The Israeli music scene has gone through an evolutionary change from classical patriotic music to a more pop style that is more closely related to the music scene of today’s time. With the 40s-60s being mainly dominated by kibbutz style and military bands that expressed love for the country and brought a strong patriotic vibe, followed by a trend of rock music emerging in the 60s, and becoming more popular in the 70s and 80s with the first signs of a local underground scene.
Popular venues like The Penguin Club gave a unique place for all kinds of underground artists to come together and share their art with one another which helped bolster the notoriety of the underground artists and helped promote a different vibe to Israel’s music scene. Going into the mid-70s and early 80s were popular artists like Erik Einstein that brought a mixture of different sounds with catchy songs that became popular with the youth. Also, popular bands like “Eifo ha Yelled” and “HaChaverim Shel Natasha” dominated the Israeli music scene. It was all about folk songs, but with a bit of rock thrown in.
The 90s saw the rise of hip-hop in Israel with bands like “Hadag Nahash”, “Subliminal” and “Shotei Hanevuah” dominating the charts. In recent years, there has been a revival of traditional Jewish liturgical music which has become popular again due to an influx of religious Jews from around the world immigrating to Israel. Israeli music has now begun an evolutionary phase as it has gone from a traditional Jewish style to a more westernized upbeat sound. Israeli musicians have had to adapt to the changing times and soon will birth to some of the more modern stars in Israel today. Some of these artists are Ana Zak, Omer Adam, and Noah Kirel who have all had international success outside of Israel. Their music is distinctly Israeli, but they also get influence from western music which helps them to stand out from their peers.
Israeli rock&roll
With the help of social media, these artists are now their own brand with their own sound which gives them more opportunities than ever before to succeed internationally. Visitors to Israel are always searching for more ways to listen to today’s Israeli music. Which is why we have created a Spotify playlist where people can listen and add some of their favorite Israeli tunes to connect better with today’s Israeli culture. The online music media like Spotify has made today’s artist more accessible than ever. Omer Adam, who is still the most listened to Israeli artist, has over 700,000 monthly listeners and his hit song, “Tel Aviv” has more than 14 million plays on Spotify alone. As the years and trends of the world continue to advance, Israeli music will continue to move forward as well, as it has from the 40’s folk style music, to today’s pop style. Be sure to check out the playlist to stay up to date on the latest Israeli trending music!