Gon

Singer/songwriter Gon will release his debut full-length album, Diagonal Fields, on October 25 via CEN/The Orchard. Reactionary in all the best ways, Diagonal Fields manages the rare trick of being personal, political, and deeply humane. Today he released a final pre-album single “Normal“ – enjoy + share via your favorite DSP.

While “Normal” began as a lyrical cliché, a horrible life event morphed the track into a meaningful anthem. Gon’s boyfriend didn’t get his artist visa approved and had to leave the U.S. – they didn’t know when he’d be able to come back, and Gon couldn’t afford to go see him. During the five months he was away, Gon dedicated this song to him in his live shows to remember their relationship as a love story and not a story of sadness and loss.

“It’s a very small song in a very, very big and dramatic album. No drums, guitars or backup vocals. Nothing to hide behind,” Gon explains. “I created Diagonal Fields looking to learn about authenticity and vulnerability. It only makes sense that the third and last single is that naked.”

ENJOY + SHARE “NORMAL” VIA YOUR FAVORITE DSP

Though he wouldn’t necessarily think to call himself first and foremost a gay songwriter, Gon is quick to point out the importance of being out—both in his life and in his songs. Gon came to New York by way of Tel Aviv, and the swirling culture clash of identity and experience made for fruitful, if still somewhat uneasy, songwriting.

After years of opera training influences and both speaking and singing in Hebrew, Gon shifted his focus to his own songwriting, peeling away the classical music gestures to find his own voice. Gon’s music details leaving home, learning to own an identity and past, and embracing everything that comes with being an Israeli outside Israel.

The eleven tracks on Gon’s full-length debut, Diagonal Fields, strike a delicate balance between piano-driven ballads and perfectly augmented cinematic chamber pop, all wrapped around a voice that is by turns plaintive, deeply emotive, and—for lack of a better term—swooningly operatic. Gon will play MONDO.NYC tonight at Pianos, and will perform at Rockwood Music Hall in NYC on November 11.

Pre-save Diagonal Fields here. - Elicit Magazine

So much of the best art is born out of resistance, or is propelled by the energy of pushing back against something. Gon – singer/songwriter Gon Halevi — will release his debut full-length album, Diagonal Fields, on October 25 via CEN/The Orchard. Reactionary in all the best ways, the music manages the rare trick of being personal, political, and deeply humane. With this news, Gon shares his first album track, “Breaking Out”

“Breaking Out” is buoyed by the ebullience and range of Gon’s voice, which dips and soars effortlessly, wrapping the track with a sense of longing and, more often than not, a barely contained joy. The song speaks to the excitement and fear that are inherent in coming of age and coming into one’s own. Though he wouldn’t necessarily think to call himself first and foremost a gay songwriter, Gon is quick to point out the importance of being out—both in his life and in his songs.

Gon came to New York by way of Tel Aviv, and the swirling culture clash of identity and experience made for fruitful, if still somewhat uneasy, songwriting. New York is seen as the place that will make everything happen, but life doesn’t work this way – it wants us to yearn for something so badly that we are willing to risk everything, be courageous, vulnerable, fail, then try again. “Breaking Out” was written after a wave of blame and hatred for New York, and sees Gon making a commitment to be responsible for his future and to not let a cold, heartless, crazy, stunning city dictate what he is going to feel or be.

The idea of finding oneself is at the core of Diagonal Fields, and Gon is quick to recognize the somewhat unusual nature of his trajectory.

Gon explains:
The short version is that I moved to New York to study opera singing and somewhere in the middle of it I stopped liking it. So I kind of stopped doing opera and started doing my own music, performing in small venues. Despite being an atheist, I paid my tuition by performing for Jewish community centers and synagogues. At some point, a cantor of a congregation in Florida asked me to perform there, and they gave me a big enough budget to bring the musicians I wanted to have up on stage with me. It was the first time I heard my music played the way I wanted it to be played. Once I heard that rich, deep sound of a rock band, choir, and a string ensemble, merge around my music – I got all the confirmation I needed to start working on my album.

The eleven tracks on Gon’s full-length debut, Diagonal Fields, strike a delicate balance between piano-driven ballads and perfectly augmented cinematic chamber pop, all wrapped around a voice that is by turns plaintive, deeply emotive, and—for lack of a better term—swooningly operatic.

After years of opera training influences and both speaking and singing in Hebrew, Gon shifted his focus to his own songwriting, peeling away the classical music gestures to find his own voice. “All of those years of study are still in there, but it’s almost like I had to un-learn all of that stuff in order to find myself, in order to just simply be me,” he explains. “I felt safe in the music, but vulnerable in the words. I wrote lyrics in English because I didn’t feel as exposed that way, it was another way to hide, to escape. Now I realize that all of these songs, in some way, are trying to talk about the same things. I had a lot of unsolved issues with my parents, with myself, and it explores the reasons why I wanted to leave home and just run away to find some peace with myself.”

Stay tuned for more exciting announcements on the horizon.

Pre-save Diagonal Fields here.

Connect with GON on Instagram, Facebook & YouTube - Talent in Borders

It’s exceedingly rare for a person to love every aspect of themselves all the time. Everyone has bits and pieces of their lives or personalties they sometimes want to change or alter. The key to that is to fully accept yourself, flaws and all, and work towards embracing the parts of yourself that let you thrive and changing or discarding the doubts and roadblocks in a healthy manner. It’s a difficult balancing act, but it’s exhilarating once it happens. Israeli songwriter Gon Halevi–who lives in New York and performs mononymously as Gon–has discovered this for himself. The result is his new song “Alive,” which we are thrilled to premiere alongside its music video here today. The track is taken from his upcoming debut album, Diagonal Field, set for release on October 25.

Gon originally came to New York to study opera, and you can immediately tell why when “Alive” begins. His voice is immensely powerful and technically amazing, piercing through the speakers straight into your heart and your brain. At the same time, it also is delicate and emotional, brimming with the wonder and determination the song conveys about embracing oneself. The lyrics are full of poetic imagery, from “stars in the ocean” to Gon describing himself as a paper boat. Hearing him go through such a personal journey with such musical talent makes “Alive” a must-listen.

The music video for “Alive” mirrors the song’s message, influences, and feel. Multiple dancers join Gon as he goes through an abstract journey towards his true self, with the consequence of turning away from it a dark existence in the bottom of a hole. It’s a powerful visual metaphor for the themes he explores.

The music video’s director Sivan Chirqui provided an explanation for the video, saying:

“After a long phone call with Gon I understood that to him, “Alive” is a song that deals with peeling off everything that blocks us in life and prevents us from happiness and success. The metaphor embodied in this dream-like story represents an enormous amount of frustration. I created a music video in which we see a man stuck in his own routine and old, unnecessary habits that oppress his spirit. The four dancers in the music video have a very clear goal: they need to keep him small and safe. Knowing that in order to grow he has to let go of those elements that block him, he tries to escape and fails. Eventually, he understands that loving them and being compassionate towards them would be the only way to allow them to let him go. While all of this happens, we see the same man in an unending loop of lighting a candle and turning it off immediately afterward. I wanted the audience to see both options happen simultaneously: the one who learns to embrace his psychological blocks, and by living with them, let them go, and the one who chooses to stay small, and live this unending loop of self-destruct. Gon’s music is grand and epic, and I wanted to make sure the visual aspect matches and empowers that.”

You can watch the video for “Alive” below. You can catch Gon live in a couple weeks when he performs at Pianos in New York on October 18 at 6pm ET. - Substream Magazine