Listen Up!

Thursday night I was driving home from a class and I was listening to XRT, which is one of the only Chicago radio stations worth tuning in. On Thursdays they have a program called New Noise at 9 where they feature new artists and new sounds from existing artists. Being a music fan I love this about XRT.

Anyway, this song came on from a new artist, and I was immediately mesmerized by it. When it was over, all I wanted to do was listen to it again so I could try to decipher this unique sound.

The artist was Yoav, and the song was "Club Thing." Upon reading about Yoav, I began to learn where his distinguishing style came from. The son of an architect father and an opera singing mother, Yoav was born in Israel, raised in Cape Town, and found his voice in London and New York. Each one of this geographical influences subtly shines through in his music. I think the first paragraph of the bio on his website says it better than I ever could.

"Imagine a record that matches the leftfield edge of Beck or Radiohead with the kind of sure-footed pop hooks Justin Timberlake's people would write a blank cheque for. A record which vividly conjures the life of an insightful outsider, set to the dark, loping rhythms of Massive Attack or Portishead. A record built around a voice that's as sweetly expressive as it is richly soulful. Then imagine that every single sound of it, including the bass & the drums, is performed by one man on his amazingly versatile guitar. That record is Charmed & Strange."

That record is set for its U.S. release at the end of the month, and I can't wait to hear more of it. Whether you like this sound or not, one thing is for certain: Yoav will be one of the breakthrough artists of 2008.