Belleli, Avi - Strawberry Cream and Gunpowder
SKU
ADHOC18
"Born in 1963, Avi Belleli is one of the Middle East’s most notable and successful composers. He is best known as the leader, songwriter, vocalist and bass player for the Tel Aviv-based rock band, The Tractor’s Revenge, who have made seven albums on Israeli labels, most of which have gone Gold. Belelli’s songs can be heard all throughout the country; piped over loudspeakers in restaurants, whistled in the streets by pedestrians, and softly hummed by dentists as they drill away at patients’ teeth. His face is known to everyone via a constant presence on television; questions pertaining to himself and his music have even been asked of contestants on game shows. Despite massive success as a commercial personality, Belleli has never turned his back on the more artistic and progressive aspects of his endeavors. He has a subversive penchant to inject a healthy dose of Western avant-garde into the Israeli mindset by means of countless film and television soundtracks, live performances, and musical settings for modern dance. “Strawberry Cream and Gunpowder” is, by Israeli standards, a radical recording of music for a dance piece by the same name by the young choreographer, Yasmeen Goder. The performance, (which features Belelli playing live on stage amongst the dancers) has already enjoyed several critically acclaimed runs in Europe, Japan, Israel and New York. The project is influenced by recent events in the Middle East, and with regards to the global terror atmosphere in general, but in more of a psychological than political way: It questions the connections between power and fear, sex and control, gender issues and personal crisis, whilst examining ways by which individuals can learn to cope with sudden, radical (and sometimes horrifying) changes in their lives."