אל על | אטמוספירה

Magazine I Interview

Israeli artists, Ribo has become aware of the new layers of meaning that Israeli music has taken, and the special place it occupies in the lives of many Israelis. Israeli artists have taken on a new role since October 7. Do you realize the power your music has to comfort, strengthen, and lift people’s spirits? “I felt it in the first days after the monstrous attacks”, says Ribo, “I’ll never forget it. We performed at an army base on Friday and the soldiers were crying. The music was like a healing balm. We played at more than 100 army bases across the country for months on end. We showed our soldiers how much we love and support them. Andrey Kozlov, one of the rescued hostages, said that the song that kept his spirit strong in Gaza was “Haboker Yaale”. We invited him to our show and I realized the power music has to release all the emotions locked up in someone’s heart”. Ribo is an Orthodox Jew, but his audience is not necessarily so. His shows are a bridge between different societal groups and offer an opportunity to bring people together at a time when the country is torn What makes you sad? “That we still have hostages in Gaza and that we still haven’t learned that we have to be united right now, and in general”. What makes you laugh? “My sweet little kids Halel and Noam”. What relaxes you? “Shabbat” What do people not know about you? “Honestly I don’t know. I feel I’m rather an open book”. What makes you happy? “I will be happy, like all Am Israel, when the hostages, the soldiers, and displaced families will be back in their homes, amen”. Our quick questionnaire What makes you angry? “Intolerance”.

Photos: Tamar Hanan

and divided. “I belong to Am Israel and Am Israel belongs to me”, he sings in one of his songs. Your audience isn’t necessarily religious. Your faith-based lyrics attract secular and religious fans alike. How do you do it? “I live an Orthodox life, but I am not in a bubble. Thanks to my music I have met people of every kind. I live in Jerusalem, in a more Orthodox area, but I also work in Tel Aviv. My manager isn’t religious, and we have a deep bond. Maybe the emphasis should be on building a bridge between secular and religious. I see it a lot at my shows: in the audience there are Haredi Jews from Mea

Shearim as well as secular Israelis. Music connects people through emotion. I find it amazing, and it keeps me optimistic. More so than when I watch the news”. You’ll be launching a new album soon. To what extent will the events of this past year be present in the lyrics? “I haven’t had a new album out in a few years now, so there’ll be new songs as well as old ones. I’m eager to get it out there and see how it’s received. Some songs were written after October 7, others before but my songs have always been faith-based so the spiritual aspect has definitely been reinforced with added layers of meaning “. ˆ

26 ATMOSPHERE SEPTEMBER 2024