In this interview spotlight, I chat with Roy Cohen of Cohenovich about their Seven Worlds release, challenges, technology and more.
Full Q&A along with links and music below.
Where are you from and what style of music do you create? (In your own words, not necessarily in marketing terms or by popular genre classifications.)
I am from Tel Aviv, Israel. On this project, I focused on creating rock music with Indie/Alternative elements. I also work on an underground electronic project called “2Drops”.
What led you down this path of music and what motivates you to keep going?
I started to write lyrics and compositions when I was 7 years old I think. I had songs in Hebrew and in gibberish-English, before I knew real words and how to speak in English. As well, I composed songs that I haven’t even started to play on real instruments, but this is how my musical journey had begun.
How is this new release different than previous ones? Were you trying to accomplish anything specific?
These 3 singles I recently released are very different from my electronic project that I am still making. For the first time I decided to start singing, and reached to my first influences from the 90’s and early 70’s. I always wanted to make this but I guess I needed more time until I started to feel mature enough and ready to be in the front – with a mic.
Name one or two challenges you face as an indie musician in this over saturated, digital music age? How has technology helped you (since we know it does help)?
I think the main challenge is to break the barriers of the audience. As you mentioned, it absolutely can help for indie artists from any country in the globe to reach the new listeners overseas. I think in this area we have a ton of new, quality music but because the industry is over saturated, it becomes even more difficult to stir curiosity and cause the listener to click on the links.
What was the last song you listened to?
Yesterday I decided to listen to the whole album of an Israeli artist called Aviv Geffen. He also has a project called Blackfield with Steven Wilson. My girlfriend is younger than me and we listened to his debut album from ‘91.It’s called “It’s Only the Moonlight”. It’s just such a big difference from the music of our day in Israel, and in every place around the world. But still, I am really excited to be an artist in this challenging era!
Which do you prefer? Vinyl? CDs? MP3s?
I prefer vinyl. Unfortunately I have no impressive collections yet. This is something I would like to change in the near future but most of my money goes straight to new musical equipment such as guitars, virtual synths and so on.
How about this one…. Do you prefer Spotify? Apple Music? Bandcamp? Or something else? Why?
Generally I prefer YouTube. I like to see video clips and performances but since you asked about different platforms, I think I prefer Spotify now because I have found so many good artists by the algorithm suggestions. I don’t have enough time to listen them all and I am very sorry about it.
Where is the best place to connect with you online and discover more music?
My youtube channel! Especially because I really like to create video clips, to create stories with my talented friends – Gal Gruper, Yoav Golan, Amit Edelman and many other great people who help me make exciting art.
Anything else before we sign off?
Stay tuned for many new songs and video clips I’ve already made and haven’t published yet and new materials I am planning to record in the studio with great musicians.
