Asaf Avidan

About Asaf Avidan

Asaf Avidan is an Israeli-born rock, folk and blues singer, songwriter, vocalist and leader of the band Asaf Avidan & the Mojos. He is a graduate of the Besaleel School of Arts and Crafts. While finishing school he made a short film Find Love Now, which won the Haifa International Film Festival in its category. After graduation he moved to Tel Aviv, working as an animator until he broke up with his girlfriend in 2005. The breakup caused him to return to his hometown and focus on music. In 2006, he released his debut EP Now That You’re Leaving, which featured six songs created after the breakup. In the same year, he organized an acoustic tour that included Israeli clubs. During the concerts, he performed alongside bassist Ran Nir, bassist of the band The Mojos, and drummer Yoni Sheleg, guitarist Roi Peled, and cellist Hadas Kleinman. After one of his performances, Nir came up with a proposal for a permanent collaboration, which resulted in the formation of the band Asaf Avidan & The Mojos. In 2007, the musicians embarked on a tour of the country, followed by a concert tour in New York, where they could be seen, among others, during the M.E.A.N.Y. festival. Asaf Avidan’s concerts made record companies interested in him and offered him and his musicians a contract to release their debut album. In the meantime he founded his own label Telmavar Records together with his brother. Under its banner the first studio album The Reckoning was released. The album gained the status of gold in the year of its premiere and platinum a year later. After the band went on hiatus, the artist focused on his solo career. In 2012, the song Reckoning Song, promoting Asaf Avidan & The Mojos' first album, was remixed by German DJ Wankelmut. The recording was put on the internet under the name One Day/Reckoning Song and shortly afterwards went to number one in the German charts and then to the top of the charts in Austria, Switzerland, the Netherlands and Belgium, among others.