Sivan Talmor is an Isreali singer-songwriter. After an army service being a lead singer of the Israeli army band and three years of study at Rimon School of Jazz and Contemporary Music, Sivan began focusing on her own music.
Over the last decade, she has collaborated with several of Israel’s top artists in various concerts and tribute events, taking part in a couple of major projects which gave her an important position in Israel’s music industry.
In this interview spotlight, we chat with Sivan about her newest project, her influences and much more.
In this interview sptotlight, we chat with Sivan about her newest project, her influences and much more.
Full Q&A along with links and the video for Fire below.
Let’s dive a little deeper into You, the artist and your music. What attracted you to this style and concept for Fire?
This whole album talks about my most intimate and private world. For the first time, I felt as if I had found a way to touch my deepest inner core: the place where everything starts- every feeling, every thought. I knew that if I wanted to make true art, I must touch this delicate spot within me, which contains my Fire: the things that light me up, and the things that burn the most. That’s why after we finished recording, I knew Fire was the right name for this album. It’s the fire that starts life, and it’s the same fire that could ruin and burn it all.
How long have you been creating and sharing your music with the public?
I’ve been making music for many years, but about 8 years ago I started preforming it on stage. I released my first album in 2012, an album called LUNA PARK, which I wrote and composed in Hebrew. All these years I’ve been looking at how to get better and go deeper with my art, finding new ways to express my heart and mind.
Who or what influences your playing and/or writing? Also, what motivates you to keep going?
I have a lot of influences. Over the years, I feel like I’ve still kept on exploring new sounds and ways of expression. I grew up on Leonard Cohen, Peter, Paul and Mary, and Simon and Garfunkel. My house was full of music – Jazz , classic and 60s rock&roll…also a lot of old Israeli songs (which were strongly influenced by Russian music: minor keys, and round composing). Later on I found artists like Carla Bruni, Feist and Wilco, who opened me to a new world of singer-songwriters.
What motivates me is probably what motivates an artistic soul: it’s that inner fire you cant really explain… its burns so hard you have to let it out.
Were you trying to accomplish anything specific on this new music video, Fire? Creatively or otherwise?
For the music video, we tried to look for the right metaphor for a dying love. A love that was hopeless from the beginning, like the relationship in the video, that was doomed for disaster from the start. We wanted to do something that would be shocking enough to leave a mark after it ends. So Kobie Flashman, the screenwriter and director, wrote the story that came to his mind immediately when he heard the song. He put it all together- the desert kind of feeling, the softness and ruff combined together, the lyrics of a dying love- mixed it all, and came up with this harsh story. The ballerina symbolizes the softness and beauty that love is…but in this case, they burned this Love at the beginning, so no matter how hard she tries to run or fight, it ends in the same horrible way.
What was the last song you listened to?
“It Hurts Me Too” – Karen Dalton
Which do you prefer? Vinyl? CDs? MP3s?
I just LOVE Vinyl. Can’t help the way I feel when I put the needle on and hear it starts these tiny cracks and unknown sounds, as if I’m going back in time to a place where music was live and recordings had their gloriousness.
How about this one…. Do you prefer Spotify? Apple Music? Or something else? Why?
Unfortunately I cant carry my Gramophone with me 🙂 … so I do use Apple Music on daily basis, and yes, I really like it– mainly because it gives me the opportunity to listen to all the music I grew up on, all my top classic artists. It also gives me options to listen to a lot of new music I haven’t yet discovered .
Other than the digital era overwhelming us with access to an abundance of music, what are one or two of the biggest challenges you face when trying to attract listeners to your music?
These days people don’t have a lot of patience to actually listen, because people have the opportunity to change songs instantly. Everything is open and only a click away. So if its not the perfect scenery, the right weather, or the exact time of the day that the music fits to- they zap quickly to something else. You used to go to the store, buy an album, and then put it in your car or in your living room CD player.. you used to take the time to listen, truly listen, and read the words. Your mind would drift somewhere else, maybe to a memory from the old days. You’d go back to the album, a song makes you cry. You let the music take you on a journey. But today? It’s like people don’t have TIME anymore, and every art needs time.
Do you gig, tour or perform? Do you ever live stream? Where can music lovers see you live?
Actually, that’s what I do most. I mainly perform live. I love the stage, I love the live audience. These days I perform with my band, two young wonderful players who have their own duo called Shelly & Rotem (Shelly Levy, Rotem Frimer). I’m performing mainly in Israel currently, but in January and March I have two tours in Germany – around Munich, and the second one is in North Germany. It’s all on my site! (www.sivantalmor.com)
Where is the best place to connect with you online? Discover more of your music?
I’m everywhere 🙂 I have my site, and I’m on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube with two new music videos: I’LL BE and FIRE. Just look for Sivan Talmor!
- https://www.facebook.com/SivanTalmorPage/
- https://www.youtube.com/user/TalmorSivan
- https://www.instagram.com/sivantalmor/
Any last thoughts? Shout outs? Words of wisdom?
Don’t be afraid to LOVE. Love brings love.
