EL AL | Atmosphere

Magazine I Interview

Hanan Ben Ari, one of Israel’s most beloved and successful singers, promotes a new album, launches a large, unforgettable performance, and speaks about his musical work, his relationship with the audience, his new role as presenter for Israel’s national airline El Al, and about his family. A Dream without Boundaries / Maya Cohen “My goal is to feel as close as possible to the audience”

Hanan Ben Ari loves to rejuvenate others and to feel rejuvenated, and continually searches for ways to challenge and intrigue both his audience and himself. During the past year, he worked on a new album and a new show, and now he’s celebrating these joyous developments both on stage and digital music platforms. Last month, he released “Yesh Kan Yoter Mizeh - More Than This,” his fourth album following a years-long hiatus, and on August 1st, he’ll perform a new, specially designed show at the Expo in Tel Aviv in front of an audience of 7,000 people. In addition, he recently became the presenter for El Al. Dream Big “For the past five years, I haven’t put out an album, only singles, and every song was included in my performances. At this stage, the songs didn’t bring out any significant renewal, and we all

reached a point where we felt a need for revitalization. Against this backdrop, the idea was born to put out an album and to elevate the show to new heights, not only visually but, more importantly, to discover new territory, combining everything I want within a performance.” What does this mean in practice? “It’s a sort of fusion. On the one hand, it’s a grand performance with thousands of people, and on the other hand, my continual desire for intimacy and mutual respect - both from me towards the audience and also from the audience towards me. That feeling of intimacy, as if you’re in a concert with 300 people instead of 7,000. I’ve always strived to achieve this,” he explains. “In some venues, this is easier to achieve, while in others, it’s almost impossible. When we thought about this performance to promote the new album, I said that I want to dream without limitations. That’s when the idea

was born to go to Pavilion 2 in Expo Tel Aviv, which is a very large space that allows us to do what we want and to build it from scratch. However, for it to be financially worthwhile, multiple consecutive performances are necessary [Ben Ari will appear seven times - three times one week and four times the next week - M.C.]. Therefore, we took the vast space and built a stage and stands to create an atmosphere suitable for the performance. It includes standing room for 2,000 people and seating perimeter. There’s also a special app that allows people to locate others sitting in the crowd. The stage will be positioned in the center because I want to feel as close as possible to the audience,” says Ben Ari. With 7,000 people, it’s difficult to feel close and intimate, isn’t it? “During the last three years, what most moved me, which we received feedback about after for an additional 5,000 people in elevated stands around the

24 ATMOSPHERE JULY 2023

Photo: Guy Kushi & Yariv Fein