From High School jock to sold-out shows, Nave Karni has defied expectations and used music to process pain and trauma, drawing on his creativity to find hope. A mix of Israeli rock and alternative folk, Karni’s most recent album, sung in Hebrew, encapsulates the ebbs and flows inherent to healing.
Karni never grew up with music and only started learning the guitar once joining the Maglan unit in the army, he told The Jerusalem Post on Wednesday.
“A lot of people that I used to know knew me as an officer in the army, a very macho guy. So when I suddenly started to release songs, everyone was like ‘what the f*** is going on?’” he explained.
When speaking about this experience, he described how he had been burying his emotions for a while, and only started to release them once he started writing music. “I left Israel as a completely different person than the one that came back… So that was really the beginning.”
Music as a tool for expression
Most of his songs, he said, were written on a Sri Lankan guitar he bought on a whim while traveling the world. “I had this really strong need to try and find tools to process the experience I had in the army, and for me, creativity and writing were always the solution,” he said.
Karni's first song, Linshom (To Breathe), was written to work through the hardships he experienced while serving in the IDF. “The army is crazy, it's super hard to explain to anyone who hasn’t experienced it, and I wrote this song as a reminder to myself to stop, hold on, and just take a moment breathe.”
Built around emotional guitar, atmospheric production, and spirited drums, the song captures the essence of Karni’s sound, channeling pain as a means to move forward.
Karni was in Thailand on October 7, with plans to go to Australia when his trip was cut short. “When I came back, I was really confused and super sad, and I felt like the only thing I could make myself do was art.”
This drive to create resulted in Karni’s first album, Tofes U'meshahrer (Catch and Release), which debuted in October 2025. He had been working on the album for 18 months with his friends, Ido and Netta. Netta, a saxophone player, and Ido, a guitarist, are Karni’s main collaborators, helping produce key aspects of the album.
“For me, this album is the journey I went through as I was struggling to work through this crazy experience. I mean, I think everyone in Israel is still dealing with the things we went through.”
The title, Catch and Release, speaks to the album's purpose as an outlet for reckoning with the deeply painful experiences Karni endured, many of which are shared across Israeli society.
“The reason I chose this name is that I felt I needed to let go of a lot of things that I experienced. Whether it was the war or the army or a breakup, I gave it all to the music, and after I put it into a song, I could, you know, lock it away and let it go.”
“The album is my way of saying goodbye,” he continued.
Moving towards hope
As Karni looks towards the future, he hopes to embrace the challenges that come with being a musician. Though Karni is mid-tour, having sold out his first show in November, finding a balance between artistry and marketing has proven difficult.
“I don't want to be a product. I want to make art. And that can be very hard because sometimes you put in so much effort and it doesn’t get you to where you want to be.”
However, the impact of his music is what makes it all worth it, he says. “I think what motivates me is the realization that these songs can touch people's hearts.”
“I’ve gotten some incredible messages from people… and that’s the part that helps me remember it's not about me and it’s not about my ego.”
As he works on his next album, Karni intends to highlight hope. “The atmosphere is going to be more positive. I’m gonna bring a lot of hope. Which I think is needed now.”
“The war is ending after two years of tragedy and pain, and I think people, me included, want to find a way to take these experiences and use them in a positive way.”
Karni emphasized to the Post that he’s just a happy guy who makes sad music sometimes. Though his music reflects the heavier moments of the past few years in Israel, he sees those emotions as necessary to moving forward and staying positive.
Karni’s next performance is set for April 28 at Ozen Tel Aviv.