'Happy music' in a sad country

Ask the people who draw up the radio playlists," says Michal Amdurski. "Pop lyrics are considered shallow and trivial. To my regret, pop ranks low in Israeli music. For the past 13 years, I've been asking myself why this is happening, and I still haven't found a decent answer. You can't remain indifferent to Katy Perry, Britney Spears or Beyonce. I can't find a single reason why pop in Israel is met with such apathy."

Amdurski's upcoming album will feature some heart-stirring ballads, but also a lot of rhythmic pop songs with "easy words and lots of meaning," she says. "Many times I hear songs on the radio and don't understand what the singer meant. That's not the case with me. You understand exactly what I am talking about in my songs. I'm not trying to be elitist or sophisticated. Incidentally, it's the easiest thing of all to be incomprehensible."

With her new single, "Rock Stam" (Just Rock), Amdurski settles accounts with her ex-husband Asaf, and simultaneously has a go at rock singers. "In pop, the production costs are a lot higher," she says. "Every photo that appears in the newspaper is costly. Compare that to the rocker who just shows up with a T-shirt and a cigarette in his mouth. In pop, everything is big and shiny, the expenses are high and if you are not well-received by radio disk jockeys then it is difficult to attract investors."

"Every market apparently has its own needs and its particular way of operating," explains radio broadcaster Ofer Nachshon, "and pop singers were never the main attraction here. Israel is more of a rock country - you see it in what Galgalatz (Army Radio's music station) prefers to play. Here and there some minor pop stars appear, but the rock artists overshadow them."

Incidentally, this week's Galgalatz playlist will feature Amdurski's pop single, but it stands alone in a sea of music by such artists as Dudu Tasa, Berry Sakharov, Uri Marek, Boom Pam, Idan Raichel, Eyal Golan and Kobi Aflalo. Conversely, the station's foreign-language playlist includes such straight-up pop stars as M.I.A., Beyonce, Britney Spears and Rihanna.

"Israeli pop is very different from pop overseas," says Tomer Adam Lenzinger, a music producer and promoter. "Israel isn't going to produce any Britneys, because that would require a production that corresponds to contemporary dance, hip hop, R&B and superb styling. What sell in Israel are female singers who play their acoustic guitars, like Banot Nechama and Alma Zohar, Ahava, Emunah, Rastafari, Sharwalim and Shanti. The people of Israel are not hedonistic. The most popular bands here are Pink Floyd and Radiohead. Pop is supposed to make you forget your troubles, to be light-hearted music that embraces, moves and fuels life."

"What makes people move here is first and foremost sadness, and pop is mainly happy," continues Lenzinger. "A musician with an acoustic guitar is viewed as more credible in Israel, even if he makes music his grandfather listened to. For whatever reason, we choose to be stuck in a whimpering mode or in serious, melancholy lyrics - perhaps because we suffer from the acoustic guitar syndrome and songs from memorial days. The record companies have a responsibility to spearhead new moves but they haven't done so adequately. Some people accuse the companies of stinginess. I accuse them of not knowing the material."

There is a feeling that pop is viewed here as a purely financial product, without any artistic value.

"In pop music you have to look really good, to dress up, to move well. It's something we aren't good at. The singers in Israeli pop, for example, don't dance: They roar, showing what great big voices they have. As for the look? In Israel there is this ethic of not dressing up. A Knesset member will go around with an open shirt without a tie - everything is direct, sort of casual, the most important thing is to be comfortable. People go to weddings here wearing Bermuda shorts and flip-flops and a kibbutz T-shirt. How about a little local glamour?"

Orly Amgor-Sheffer, a partner in the Pop Art musical management company, doesn't think any local female pop stars will go the route of Kylie Minogue or Christina Aguilera. "We're a small country," she says, "and it would seem bizarre to me for female singers to start wearing nightgowns to the ATM."

Amgor-Sheffer suggests that the difference between international pop and Israeli pop is the local industry's small size. "At recording studios in Los Angeles, there is someone whose job it is to merely hand out chocolate," she explains.

"When you see gold records on the wall with 20 million copies sold, you start to understand the magnitude of the gap between us and the rest of the world. Elsewhere, the industry produces immense sums of money and someone like Rihanna can afford to arrive at the studio with an enormous entourage for just a few minutes."

Nevertheless, Amgor-Sheffer notes that her company makes an effort to foster a glamorous image for its stars, each according to his/her personal style. "We make sure to work with only the best designers, stylists and make-up artists. We work, musically and perceptionally, on the basis of models from abroad and we do not compromise when it comes to 'look and feel.' Even if we do not sell tens of millions of records, there is no need to be passe. Israeli glamour is adapted to the local scene."

Pop Art manages such local artists as Roni, Emily Karpel and Shiri Maimon. Amgor-Sheffer describes herself and her business partners Uri Bar-On (the son of Roni Bar-On, CEO of Helicon) and husband Gai Sheffer as academics, lawyers and jurists who are coming from a commercial mindset. The star who best represents the company is without a doubt Roni Duani, aka "Roni Superstar."

"Roni is a proven success," says Amgor-Sheffer. "For example, there was the incredible collaboration with the Banana swimwear company. The ad campaign complemented her summer song, which was a cover version of Adam's 'Sod' (Secret), and there was also a video clip with bathing suits."

No matter the reason, it is obvious to all that the Israeli pop scene does not come close to meeting global standards. The question is whether it should even try to do so. Does the mere desire of the industry to manufacture stars based on Western prototypes end up underscoring the poor quality of the imitation?

There may be better models to emulate. Trance, for instance. "Trance is a local pop mutation," says Lenzinger. It has made quite a buzz on the local scene without the huge sums invested abroad. As compared to the local pop scene, trance has made a powerful mark without any pomp and circumstance.

An alternative kind of pop that has succeeding in flourishing in Israel draws its inspiration from local roots. "Local pop music is either Mediterranean or Mizrahi," states Nachshon.

Amdurski concurs: "I am hoping that the same revolution that took place in Mizrahi music will take place in pop music."