Best Albums of 2014
as selected by Micky Niron

Alon Eder <br>“The Life Summary Until Now”

Alon Eder
“The Life Summary Until Now”

The sound of Alon Eder – presented earlier on beehype – comes from 70’s. His lyrics are filled with humour, energy and love – and especially now in Israel “a little love won’t do no harm”, as one of the songs on “The Life Summary Until Now” (סיכום החיים עד עכשיו) goes.

♪♫ Listen: “Ktsat ahava lo tazik” (A Little Love Won’t Do No Harm)

Alon Eder on Bandcamp, Facebook, YouTube.

Amir Lev <br>“Touching the Passport

Amir Lev
“Touching the Passport

Amir Lev, sometimes called Israeli Leonard Cohen, on his sixth album “Touching the Passport” (נוגע בדרכון) continues to excite with his deep voice and personal stories that everybody can identify with.

♪♫ Listen: “Rakevet” (Train)

Amor Lev on Facebook.

Ester Rada <br>“Ester Rada”

Ester Rada
“Ester Rada”

Ester Rada’s first self-titled album – already praised on beehype – is a blend of soul, funk, and music from Ethiopia – the place where she was born. She released her first EP in January 2013, while simultaneously carving out a succesful acting career. Almost immediately she became the new Israeli groove queen, with tremendous responses coming also from abroad.

♪♫ Listen: “Monsters”

Ester Rada on www, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Soundcloud, YouTube.

Geva Alon <BR>“Be With Me”

Geva Alon
“Be With Me”

At the last moment of 2014, Geva Alon (גבע אלון‎) released his best album yet, “Be With Me” (תהיי איתי). After four LP’s in English, for the first time he decided to record in his mother tongue and it was a great decision. The song “Father” really demonstrates great sensitivity this album is made of.

♪♫ Listen: “Father

Geva Alon on Bandcamp, YouTube, Facebook.

Hadas Kleinman & Aviv Bahar <br>“Little Simplicity”

Hadas Kleinman & Aviv Bahar
“Little Simplicity”

Hadas Kleinman & Aviv Bahar (הדס קליינמן ואביב בכר) were an anonymous duo until recently, when they surprised Israeli public with a quiet, deep, and indeed – simple – album titled “Little Simplicity” but you can’t stop listening to it again and again.

♪♫ Listen: “סירת מפרש” (Sailboat)

Hadas & Aviv on Facebook, www.

Shlomi Shaban <br>“Targil Be’hitorerut”

Shlomi Shaban
“Targil Be’hitorerut”

Only Shlomi Shaban (שלומי שבן ) – presented earlier on beehype – can write such a wonderful words. But what makes “Targil Be’hitorerut” ((תרגיל בהתעוררות), meaning “Excercise in Waking Up”, is A-Collective, the band accompanying with Shaban on this record.

♪♫ Listen: “Targil Be’hitorerut”

Shlomi Shaban on Facebook, YouTube.

The Backyard <br>“The Backyard”

The Backyard
“The Backyard”

One of the most important senior writers in Israel, Yankale Rotblit, has decided to cooperate with younger generation of musicians: Tomer Yosef (Balkan Beat Box), Gedi Ronen and Itamar Ziegler. As The Backyard (החצר האחורית/Ha’hatzer Ha’ahorit) they recorded together one of the most courageous Israeli albums of the recent years.

♪♫ Listen: “One of Us” (אחד משלנו)

The Backyard on Facebook, YouTube, www.

theAngelcy <br>“Exit Inside”

theAngelcy
“Exit Inside”

Their story began on the streets, but since the band released their official debut album, “Exit Inside”, you can hear them non-stop on the main Israeli radio stations. The Cinderella of 2014.

♪♫ Listen: “My Baby Boy”.

theAngelcy on Bandcamp, Soundcloud, Facebook, YouTube.

Totemo <br>“Heavy As My Dreams”

Totemo
“Heavy As My Dreams”

Tel Avivian electro-pop artist Rotem Or – performing as Totemo – is defenitly one of the most exciting newcomers in the Israeli music scene. It’s a pleasure to be a part of her trip-hop dreams.

♪♫ Listen: “Host”

Totemo on Facebook.

UBK <br>“Ouzo Bazooka”

UBK
“Ouzo Bazooka”

On his solo debut album, “Ouzo Bazooka” – introduced earlier on beehype – Uri Brauner Kinrot (UBK) combines Balkan-Eastern sounds with surf rock’n’roll. Like most of the album, the wonderful video “I Got You” makes you want to escape for a couple of weeks from the noise of Babylon to the unknown.

♪♫ Listen: “I Got You”

UBK on Facebook, Soundcloud, Bandcamp.