Ziv

This is a story about ambition and love for music. About a band that formed not to be famous or to achieve great wealth, but rather to make beautiful music without the shackles of standard songwriting. “I knew we has to write songs that could cross the genre and demographic lines,” says singer Ziv. “That we could say what we meant without masking it with lyrics that were generic clichés.”

Ziv’s debut album, ‘Fearless’, was a collection of direct, soulful, utterly beautiful songs stripped right back to expose the raw emotion underneath. Showing that you don’t always have to conform to be heard, it has sold nearly 20,000 copies independently worldwide, winning “Independent Record of the Year” by Melodic.net. “Fearless is what began it all for us…it put us on the map.”

Ziv grew up in Los Angeles, California, Kenny in Boulder, Colorado, Bruno in San Paulo, Brazil, and Mark in Croswell, Michigan. They met in mid-2007 when Ziv decided to transition from a solo act to a band. Ziv began writing songs when he was 9 and amassed quite a catalog. Kenny liked what he heard and joined in on bass. Mark was so keen to be a part of it that he moved from Michigan to play drums. All four shared a passion for music, and a quiet determination to be as good as they possibly could. They rehearsed almost every night: “We played in my mom’s garage, over the phone, however we could get better as a band,” laughs Ziv. “We were determined to do it, from the start,” adds Kenny. “And from the moment I met Ziv, I really did believe that we could go all the way. Do something.”

They recorded the second album, ‘Paper and Sound,’ which got them noticed by manager and entrepreneur, Ophir Adrian Gottlieb. Ophir quickly signed them to a management deal and began working on a plan to take Ziv to the next level. Ziv’s attitude remains fiercely independent. They like to have control. They produced both of their albums, and are closely involved in everything from videos to artwork.

“It’s been all on our terms,” says Bruno. “We have 100% control over any aspect of whatever we do, and that’s really important to who we are and the music we make. We take control of the recording, the videos, the artwork. We’re not a band that can be pushed around, although we do have some amazing advisors.”

Ziv is now working on their third and highly anticipated album. There’s a lot more energy on the new record, a lot more honesty, where on the first two it was more produced,” says Ziv. “We’ve grown up a bit, traveled a lot more, and met so many people. The last year, we’ve been like a sponge. We’ve sucked it all in and now it’s coming out on this record. A lot of it is meant to be about ambition and confidence in the face of fear and insecurity.”