“In terms of fulfilling the brief to deliver an enduring first impression, the combination of music and visuals is close to unbeatable.” - Loud & Quiet
“As far as debut singles go, few come more assured, politically woke and forward-thinking than Noga Erez’s first step” - DIY
 “A blistering introduction… As good, and as explosive, as you are likely to have heard all year.” - The Line of Best Fit
“You get the impression she won’t be off the radar for long.” - Billboard
“Exactly where 2017 should be heading sound-wise: political, hard to ignore and almost annoyingly catchy.” - The 405
“One of 2017’s most innovative and, judging by the video, explosively pink artists.” - NME
“An explosive introduction to her idiosyncratic yet bold musical universe.” - Drowned in Sound

At the end of last year, Tel Aviv’s Noga Erez put herself firmly on the map with her debut single “Dance While You Shoot”  and first ever tour. Now she prepares to dominate 2017, announcing a new single, her debut album & a series of live dates.
 
Her debut album, Off The Radar, will be released on June 2nd via City Slang worldwide, and today she goes straight for the jugular with the video to the fearlessly controversial new single, “Pity”. 
 
"The song “Pity” was influenced by a sexual assault case that happened a few years ago” she explains. “What made it even more alarming and upsetting for me was the fact that it was documented by several different people who were there when it happened. People stood by and willingly chose to film on their smartphones and then upload the videos and share them online. The presence of cameras and the violation of the victim’s rights and respect was completely disregarded beyond measure. 
 
“This is the second time we had a chance to work on a video with talented directors 'Zhang + Knight'. For them, as for us, the horrifying story was extremely powerful and chilling. We decided to focus on the video/documenting angle, isolating it from the rest of the story. Creating a performance based video, shooting me from many different camera angles, while playing the footage live on screens behind me. Displaying how quickly and easily video documentation becomes shared, publicised and distorted. Many times, it's done so without the person's knowledge, consent and without accountability.”
 
For Noga Erez, there was never any doubt that, whatever music she chose to make, and whatever she felt about her homeland, she could never ignore her surroundings. After all, even escapism acknowledges there’s something to escape from, and at times – like many who’ve grown up in Tel Aviv – Erez has wanted to shut herself off from a world rendered beyond comprehension by forces beyond her control. But if there’s one thing Erez isn’t – and sometimes it’s easier to say what artists as complex and fresh as her aren’t than are – it’s naïve. And what this means is simple: her work reflects the manner in which she’s learned to live. As she puts it, “I have this idea of giving people moments of thought and inspiration, and at the same time offering escapism and fun."
 
It’s not the easiest of goals, but few succeed as well as Erez. While the music she makes in collaboration with her partner and co-writer, composer and producer Ori Rousso, exploits many of the more physical, dynamic elements of electronic music, it also embraces a cerebral sensitivity that’s made her one of her home city’s most exciting, idiosyncratic artists, as inspired by Björk, M.I.A. and fka Twigs as by Flying Lotus, Kendrick Lamar and Frank Ocean.
 
Erez was born four days before 1990, the year the Gulf War started, and it would be impossible for her now, as an artist, to ignore what’s been going on around her all her life. Nonetheless, she admits that, for a while, she retreated from the highly politicised climate in which she was raised. “As I became more aware of everything going on – the complexity of the situation, and how it affects lives on both sides – my reaction was to separate myself from it. I got rid of my TV and stopped consuming news completely.”
 
She found sanctuary in music, but withdrawal is rarely permanent, and if there’s tension in Erez’ work – and there’s plenty, as it happens – then it’s an acknowledgement of this simple truth. “Most of the time it's easy just to ignore what’s happening, but every now and then reality makes that impossible.” Erez is, however, thoroughly self-aware, and acknowledges how “we are very lucky not to live near the borders, not to be at the wrong place at the wrong time, and to have shelters and technology protecting us. But with this sense of luck comes a sense of guilt for being able to do something like make music while lives are being taken.”
 
Uncompromising and unpredictable, sophisticated and bold, Noga Erez is clear about her ambitions. “Our way of trying to keep in contact with our feelings and fears, and of avoiding emotional detachment about everything, is music. Human beings can come from completely different places but share a fundamental basis of emotions. In my opinion, music is the form of art or communication that expresses that most accurately.” The conversation starts now.
 
Noga Erez live dates:
March 16 - March 18 - Austin, TX @ SXSW
March 21 - London, UK @ Convergence Festival // Village Underground w/ Rival Consoles 
May 18 - 20 - Brighton, UK @ The Great Escape
June 2 - Barcelona, ES @ Primavera Festival

Off the Radar track list:
1) Balkada
2) Dance While You Shoot (YouTube)
3) Toy
4) Instruction
5) Pity (YouTube)
6) Quiet One
7) Worth None
8) Global Fear
9) Hit U
10) Off The Radar
11) Side Effect
12) Muezzin
13) Noisy
14) a hit Is A Hit
15) Junior
 
Off The Radar artwork:
  
Links:
Noga Erez on Facebook
Noga Erez on Twitter
Noga Erez on Instagram

For more information please contact kate@stereosanctity.co.uk / t. +44 7812 607 230.