Singer Roy Dahan tries to console me over my lost wallet. "I've lost dozens of keys and wallets in my life," he says, "but the worst thing was when I lost my iPhone, where I'd documented the production of my album."
Dahan, 33, recently released his first album, "Some of This Life." The first three singles that he released from it have received a lot of radio airtime and the second single, "Does Anyone Know," even made it onto Galgalatz's playlist.
Dahan is exactly what radio music editors are looking for. His songs are catchy and endearing and therefore playable at any hour. On the other hand, they are complex enough to also be of interest to DJs of alternative music programs.
Dahan, who was born in the Galilee community of Korazim, moved to Tel Aviv around a decade ago. Eight years ago he released a Hebrew song but did not get the exposure he was hoping for. He moved between jobs and even occasionally enjoyed doing magic shows. "They fired me from every job," admits Dahan. "I always messed up. After the last dismissal, I decided to try to realize a dream and make music."
It seems Dahan is now on his way to realizing that dream. He has already appeared twice at the Barby club in Tel Aviv. In April he will appear there again, but his next performance is on Saturday at the Para Bar in Moshav Shavei Tzion.
Dahan is usually described as a folk singer but says he does not really know much about that genre. "They say I remind them of all kinds of artists I don't recognize, except for Nick Drake," he says. "It seems strange to me that they try to position me between Geva Alon, Assaf Avidan, Amit Erez and Maya Isacowitz, who also sing in English."
Among other things, Dahan is a piano teacher, even though he never actually learned to play piano. "I don't teach using the classical method, but try to get the students to feel the music," he explains.
Dahan points to Leonard Cohen, Matti Caspi, Evyatar Banai and Yoni Rechter as sources of inspiration. Of his writing method, he says: "I write when things are good, about the times when it was bad for me. When it's bad, I can't do anything." Indeed, his album is melancholic and nostalgic, but not depressing.
"The songs are not about broken hearts, but about identities," he says. "When people hear the album, it always reminds them of something from their childhood - trips, scenic spots in Israel and some long-lost sadness."
