Amit Erez
| Amit Erez | |
|---|---|
| Born | June 9, 1980 |
| Origin | Ramat HaSharon, Israel |
| Genres |
Alternative rock Folk rock Progressive rock Indie rock |
| Occupation(s) | Musician, singer-songwriter |
| Instruments | Vocals, guitar |
| Years active | 2003–present |
| Labels | Anova Music, EarSay |
| Associated acts | Eatliz, The Secret Sea |
Amit Erez (Hebrew: עמית ארז) (born June 9, 1980 in Tel Aviv, Israel) is an Israeli musician best known for his work as the guitarist for successful Israeli alternative rock band Eatliz, as well as a solo folk/indie artist.[1]
Professional career
Amit Erez started writing music around the age of 16, but those song, written in Hebrew didn't survive the test of time and since then Erez went on a different direction, although he still plays two of those songs sometimes at his shows: "רכבות" (Trains) and "כמו תאונה" (Like an Accident).
Around 1998–1999, Erez started writing songs in English, and since then he writes all of his solo material in English. Erez then befriended Omri Levy who worked at Fact Records and just at the time opened The Basement at Fact Records, and suggested Erez to collect all of his material up until then and release it as a full-length album. Amit Erez' first album Wish I Could Make It a Story was released in 2003. After the album's release, Erez recorded another song entitled "Highways" with Rotem Or.
At the time, Erez performed along with the bassist Dudy Bareket, and also solo at the Balcony club in Tel Aviv. In the end of 2003, Erez recorded a single with Bareket and Ran Jurgenson under the name The Trickstar Waterfall. The single, entitled "Come Get Your Love" also featured a b-side by the name of "Hazey Days" (sic). Another song Erez recorded by the name of "Oh My God" appeared on the compilation Songs from the Basement which was released in June 2004. The same year, Erez went to study music at the conservatory in Rotterdam, Netherlands. After a year of studying, Erez returned to Israel in 2005 and upon returning was asked by Guy Ben Shetrit to join his band Eatliz as a third guitarist.
In 2005, Erez assembled a solo backing band for himself to back him up at his solo gigs who became from intimate acoustic shows with just Erez and an acoustic guitar to full bands shows. His solo band included his Eatliz co-members Or Bahir and Adam Shefflan on guitars, and bassist Dudy Bareket as well as drummer Ran Jurgenson, both of whom Erez collaborated with in his early days as a solo artist.
In 2006, Erez released his second solo release, entitled Black Light EP. The EP was released on EarSay Records and featured only 5 songs. The same year, Erez joined as a backup guitarist to the solo backing band of his drummer Ran Jurgenson who also started playing solo. Also in 2006, a sampler of Anova Music was released and featured 3 songs by Erez, all three were covers: "My Will" originally by Minimal Compact, "Blue Moon" originally by Big Star and "Vogue" originally by Madonna.
In 2007, Erez was signed to Anova Music and on December 11, 2007, he released his second full-length album, which was self-titled, and was the first Erez recorded with his backing band. It was Erez' first album on Anova Music, the label on which his band Eatliz also released its debut album Violently Delicate a month earlier, on November 1, 2007. Two singles were released from this album: "Postcard" and "Clever and Strong".[2] In 2008, Erez was invited to play at the Livorno Lovewave Festival in Italy along with his backing band. Later that year, Erez also played at the Popkomm conference in Berlin, Germany.
In April 2009, Erez released his first international release – Summer Conquered by Rain, a compilation of songs from his two previous albums. The compilation was only release digitally.
On June 1, 2009, Erez released his third full-length album Last Night When I Tried to Sleep I Felt the Ocean with My Fingertips. The album saw an extensive use of keyboards, for the first time in any of Erez' albums, and received mixed reviews. Also, in December 2009, the second release from Erez' band Eatliz was released – Delicately Violent which was an EP of outtakes from the band's first album. Eatliz entered the studio to record their second full-length album in late 2009, which was recorded until mid-2010, when the band went on to tour Europe through April–May 2010, and then touring Israel through June 2010. The second album, entitled Teasing Nature was released on December 19, 2010, and the band is set to tour worldwide through 2011 in support of it, putting Erez' solo effort on halt.
Erez won the 7th annual Independent Music Awards Vox Pop vote for best Folk/Singer-Songwriter Song "Postcard".
After five releases and shows around the world, Amit joined forces with some of his favorite musicians to create The Secret Sea – who expand his musical vocabulary to new heights with diverse, sprawling arrangements.The band released Not About Us EP on June 20, 2012 and year later the self-titled debut album The Secret Sea on December 11, 2013.
Musical influences
Amit Erez' music was influenced and compared many times to such folk and indie artists as Elliott Smith and Nick Drake.[3]
Discography
Solo
- Wish I Could Make It a Story (2003)
- Black Light EP (2006)
- Amit Erez (2007)
- Summer Conquered by Rain (2009)
- Last Night When I Tried to Sleep I Felt the Ocean with My Fingertips (2009)
w/ The Secret Sea
- Not About Us EP (2012)
- The Secret Sea (2013)
w/ Eatliz
For a full discography, see Eatliz Discography
- Violently Delicate (2007)
- Delicately Violent (2009)
- Teasing Nature (2010)