New Music: Free to see Israel's leading Indie bands

Fresh production company Monocrave starts the New Year off right with a TA event featuring several genres of bands.

By DIANA GERSHMAN
elephant parade 248.88 (photo credit: Niv Tishbi)
elephant parade 248.88
(photo credit: Niv Tishbi)
Fresh production company Monocrave starts the New Year off right with an event featuring several genres of bands with only their Indie label and Israeli background linking them together. It all goes down at the most fitting venue of Tel Aviv's Ozen Bar, in the flagship store of the Third Ear chain. "We just started to do these local productions," says Ranan Sulchiner, Monocrave's Israel production manager. "We want to help these local acts succeed and start their careers overseas." Monocrave is an international trio of producers from Stockholm, London and Israel. For the past year, the company has hosted major events including artists Jose Gonzalez and Hooverphonic. Their immense success abroad has prompted Monocrave to help deliver popular Israeli artists to new audiences. Upon hearing Monocrave's goal to promote new Israeli musicians, Ido Fluk of the band Elephant Parade said he was instantly attracted to the festival. "[I] liked the idea of a very local organization trying to bring local artists together." In addition to Elephant Parade, Panic Ensemble, I Got The Hotties, Roy Rieck, Idan Rabinovici, geishNo, Yontam ben Horin, TV Buddhas and Kitzus will perform. "We tried to give the audience the best we could give them… the best from all the genres," Sulchiner says. Monocrave's unique method for selecting bands allows individuals to choose their favorite musicians as well as decide the ticket prices via the internet. "There's a voting system for the audience [at monocrave.com]," Sulchiner says. "We let the audience show us how much they want to pay and how much they want to see [the artists]." Sulchiner expects between 300 and 400 people to visit the festival throughout the night, an impressive feat considering the venue only holds about 200 people at a time. The festival takes place at Ozen Bar on 48 King George St., Tel Aviv, (03) 621-5210 from 9 p.m. till somewhere between 4 and 5 a.m. Entrance is free.