LFNT

“Songs within the album phase in with digital distortion, clang along with rusty strings, and feature slow bridges that make you think of all the chaos that just happened.
At times happy, upbeat, and buzzed, at times strung out in pain, "Tales Of A Drunken Man" certainly lives up to it's name.” - MICHAEL RICKERT

Jerusalem-born guitarist-vocalist Ran Nir works some of his Mojo magic into his debut album ‘L.F.N.T.’
Ran Nir Photo: Roy Feinborg
Alcohol, in various guises and vintages, has oiled the creative wheels of many an artist over the centuries. Some, of course, have gone over the top, producing a number of works of quality before succumbing to the ravages of the amber nectar. Thankfully, Ran Nir has opted for a healthier approach to his work, and life.

The 27-year-old rocker will launch his debut CD, the self-explanatory L.F.N.T - Tales Of A Drunken Man, with a show at Tel Aviv’s Barbi Club on May 30. The extrapolated version of the initials is Live Free Not Troubled, which goes some way to explaining Nir’s excessive elbow bending.

“When we were on tour [drummer] Yonni [Sheleg] and I were the only members of the band who were single, so we’d go out and have a good time, and that always involved booze,” explains the Jerusalem-born bass guitarist-vocalist.

The “band” with which Nir and Sheleg did the rounds of this country and numerous points across Europe was Asaf Avidan and the Mojos, which Nir founded along with frontman Avidan six years ago, and with which he experienced considerable local and international success over a fiveyear period. But all good things come to an end.

“Things started to deteriorate with the band,” Nir recalls. “We knew the act was going to break up – Asaf had told us that was going to happen – and I felt some of the other musicians weren’t giving their all. That frustrated me.”

That also led to more boozing.

But Nir has turned over a new leaf, on an artistic and a health-related level.

“I drink a lot less now and Yonni and I gave up smoking,” he declares. “I haven’t had a cigarette for nine months. I feel a lot better.”

Tales Of A Drunken Man didn’t materialize overnight.

“I had lots of ideas, over the years, and I wrote stuff while I was with the Mojos, but Asaf was the sole songwriter for the band,” he notes. “That was part of the problem.”

Considering that Nir waited so long to set out his own songwriting stall, as leader of his own band, he displays a remarkably light hand on the rudder. One could have reasonably expected him to lay down the law to the other band members, and to make sure everything stuck to his individual straight and narrow, but that hasn’t been the case.

“I play bass guitar, not double bass, and there are three tracks on the album with acoustic bass rather than electric bass, so someone else plays the bass on those numbers,” he says.

In fact the whole project ran along democratic lines.

“I took advice from people and it was cool when the other musicians had observations about some part of the work,” Nir continues.

Nir says he got into music relatively late.

“I started playing bass when I was 15, and studied for about a year and a half.

That’s not so young to start out in music.”

But, once in, he was hooked, even though he originally had plans to follow a different avenue of creative expression.

“By the time I was 16 I knew I wanted to be a musician, but before that I wanted to be an actor. I still haven’t given up on that idea.”

Nir’s first experience of gigging was with a schoolboy group, which mostly played in and round the Jerusalem area.

“That was a sort of wishful thinking band name,” Nir says with a laugh.

After finishing his army service he relocated to Tel Aviv and soon got into the scene there and reunited with the members of his former teenaged band, all of whom, like Nir, had made the move to the other end of Route 1. They quickly became a feature of the Tel Aviv rock scene and built up a loyal fan base. But Nir soon got a slap in the face which, paradoxically, only made him more determined to make it in music.

“I was kicked out of my own band, but it was then that I realized that I was a professional musician. That’s what I was.”

Nir’s path soon crossed Avidan’s when a friend suggested they go and see - By BARRY DAVIS

Jerusalem-born guitarist-vocalist Ran Nir works some of his Mojo magic into his debut album ‘L.F.N.T.’
Ran Nir Photo: Roy Feinborg
Alcohol, in various guises and vintages, has oiled the creative wheels of many an artist over the centuries. Some, of course, have gone over the top, producing a number of works of quality before succumbing to the ravages of the amber nectar. Thankfully, Ran Nir has opted for a healthier approach to his work, and life.

The 27-year-old rocker will launch his debut CD, the self-explanatory L.F.N.T - Tales Of A Drunken Man, with a show at Tel Aviv’s Barbi Club on May 30. The extrapolated version of the initials is Live Free Not Troubled, which goes some way to explaining Nir’s excessive elbow bending.

“When we were on tour [drummer] Yonni [Sheleg] and I were the only members of the band who were single, so we’d go out and have a good time, and that always involved booze,” explains the Jerusalem-born bass guitarist-vocalist.

The “band” with which Nir and Sheleg did the rounds of this country and numerous points across Europe was Asaf Avidan and the Mojos, which Nir founded along with frontman Avidan six years ago, and with which he experienced considerable local and international success over a fiveyear period. But all good things come to an end.

“Things started to deteriorate with the band,” Nir recalls. “We knew the act was going to break up – Asaf had told us that was going to happen – and I felt some of the other musicians weren’t giving their all. That frustrated me.”

That also led to more boozing.

But Nir has turned over a new leaf, on an artistic and a health-related level.

“I drink a lot less now and Yonni and I gave up smoking,” he declares. “I haven’t had a cigarette for nine months. I feel a lot better.”

Tales Of A Drunken Man didn’t materialize overnight.

“I had lots of ideas, over the years, and I wrote stuff while I was with the Mojos, but Asaf was the sole songwriter for the band,” he notes. “That was part of the problem.”

Considering that Nir waited so long to set out his own songwriting stall, as leader of his own band, he displays a remarkably light hand on the rudder. One could have reasonably expected him to lay down the law to the other band members, and to make sure everything stuck to his individual straight and narrow, but that hasn’t been the case.

“I play bass guitar, not double bass, and there are three tracks on the album with acoustic bass rather than electric bass, so someone else plays the bass on those numbers,” he says.

In fact the whole project ran along democratic lines.

“I took advice from people and it was cool when the other musicians had observations about some part of the work,” Nir continues.

Nir says he got into music relatively late.

“I started playing bass when I was 15, and studied for about a year and a half.

That’s not so young to start out in music.”

But, once in, he was hooked, even though he originally had plans to follow a different avenue of creative expression.

“By the time I was 16 I knew I wanted to be a musician, but before that I wanted to be an actor. I still haven’t given up on that idea.”

Nir’s first experience of gigging was with a schoolboy group, which mostly played in and round the Jerusalem area.

“That was a sort of wishful thinking band name,” Nir says with a laugh.

After finishing his army service he relocated to Tel Aviv and soon got into the scene there and reunited with the members of his former teenaged band, all of whom, like Nir, had made the move to the other end of Route 1. They quickly became a feature of the Tel Aviv rock scene and built up a loyal fan base. But Nir soon got a slap in the face which, paradoxically, only made him more determined to make it in music.

“I was kicked out of my own band, but it was then that I realized that I was a professional musician. That’s what I was.”

Nir’s path soon crossed Avidan’s when a friend suggested they go and see - By BARRY DAVIS

L.F.N.T.

par noouille @ 2012-03-12 – 17:50:03

LFNTLogo

L.F.N.T. Quatre lettres pour une aventure musicale très personnelle. Direction Tel-Aviv en Israël à la rencontre de Ran Nir, pour en savoir un peu plus sur l’élaboration de son projet.

Asaf Avidan and The Mojos, The Wrong Demons… Depuis qu’il a 15 ans, le nom de Ran Nir a toujours été associé à celui du bassiste de différents groupes. Depuis 2006, l’aventure au sein des Mojos le conduit à travers les Etats-Unis, l’Inde, le Canada, la Chine, et les plus grands festivals d’Europe, sans parler des nombreux concerts en Israël. Leur premier album, "The Reckoning", se voit même remettre un disque de platine pour récompenser la meilleure vente jamais réalisée en Israël par un label indépendant.
Aujourd’hui, Asaf Avidan a entamé une tournée solo un peu plus folk avec sa guitare et son harmonica, et les Mojos ne jouent plus ensemble. Mais pas question pour le bassiste d’abandonner la musique pour autant : « La première chose à laquelle j’ai pensé, c’était de continuer à faire ce que j’ai toujours voulu faire : remonter sur scène et faire de la musique. Après avoir été si longtemps dans un groupe, j’avais envie de me mettre en avant et de donner une chance à ma propre musique d’exister. » Petit à petit, il pose ses mots sur le papier, compose quelques accords, retravaille de vieux enregistrements et en crée de nouveaux dans son studio maison. Puis, le projet s’élargit et Ran invite quelques-uns de ses amis sur sa réalisation. Yoni « Joni Snow » Sheleg, le batteur des Mojos et de The Wrong Demons, participe à la production de l’album en composant quelques morceaux tandis que Joseph E-Shine, guitariste dans plusieurs groupes à Tel-Aviv, coproduit le projet et permet à Ran d’enregistrer ses compositions dans un studio grandeur nature pour une meilleure qualité sonore. Tous trois sont les piliers de la réalisation de l’album, Tales of a Drunken Man, qui est finalement bien plus qu’un projet solo. Ce projet, il faut également le financer. Après avoir commencé à investir de sa poche, Ran mise sur la solidarité en inscrivant L.F.N.T. sur un site internet israélien de financement participatif, Headstart.

Mais au fait, que se cache-t-il derrière ces quatre lettres ? Pour le savoir, il faut remonter à sa première vraie expérience musicale avec trois de ses meilleurs amis, à 21 ans, et à sa première grosse déception lorsqu’il a été renvoyé du groupe. S’ensuit une période plutôt sombre pour le musicien. « J’ai décidé que ça n’allait pas me décourager, que je ferai tout pour surmonter cette mauvaise passe et aller de l’avant avec mon tout nouveau groupe Asaf Avidan and the Mojos. C’est comme ça que m’est venue l’idée de m’approprier la métaphore de l’éléphant, et lorsque nous avons décidé de nous arrêter avec les Mojos, j’ai voulu emmener l’éléphant encore un peu plus loin. Pour moi, l’Eléphant – ou LFNT- signifie exister pour soi-même, faire face aux déceptions et être fidèle aux valeurs de l’amitié et de la famille. »

Et si on assimile souvent la musique de Ran Nir à celle de grands noms du rock tels que Beck, Tom Waits, Jack White ou encore The Black Keys, son univers lui ressemble avant tout. C’est aussi au travers de ceux qui l’entourent qu’il va chercher son inspiration : « Je suis et ai toujours été inspiré par les gens biens qui essayent de faire le bien autour d’eux, qu’ils soient musiciens, acteurs, écrivains, poètes, docteurs, scientifiques, physiciens ou encore professeurs. » Dans un univers de poésie post-moderne et à mi-chemin entre blues, rock et folk, la musique de L.F.N.T. se déguste à travers une écriture introspective qui semble chercher les réponses de longs questionnements intérieurs.

Et lorsqu’on lui demande comment il s’imagine dans 10 ans : « En vie, j’espère ! Et puis j’aimerais aussi continuer à faire de la musique avec de bons amis, gagner assez d’argent pour assurer mes besoins, ceux de ma famille et pouvoir en aider d’autres à faire la même chos - Anne Maron

L.F.N.T.

par noouille @ 2012-03-12 – 17:50:03

LFNTLogo

L.F.N.T. Quatre lettres pour une aventure musicale très personnelle. Direction Tel-Aviv en Israël à la rencontre de Ran Nir, pour en savoir un peu plus sur l’élaboration de son projet.

Asaf Avidan and The Mojos, The Wrong Demons… Depuis qu’il a 15 ans, le nom de Ran Nir a toujours été associé à celui du bassiste de différents groupes. Depuis 2006, l’aventure au sein des Mojos le conduit à travers les Etats-Unis, l’Inde, le Canada, la Chine, et les plus grands festivals d’Europe, sans parler des nombreux concerts en Israël. Leur premier album, "The Reckoning", se voit même remettre un disque de platine pour récompenser la meilleure vente jamais réalisée en Israël par un label indépendant.
Aujourd’hui, Asaf Avidan a entamé une tournée solo un peu plus folk avec sa guitare et son harmonica, et les Mojos ne jouent plus ensemble. Mais pas question pour le bassiste d’abandonner la musique pour autant : « La première chose à laquelle j’ai pensé, c’était de continuer à faire ce que j’ai toujours voulu faire : remonter sur scène et faire de la musique. Après avoir été si longtemps dans un groupe, j’avais envie de me mettre en avant et de donner une chance à ma propre musique d’exister. » Petit à petit, il pose ses mots sur le papier, compose quelques accords, retravaille de vieux enregistrements et en crée de nouveaux dans son studio maison. Puis, le projet s’élargit et Ran invite quelques-uns de ses amis sur sa réalisation. Yoni « Joni Snow » Sheleg, le batteur des Mojos et de The Wrong Demons, participe à la production de l’album en composant quelques morceaux tandis que Joseph E-Shine, guitariste dans plusieurs groupes à Tel-Aviv, coproduit le projet et permet à Ran d’enregistrer ses compositions dans un studio grandeur nature pour une meilleure qualité sonore. Tous trois sont les piliers de la réalisation de l’album, Tales of a Drunken Man, qui est finalement bien plus qu’un projet solo. Ce projet, il faut également le financer. Après avoir commencé à investir de sa poche, Ran mise sur la solidarité en inscrivant L.F.N.T. sur un site internet israélien de financement participatif, Headstart.

Mais au fait, que se cache-t-il derrière ces quatre lettres ? Pour le savoir, il faut remonter à sa première vraie expérience musicale avec trois de ses meilleurs amis, à 21 ans, et à sa première grosse déception lorsqu’il a été renvoyé du groupe. S’ensuit une période plutôt sombre pour le musicien. « J’ai décidé que ça n’allait pas me décourager, que je ferai tout pour surmonter cette mauvaise passe et aller de l’avant avec mon tout nouveau groupe Asaf Avidan and the Mojos. C’est comme ça que m’est venue l’idée de m’approprier la métaphore de l’éléphant, et lorsque nous avons décidé de nous arrêter avec les Mojos, j’ai voulu emmener l’éléphant encore un peu plus loin. Pour moi, l’Eléphant – ou LFNT- signifie exister pour soi-même, faire face aux déceptions et être fidèle aux valeurs de l’amitié et de la famille. »

Et si on assimile souvent la musique de Ran Nir à celle de grands noms du rock tels que Beck, Tom Waits, Jack White ou encore The Black Keys, son univers lui ressemble avant tout. C’est aussi au travers de ceux qui l’entourent qu’il va chercher son inspiration : « Je suis et ai toujours été inspiré par les gens biens qui essayent de faire le bien autour d’eux, qu’ils soient musiciens, acteurs, écrivains, poètes, docteurs, scientifiques, physiciens ou encore professeurs. » Dans un univers de poésie post-moderne et à mi-chemin entre blues, rock et folk, la musique de L.F.N.T. se déguste à travers une écriture introspective qui semble chercher les réponses de longs questionnements intérieurs.

Et lorsqu’on lui demande comment il s’imagine dans 10 ans : « En vie, j’espère ! Et puis j’aimerais aussi continuer à faire de la musique avec de bons amis, gagner assez d’argent pour assurer mes besoins, ceux de ma famille et pouvoir en aider d’autres à faire la même chos - Anne Maron

Rock turns blood into wine, moving through the body like an irresistible force that makes you forget everything but the moment and the music; after the concert, the feeling lingers, energy surging through your body and mind. Ran Nir launched “Tales of a Drunken Man” – the debut album of his new project L.F.N.T. on May 30th at the Barby in Tel Aviv – definitely a night to remember, my head is still reeling.

Ran Nir/Photo: Ayelet Dekel

Many of the songs were written on the road, when Nir was on tour as bassist for Asaf Avidan and the Mojos. A private journal of rocker life, the inner musings of a musician wandering through foreign cities, always moving, searching for his inner truth somewhere between the adrenalin rush of the stage, the alcohol, and the applause. Opening with “Between Understanding and Salvation,” (track # 7 on the album), Nir has the soulful voice and intimate rapport with the audience of a singer/songwriter, a guy with a guitar. And then it opens up, and all hell breaks loose.

In conversation with Nir a few days before the concert, he told me “I always say I have a mega-group, not a super-group, because all of these musicians come from super-groups.” The man knows what he is talking about. L.F.N.T. members are: Ran Nir, Joni Snow, Idan Rabinovici, Joseph E-Shine, and Daniel Ben Horin. For anyone familiar with the Israeli music scene, just reading the list of names sets the imagination on fire – hearing and seeing them together live onstage is all that and more.

Idan Rabinovici (keyboards), Hadas Kleinman (cello), Daniel Ben Horin (bass) Ran Nir (guitar), Joni Snow (drums)/Photo: Ayelet Dekel



Daniel Shoham and Roy Rieck/Photo: Ayelet Dekel

It was a great concert and an amazing party – onstage and off, as L.F.N.T. were joined by their friends, performing songs from the album and beyond, bringing their musical past, present and future together. Hadas Kleinman and Roy Peled (formerly of the Mojos) came on for several songs, including one penned by Roy Peled (watch for its upcoming release). In the spirit of the collective, the rest of Acollective (full and proper disclosure – I’m a huge fan) came up and the rocking jamming version of their song “A Better Man” was the perfect drinking buddy for the drunken man. There’s great potential for some amazing concert tour companions here – and it can be heard on the album as well, since many of these musicians took part in its making.

Ran Nir and Joseph E Shine/Photo: Ayelet Dekel

Each song has a different feel. “I Won’t Tell” is immersed in the Tel Aviv experience, hearing that song anywhere would instantly take me back to the ambivalent addiction I have for the city I live in; “Something in the Water” – the first single released from the album, is a drinker’s anthem that takes on an incantatory feel, great for that “2am – 3am I can’t sleep and I hate my life” time slot (also works well as a “morning after” song), and great to dance to; “Swim This Ocean” (one of the most recently penned songs) is a rocking paen to endurance, its joyful rhythms full of jazzy energy.

I was first drawn in by L.F.N.T.’s music on a winter night in Jerusalem. Listening to the album for the past few weeks, dancing at the concert and listening to a new song that made its debut there – “I Guess That’s What Passes Off for Love” – all confirms: L.F.N.T. is a band that’s going places. - Ayelet Dekel

Rock turns blood into wine, moving through the body like an irresistible force that makes you forget everything but the moment and the music; after the concert, the feeling lingers, energy surging through your body and mind. Ran Nir launched “Tales of a Drunken Man” – the debut album of his new project L.F.N.T. on May 30th at the Barby in Tel Aviv – definitely a night to remember, my head is still reeling.

Ran Nir/Photo: Ayelet Dekel

Many of the songs were written on the road, when Nir was on tour as bassist for Asaf Avidan and the Mojos. A private journal of rocker life, the inner musings of a musician wandering through foreign cities, always moving, searching for his inner truth somewhere between the adrenalin rush of the stage, the alcohol, and the applause. Opening with “Between Understanding and Salvation,” (track # 7 on the album), Nir has the soulful voice and intimate rapport with the audience of a singer/songwriter, a guy with a guitar. And then it opens up, and all hell breaks loose.

In conversation with Nir a few days before the concert, he told me “I always say I have a mega-group, not a super-group, because all of these musicians come from super-groups.” The man knows what he is talking about. L.F.N.T. members are: Ran Nir, Joni Snow, Idan Rabinovici, Joseph E-Shine, and Daniel Ben Horin. For anyone familiar with the Israeli music scene, just reading the list of names sets the imagination on fire – hearing and seeing them together live onstage is all that and more.

Idan Rabinovici (keyboards), Hadas Kleinman (cello), Daniel Ben Horin (bass) Ran Nir (guitar), Joni Snow (drums)/Photo: Ayelet Dekel



Daniel Shoham and Roy Rieck/Photo: Ayelet Dekel

It was a great concert and an amazing party – onstage and off, as L.F.N.T. were joined by their friends, performing songs from the album and beyond, bringing their musical past, present and future together. Hadas Kleinman and Roy Peled (formerly of the Mojos) came on for several songs, including one penned by Roy Peled (watch for its upcoming release). In the spirit of the collective, the rest of Acollective (full and proper disclosure – I’m a huge fan) came up and the rocking jamming version of their song “A Better Man” was the perfect drinking buddy for the drunken man. There’s great potential for some amazing concert tour companions here – and it can be heard on the album as well, since many of these musicians took part in its making.

Ran Nir and Joseph E Shine/Photo: Ayelet Dekel

Each song has a different feel. “I Won’t Tell” is immersed in the Tel Aviv experience, hearing that song anywhere would instantly take me back to the ambivalent addiction I have for the city I live in; “Something in the Water” – the first single released from the album, is a drinker’s anthem that takes on an incantatory feel, great for that “2am – 3am I can’t sleep and I hate my life” time slot (also works well as a “morning after” song), and great to dance to; “Swim This Ocean” (one of the most recently penned songs) is a rocking paen to endurance, its joyful rhythms full of jazzy energy.

I was first drawn in by L.F.N.T.’s music on a winter night in Jerusalem. Listening to the album for the past few weeks, dancing at the concert and listening to a new song that made its debut there – “I Guess That’s What Passes Off for Love” – all confirms: L.F.N.T. is a band that’s going places. - Ayelet Dekel