Noga Erez on live shows, the Noisy music video and her debut album ahead of Visions Festival
Musician, producer and creative Noga Erez chats to us ahead of her Visions Festival set this weekend
Jonathan Yates
Noga Erez is performing at London's Visions Festival this August
Musician and producer Noga Erez recently released her triumphant electropop debut album.
Entitled Off the Radar, it explores the usual narratives of a pop record like individuality and relationships but also delves into conflict experienced by the Israeli artist in her hometown of Tel Aviv.
Now she heads to London this August for a set at Visions Festival to showcase the full LP in the UK.
Her sound has also garnered comparisons to the likes of Bjork and M.I.A who weren't direct influences during the production of the debut record.
Noga says: "Yeah, I suppose that's hard to avoid. I have been a fan of these two for years and I suppose it's, unconsciously, influenced my sound and my persona in a way."
However the artist believes these links are only suggested because they're all females who produce politically charged electronic music.
As Noga explains: "I think it is also always easier for people to find comparisons to other female artists and that is why I am compared to them way more than I am to male artists.
"I am more heavily influenced by Flying Lotus, Kendrick Lamar & Vince Staples."
But she doesn't feel offended by the comparisons adding: "We are a blend of artists which we have been exposed to over the years and as long as you can hear influences of amazing artists in my music, I guess I'm on the right track."
The Israeli artist explores the tensions in her hometown of Tel Aviv in her music
It's not often Israeli artists breakthrough into western pop culture, most notably is Yael Naim who featured on an Apple Music ad and scored a top 10 hit in the US.
But Noga Erez has the potential to be a worldwide popstar and be performing for large crowds with her storming electropop to back it up.
She's already representing her country on a wider scale with world tours and exposure in high profile publications.
On her home country's reaction to her success so far, she says: "I didn't really know until very recently when we did our album launch show in Tel Aviv. The amount of people that showed up was way beyond expectation.
"People were so into the music, they knew all the lyrics. It was really crazy. It's so exciting to have your music accepted in different parts of the world. Places where you never imagined it being played.
"But, when such love comes from home, it's different. It's really special."
With tracks like Dance While You Shoot and Global Fear it's appears that she's commenting on the tensions happening very near to her hometown of Tel Aviv.
Although she says this isn't intentional it's something that inevitably find itself in her narrative with lines like "Hey, I got my weapon, nice and polished" and "But can you dance while you shoot?", which can be interpreted as a falling out with a partner as much as a war scene.
Noga says: "I don't necessarily feel any responsibility, except for writing music. To make music is something that comes from a need, an urge, something that I have always been doing, something I can't imagine myself without.
"If a message naturally blends into it one way or another, that's something I'm very happy about.
"The only responsibility I do feel is that whatever it is that I am saying, it has to be true, it has to take all sides in account, and has to be seriously thought out before I release it into the world."
Her debut record Off the Radar was released in June
This ambiguous narrative combined with infectious synths and beats runs through the debut album Off the Radar, which was released back in June.
Noga adds: "I never intended to be a political artist. I kinda think it's weird, knowing how you or a song will be perceived when it's out there. I write music and lyrics without intention, without a plan.
"What comes out eventually is, I guess, is something that's close to my heart at that moment. Political issues have always been on my mind, I was always talking and thinking about it a lot. So, it seems very natural that it's woven into my work, my songs."
Having signed with independent label City Slang in Berlin, Noga Erez began releasing home videos before dropping big pop numbers.
On releasing the full body of work she says: "It's so good to have that piece of work out there, finally. It's like letting go, in a way, making space for other things to come.
Meanwhile the music video for album's recently lifted single Noisy which features animation, colourful visuals and a powerful girl gang, was filmed in Noga's hometown Caesarea.
The private museum location was deliberately chosen, as Noga explains: "I used to walk by it every day as a young girl. The specific shots of the museum features statues of some of the most important persona's from the Spanish/Jewish culture - all men!
These all-male sculptures are eventually smashed to pieces by Noga during the animation sequence, which could be interpreted as her views on male and female hierarchies in her home country, again a social commentary she seems to wish it remains ambiguous.
She adds: "We were searching for a spot that represents silence because this song talks about noise, a continued sound that comes from within, and destroys the silence, distracts the mind.
"A museum with 'silent' sculptures, couldn't be more perfect."
Although it can be open to interpretations, for Noga the video is about her breaking away from her hometown and friends or girl gang to find her own individuality and become the artist she is today.
Noga says: "My hometown is referred to in the lyrics, and in the video I hang out with a gang of girls, which is something that I had only when I was a girl and then it stopped. I have strayed from the squad in order to become an individual. My individuality became the most important thing to me.
"I thought I needed to have peace and silence in order to achieve my goals in life. But, I found out that you can be completely distracted even if you don't have a bunch of people around you.
"The ability to focus, truly be one with yourself and focus on what you want to achieve in life is a psychological one, and that is why the work should be from within."
Often producing music videos with interesting images and storylines, like title track Off the Radar, which features half humans half pom poms and bodies with arms for a head, Noga is an artist who deems the visuals as important as the music.
She says: "I would definitely say that the music videos are important. I spend a lot of time thinking about the visual side of the music.
"But, that is secondary to the music. To me music always comes first, and the directors that I have worked with on the videos know that for me, a music video should serve the song, make the message in the song stronger, and always be very responsive to the beat and the atmosphere."
For the Noisy music video Noga wanted a space that 'represented silence'
Now she's heading to the UK for a show at London's Visions Festival on August 8, where Noga's bold image and sound doesn't look out of place on it's list of exciting acts.
The lineup features an eclectic set of artists including PC music's Sophie, rapper Zebra Katz, electronic duo IDER and indie group shame.
On performing in London she says: "I've been to the UK several times in the past few months. It's always a pleasure to perform to crowds in London. This festival is one I'm really proud to take part in, I'm sure it's going to be a great one."
She adds: "Expect something very lively and energetic."
It'll also be a chance for a UK crowd to hear tracks from the debut Off the Radar live for the first time, and it seems the high energy sound is going to be translated onto the stage.
Noga explains: "We basically took all the beats that we engineered on the computer and made our poor drummer, Ran [Jacobovitz], play them live. Luckily he's as close as it gets to a human drum machine.
"So all these beats that you hear on the album are played live by real people, it takes the electronic experience one step further I think.
"Making it less mechanic, adds a lot of groove - and some randomness."
Noga Erez plays Visions Festival on August 5, tickets are priced at £33.45 and available from See Tickets here.
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