Asaf Avidan

Born on March 23, 1980, in Jerusalem, Israeli folk-rock musician Asaf Avidan spent portions of his upbringing in Jamaica and New York. His first recording, the six-track EP Now That You're Leaving, emerged in 2006 and centered on the dissolution of a long-term relationship.

To promote the independently issued project, Avidan recruited bassist Ran Nir, drummer Yoni Sheleg, guitarist Roi Peled, and cellist Hadas Kleinman, forming the ensemble Asaf Avidan & the Mojos. The group’s debut full-length release, The Reckoning, appeared in 2008 and was followed by Poor Boy/Lucky Man the next year. A subsequent licensing agreement with Sony/Columbia yielded official European editions of both albums in 2010 and 2011, which secured chart entries in France, Italy, and Switzerland.

After issuing the Mojos’ third album, Through the Gale, in 2010, the band dissolved so its members could explore separate ventures, yet Avidan sustained solo acoustic performances later captured on the 2012 download release Avidan in a Box. That year Berlin DJ Wankelmut sampled portions of Avidan’s “Reckoning Song” for the remix “One Day,” issued as a single that reached the summit of the German, Austrian, and Swiss charts. Avidan simultaneously released Different Pulses, which entered the Top Ten in France and Italy.

His second proper solo album, Gold Shadow, received worldwide distribution in January 2015 and climbed to number three in France. Late 2017 brought The Study on Falling, which landed inside the French and Swiss Top 20.