NOGA EREZ shares new video & track 'Toy'. London show & SXSW this month

Debut album Off The Radar out June 2nd

"I am the son of your leader/Give me your love, and I’ll spare you” sings Erez, with her home city of Tel Aviv in the background in 3rd fresh cut from debut album.

This International Women's Day, we share a further introduction to one of 2017's fiercest. Ahead of shows at SXSW, Convergence Festival, The Great Escape & more, Tel Aviv’s NOGA EREZ is back with another gutsy statement from her hotly tipped debut album Off The Radar, set for release on June 2nd via City Slang worldwide.

Following the direct ‘Dance While You Shoot’ and the fearlessly controversial, ‘Pity’, ‘Toy’ is the third fresh cut to be brought to life, this time with a video directed by Hen Makhluf and edited by Noga’s musical collaborator, Ori Rousso.

“I am the son of your leader/Give me your love, and I’ll spare you” sings a hooded Erez on a Tel Aviv rooftop, delving further into her compelling world of poised & innovative political pop.

“Toy" is sung from the point of view of someone who has inherited leadership, regardless of their talent or experience” she explains. “The lyrics, while short, are meant to show the contrast between someone who disowns his “crown” vs. someone who embraces the privilege, entitlement and influence and uses it for their own personal needs. They become self-absorbed and destructive. Showing how quickly and easily power can corrupt a person."

Watch the video for ‘Toy’ here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aiNgT2r4YKs

 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
Thurs 9 - Tel Aviv, IL @ Teder Festival
Weds 15 - SXSW / Austin, TX @ Reeperbahn Official Showcase @ Esther’s
Thurs 16 - SXSW / Austin @ Pukkelpop/Disco Naivete @ Sidewinder
Fri 17 - SXSW / Austin @ FLOOD / Tune In Tel Aviv @ Cedar St. Courtyard
Sat 18 - SXSW / Austin @ NME Official Showcase @ Barracuda Inside
Tues 21 - London, UK @ Village Underground - Convergence Festival
April
Sat 8 - Paris, FR @ La Gaîté Lyrique - ARTE Concert Festival
May
Thurs 18 – Sat 20 – Brighton, UK @ The Great Escape Festival
June
Sat 3 - Barcelona, ES @ Primavera Festival

Off the Radar track list: 
1) Balkada
 2) Dance While You Shoot (YouTube)
 3) Toy (YouTube)
 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 

Praise for Noga Erez:
“In terms of fulfilling the brief to deliver an enduring first impression, the combination of music and visuals is close to unbeatable.” - Loud & Quiet 
“She is fearless and fantastic” - Wonderland
“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
“An electronic producer who brings beauty to uncertainty.” – Jezabel
“This is techno with something to say, made by a woman used to the idea of making art in the midst of state-centered turmoil.” – Bitchmedia
“Erez's music expertly channels the unease that's crept over the world” – i-D
"Bold in sound, style and subject matter, the singer-producer infuses her electro-pop with tightly coiled fury.” - NPR

 Links:
Noga Erez press shots
Off The Radar album artwork
 Noga Erez on Facebook
 Noga Erez on Twitter
 Noga Erez on Instagram