of and behind the music.
I like to think of the art as stand alone art pieces which were done by Hillel Zehnwirth and the process of the art is also told with each chapter.
Conceptually when I say series I can’t find an equivalent in the musical world, I think I’m borrowing from the world of the streaming platforms like netflix or hulu and if you ask me to compare it to something I’d compare it to a netflix or hbo series in a way.
What’s your studio set up like? Are you a gear head?
I think in the classic sense I’m really not. I come from a background in Classical Music & Jazz so my producing flow is mostly analog and even acoustic. My set up in the studio is very similar to my set up when I play live shows and those two kind of feed off each other. I use the Nord Stage 3 Hammer Action as the main composing tool, I love its touch and sound. I use the TR8s for a lot of the beats but many times I’ll find the pattern with it and then replace the sounds cause I don’t like all of it’s sounds. Otherwise I play melodies on the saxophone of EWI and I use some other live instruments as well. The live and studio flows create a sort of positive feedback loop when I bring ideas I came up with while playing live back into the studio and then make them a more produced version to bring back to the live set and so on. That’s how my Riders on the Storm cover came to life btw.
What would you say the special formula is for your sound?
Well, I don’t know if I would call it a formula but I compose from what I hear in my head, and with the instruments I feel connected with. So in many of my tunes you will hear my saxophone & EWI playing, piano & synths. Those are like sounds that I hear and feel all the time so they naturally become a part of my productions.
How did you come to be a multi-instrumentalist? Did you come from a musical family and what is your favourite instrument?
Well, my parents weren’t musicians but my aunt was a highly trained and professional classical musician. My mother had it in my mind that children “MUST” learn piano for their own development. I had my first keyboard lesson when I was 4, and then piano when I was 6. I was always a quick learner but also had a lot of resistance to being forced to play music. I think my love-hate relationship with piano got me to pick up saxophone when I was 16 and hoping that it’s a more “easy going” instrument, boy was I wrong… It took me years until I felt comfortable with playing the sax publicly but eventually we fell in love as well. I think I just love different sounds and a variety of possibilities. Now I’m trying to put more time and energy back into the piano and also trying to expand into vocal training, I feel really called to explore my voice but I know that technically I can’t carry a tune in a live setting just yet…
What has been your favourite venue to play?
So many venues are so unique and special but Burning Man has a special magic that no other place in the world has. At Burning Man, my favorite spot to play was probably the Robot Heart art car, but I also really enjoyed a couple collaborative sets with Alvaro Suarez at Bubbles & Bass and with Goldcap at Love Cow
What tracks never leave your bag?
Well I hardly ever DJ anymore and mostly play live, but if you are talking about classics in the house music realm I really like and always work I would say:
Acid Pauli – Nana – (Be Svendsen remix)
Roderic – Passengers
Martin Roth – Analog guy in a digital world
ITAI – Falafel (is that lame to name my own track?)
If you could play back to back with any artist who would it be?
like I said I hardly play DJ sets anymore but if I could somehow do an improvised live set with someone I’d say:
1. Eduardo Castillo
2. Acid Pauli
3. Be Svendsen
If it had to be a DJ set i’d through Mira and Goldcap into the mix
What music / artists do you listen to outside of electronic music?
Well, there are really so so many but just to name a few:
Modern Jazz – Kenny Garret – not to be confused with Kenny G, the best Alto Sax player of the modern age, one of the most interesting improvisers and composers of our times
Modern Jewish/Hasidic Music – Yom – his clarinet playing makes me cry sometimes
Pop (maybe?) Ren – more in the popular scene but what a unique voice and what an emotional ride
Hiphop – Eminem – I love hip-hop and what he does with rhyme and rhythm no one else can do
What do you do to relax and meditate outside of the studio?
I recently started practicing yoga actually and it has been feeling good and meditative. I stay active, go to the gym and try to be healthy while touring, that’s my biggest challenge. And honestly my biggest meditations are playing music and practicing sax & piano.
What has the rest of 2023 got in store for you? What can we look forward to from ITAI?
Well as far as music releases go, you can expect a new chapter of the Unfinished Series every last Friday of the month, we have at least 7 more coming your way. I also have an EP with Alvaro Suarez coming out on Kamai records this fall. As far as shows go I’m mostly focused on preparing for the burn as I’m also curating music for my new camp called Treble Makes. I will be playing for our fundraiser on July 22nd in San Francisco. After the Burn I plan a Middle East/Europe mini tour including a stop at my second home – Tel-Aviv.
Lots to look forward to…
ITAI “Unfinished 01 – Re-Birth” will be released on The Teddy Bear Lounge on 30th June
Grab it here
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