Asaf Avidan

Israeli folk-rock musician Asaf Avidan was born in Jerusalem on March 23, 1980, and grew up in places like Jamaica and New York. In 2006, he recorded his debut EP, Now That You're Leaving, a six-track record dealing with his breakup with his long-term girlfriend. To promote the self-released EP, Avidan put together a backing group (featuring bassist Ran Nir, drummer Yoni Sheleg, guitarist Roi Peled, and cellist Hadas Kleinman) and went on to perform as Asaf Avidan & the Mojos. Avidan's first full-length album, The Reckoning, arrived in 2008, followed by Poor Boy/Lucky Man in 2009. A licensing deal with Sony/Columbia resulted in official European re-releases of both albums in 2010 and 2011, respectively, leading to chart appearances in France, Italy, and Switzerland.

After their third album, 2010's Through the Gale, the Mojos disbanded to pursue several solo projects, and Avidan continued to perform acoustic shows (documented on the 2012 download album Avidan in a Box). In 2012, part of Avidan's "Reckoning Song" was used by Berlin DJ Wankelmut for his remix "One Day," which was released as a single and reached the top spot of the German, Austrian, and Swiss charts. The same year, Avidan released Different Pulses, which became a Top Ten album in France and Italy. His second proper solo album, Gold Shadow, saw worldwide release in January 2015. It went all the way to number three in France. He followed it in late 2017 with The Study on Falling, which charted in the French and Swiss Top 20. ~ Christian Genzel