New York, NY (Top40 Charts) Asaf Avidan has shared "900 Days" from his new album Anagnorisis - a soulful reminiscence on the end of a relationship that finds him employing his lauded vocal range to maximum effect. The Israeli-born singer-songwriter, who has previously hit #1 in 14 countries across Europe, recorded the song while spending time in the rural Italian countryside earlier this year. Due to the coronavirus pandemic he was essentially trapped in isolation; tracking each vocal part himself out of necessity with a result that is nothing short of stunning. With a voice that's been called "one of the most compelling and unusual I've ever heard" by NPR Music's Bob Boilen and compared to Robert Plant by the New York Times' Jon Pareles, Asaf pulls off piercing falsetto and even full gospel choirs alongside his signature androgynous drawl.
"The closure that '900 Days' brought me was the jumping board to a new exploration of self," says Avidan. "The end of my last relationship left me feeling betrayed. Not by my partner, but by love itself… or more precisely by myself. My notions and ideals left me spiralling downward. Again. I needed to write this song, to encapsulate the time in that relationship in order to move forward."
While previous albums were written and recorded in a matter of weeks, Avidan has compared the making of Anagnorisis to a hobby he picked up while in the Italian countryside - cutting olive branches to prepare the trees for the next year: "Cut, trim and remove big parts of the song to use its energy to grow stronger roots and a stronger structure. Take time and let the song grow naturally." Asaf's efforts show on Anagnorisis, every track echoes the deep roots that search inward amidst songwriting that is both groomed and precise. The result is the most accomplished artistic statement of Avidan's already illustrious career.
ANAGNORISIS TRACKLIST
Lost Horse
900 Days
Earth Odyssey
No Words
Anagnorisis
Rock of Lazarus
Wildfire
Indifferent Skies
Darkness Song
I See Her, Don't Be Afraid
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