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Asaf Avidan (born March 23, 1980) is an Israeli singer-songwriter and musician. He is also the creative force and front-man of Asaf Avidan & the Mojos, an Israeli folk rock band that he established in 2006 in Jerusalem. The band released three albums, The Reckoning in 2008, Poor Boy / Lucky Man in 2009 and Through the Gale in 2010.
Asaf Avidan also had an international hit with "One Day / Reckoning Song (Wankelmut Rmx)".
Starting 2012, the Mojos band project was shelved so that Avidan would concentrate on a solo career. In 2012, he released Avidan in a Box, an acoustic live album which covers older songs by him, digital copies only. He also launched his solo studio album Different Pulses in Israel, to be made available internationally in 2013.
Avidan was born in Jerusalem in 1980. His parents were diplomats for the Israeli Foreign Office, and he spent four years of his childhood in Jamaica.
After the mandatory army service in Israel, Avidan studied animation at Jerusalem’s Bezalel Academy of Arts & Design. His final project short film, “Find Love Now”, won its category at the Haifa Film Festival that year.
After his studies, Avidan moved to Tel Aviv and worked as an animator, until a breakup with his long-time girlfriend shook his world and made him move back to Jerusalem, quit his job and turn full time to his up-till-then hobby – music. Six songs about that breakup and subsequent heartache would constitute his debut EP, Now That You're Leaving, which was released independently in 2006 to critical acclaim.
n late 2006, while playing solo acoustic tour across Israel, Avidan put together a support cast of musicians who would become the Mojos (Ran Nir – bass, Yoni Sheleg – drums, Roi Peled – guitar, Hadas Kleinman – cello). The group became very famous in Israel, playing extensively there, and even got out to a tour in New York City in 2007. Here, they also took part to MEANY Fest, advancing to the finals.
The band has released three albums: The Reckoning in 2008, Poor Boy / Lucky Man in 2009 and Through the Gale in 2010.
In July 2011, following another summer tour that saw them sharing the stage with Robert Plant, Ben Harper and Lou Reed among others, Asaf Avidan & the Mojos announced that they are taking an indefinite creative break.
Avidan had continuously played solo and duo acoustic shows throughout the band's career, including "regular" venue shows as well as a TED Global Conference performance, supporting Bob Dylan, playing a tribute concert for The Who at Carnegie Hall and many radio and TV performances.
In 2012, Asaf Avidan announced that he was leaving Sony to join Polydor (Universal Music), and that he was abandoning the Mojos for a solo career. He released the track "Different Pulses" in preparation for a solo international album in 2013 but to be made available in Israel in September 2012.
Prior to his first expected solo album, Avidan toured Israel with a guitar, harmonica and added vocals. The response of the crowds to these intimate, acoustic shows were tremendous. Encouraged by this, Avidan agreed to perform in a series of low key events spread on 48 hours renditions of some of his earlier stuff in a small rented space in south Tel Aviv. The sessions were done with no rehearsals, with just simple guitar accompaniment and in presence of a select few friends attending. His acoustic performances were accordingly recorded without much studio production with the result being the limited release Avidan in a Box.
On February 13, 2013 Avidan performed a piano vocal version of his hit "Reckoning Song" at the Sanremo Music Festival in Italy.
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