Top 12 Israeli Bands to Watch in 2015

Photo: Tiny Fingers

Credit: Dean Ben-Arye

Israel’s musicians are hard at work creating, innovating and blending harmonies to a totally original tune.

There is no one Israeli artist to have conquered the music charts like Justin Timberlake, Beyonce, Mark Ronson or Royal Blood did this past year but many garnered (smaller) headlines the world over for their unique blends of world music.

Among the great moments Israeli musicians chalked up in 2014: Idan Raichel — known for his cross-cultural collaborations – won the MTV Role Model Award and collaborated with A-list R&B diva Alicia Keys; Ophir Kutiel (Kutiman) became king of the online music video sphere thanks to his fantastic mash-up of amateur YouTube videos; and opera singer Chen Reiss sang to 700 million viewers at a Christmas Mass led by the Pope in the Vatican’s St. Peters Basilica.

The Israeli music arena is bubbling with talent in all genres – jazz, pop, rock, alternative, opera, folk, instrumental, hip hop, world music – and you’ll regularly find blue-and-white talent at bars, clubs, concerts,college campuses and festivals in Europe, Israel and North America. Many singers/bands croon in English too, as a way to win over the global audiences.

You can also get an earful wherever you are by tuning in to Bandcamp, iTunes or their YouTube channels.

ISRAEL21c checked in with music critics to create this list of 12 bands to keep an eye on in 2015.

1. theAngelcy

TheAngelcy by Gaya’s Music Photos

This indie ensemble has a growing following in Israel and Europe. The members came together in 2011 when frontman Rotem Bar Or decided busking on the street wasn’t for him anymore. Their first concert at the InDNegev Festival was so well received that they suddenly found themselves in high demand at other indie festivals and club venues around the country and in Europe.

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Via ISRAEL21c