Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the International Music Showcase Festival, Israel’s biggest showcase event, is going online – as a futuristic live-stream event!

Tonight the Showcase studio will be hosting:

Addis Ken Project
Liraz
YMKA
The Great Machine
Abro
NOGA EREZ

Access our live-stream right here, or via our Facebook page or Youtube channel.

We are proud to welcome you to join viewers from Israel and all around the world, as well as many figures from the international music industry.

Addis Ken – አዲስ  ቀን (“New Day” in Amharic)

A unique musical project from vocalist and sax player Abate Berihun and pianist Roy Mor. A prolific saxophonist, composer and vocalist, Berihun is one of Israel’s most prominent Ethiopian musicians, previously touring with musical giants such as Mulatu Astatke and Mahmoud Ahmed. Berihun is also the founder and leader of influential afro-jazz and ethnic ensembles “Tezeta”, “Ras Dashen” and “Kuluma”.

Addis Ken is all about soulful groove, spiritual search and heartfelt blues. Together with pianist Roy Mor, bass player David Michaeli, and drummer Nitzan Birnbaum, Berihun brings to the stage original music that fuses Jewish-Ethiopian soul music and prayers passed through the generations with ageless spiritual and mysterious texts. The result is a thrilling encounter between ancient Ethiopian traditions and the legacy of a modern jazz ensemble, steeped in musical adventurousness, deep groove, and the spirit of the blues.

Abate Berihun – Saxophone, Vocals

Roy Mor – Piano

David Michaeli – Bass

Nitzan Birnbaum – Drums

Liraz

The highly touted Israeli-Persian singer returns with a buoyant and border-busting new album, her first for Glitterbeat. Combining shimmering electro-pop with pulsing dance rhythms and retro Persian sonics, the album includes clandestine collaborations with Iran-based musicians and composers.

Liraz has taken her shimmering electro-pop underground, and turned it into something dangerous and even more beautiful than before. For her second album, ‘Zan’ (“Women” in Farsi), the Israeli-Persian singer collaborated online with composers and musicians from Iran. Everything had to be secretive to avoid the gaze of Tehran’s mullahs and secret police. The result is her private revolution, songs with a true message, music to make people dance and smile – and above all, think.

Uri Brauner Kinrot – Guitar

Yael Selinger – Keyboard

Amir Sadot – Bass

Roy Chen – Drums

Lia Sherman – Violin

Y.M.K.A

Y.M.K.A is an experimental duo of drums & electronics, that wander the realms of psychedelic rock, afro groove, free improvisation, noise and industrial music. The groove of the drums gradually develops with the textures and sounds of the modular synthesizer, which in turn relies on the drums’ rhythms. Their sound ranges from a heavy analog synthesis of sound waves, granular textures mixed with a widespread use of recordings that break down spoken texts into basic sound components, and the rhythmic elements of which language is composed. Y.M.K.A.’s compositions are constructed using abstract textures to build complex and sweeping rhythms that disintegrate back into sound clouds.

Y.M.K.A. started their way in 2017 and have since taken part in the electro-acoustic scene, the party scene and performed at various festivals.

Yadin Katz – Drums

Amir Meir – Electronics

The Great Machine

The Great Machine is a 3-piece rock band from Israel.

Haviv bros. Omer on guitar and Aviran on bass, combined with the energetic drumming of Michael Izaky – create a strong psychedelic, stoner-rock musical experience with a punk rock attitude. 

Shortly after the release of their first EP in 2013, the band set out for a tour in Germany. They’ve played at the Rotormania stoner festival alongside Colour Haze, Coogans Bluff, Rotor and many others.

In 2014 The Great Machine’s debut album was released, and in April 2017 their followup “Love” was released, receiving many great reviews from all over the stoner/psych scene around the world.

In January 2018, The band’s 3rd studio album Respect was released under the independent label ‘Reality Rehab Records’, as was the 4th album “Greatestits” released in May 2019.

After establishing a strong, loyal fanbase in Israel, The Great Machine has played festivals and venues all over Europe, including Freak Valley in Germany, Wild Mint in Russia and SonicBlast Moledo in Portugal, and toured with ‘All them Witches’ in October 2016.

The Machine also opened for Ozzy in Israel in 2018.

 “The free spirit and wild feeling that The Great Machine spreads, and their on-stage behaviour immediately releases your inner rocker, even if it is quite suppressed”.

Omer Haviv – Guitar

Aviran Haviv -Bass

Michael Izaky -Drums

ABRO

Born in Capetown & raised in Israel, Abro is a virtuoso bass player with a unique perception of bass. Formally trained as a jazz double-bassist, Abro has more recently been taking his music further into new dimensions. His groove-dripping output on the double bass & bass guitar, mischievous persona and huge heart make for a rare combination. 

“We find ourselves in the presence of a monster of the double bass with Gilad Abro. What he “pulls”, and that’s the right word, out of the instrument is truly phenomenal, in accuracy, force, swing, presence…” – Michel Delorme (CultureJazz.fr)

Abro’s open minded approach to music stands out in his new album “LeafBoy” released on the label Raw Tapes. His apparent attraction for groove and R&B alongside his comprehensive musical experience makes this album a real treat for listeners of all genres. The bass, usually not the main focus, gets the spotlight. Abro brings the best out of both the upright bass and the electric bass, shining a light on their sweet, vibrant character with his intricate grooves and melodies.

Gilad Abro – bass

Aviv Cohen – drums

Tamuz Dekel – guitar

Noga Erez

Noga Erez burst onto the scene with ‘Off The Radar’ in 2017 on acclaimed label City Slang Records (Arcade Fire, Caribou, Calexico etc.) – receiving praise across the globe from the likes of The Guardian, Billboard, Pitchfork & NME. While the music she makes in collaboration with her partner/co-writer/co-producer Ori Rousso exploits many of the more physical and dynamic elements of electronic, hip-hop & pop music, it also embraces a cerebral sensitivity that’s made her one of her hometown’s most exciting, idiosyncratic artists. The grainy textures and potent atmospheres forged with her synths and ingenious beats bravely straddle various genres.
 
Her 2018 standalone singles “Bad Habits” and “Cash Out (feat. SAMMUS)” as well as her 2019 collaboration with ECHO “Chin Chin” saw her proceeding to forge a path of uncompromising and unpredictable, gritty, truth-seeking alt-pop. Most recent singles “VIEWS”, “NO news on TV”  & “You So Done” have marked the start of the next chapter in her career.

In 2020, Noga Erez was slated to perform at some of the most prestigious festivals in the world — Lollapalooza, Bonnaroo, Outside Lands, Osheaga, Firefly, Austin City Limits, Sziget, MELT and many more. Unfortunately, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, touring came to a halt, and these events have been rescheduled for 2021-2022. Erez has also found much success in the media realm with such achievements as “Dance While You Shoot” featured as Apple Music’s Anthem track, “Off The Radar” in the iPhone 10 launch, as well as landing songs in some of the hottest TV shows such as Apple’s “Dickenson”, Russian Doll (Netflix), Good Girls (NBC) & How To Sell Drugs Online Fast (Netflix). 

Noga Erez

Ori Rousso

Itamar Loebstein