See you were warned – it’s addictive! If you listen to “The Perfect Liar”, the song that opens “Lolina”, Nir Shlomo’s third album, which was released recently, you will not be able to easily break away from it. Nir’s singing, which is about the lyrics, melody and musical production, with great musicians with it, penetrates under the skin and does not let go.
When you sing “the perfect liar is this / who does not know he is lying”, who do you mean? – I ask him first. “The short answer is me,” he replies.
Are you incriminating yourself?
“Yes! (Laughs) The longer answer is that there is a philosophy of life here, which is true for many people, although it is based on me.”
That is?
“I call myself the ‘perfect liar’ because of some tendency to be a kind of outside observer, when the consolation of not entering life is built from the lie.”
- A cheesecake with a spoiled taste that you will never guess is low in calories
Do you understand? – Not sure. “I’m one of those people who writes songs and every word is very important to them,” Nir testifies about himself. In an attempt to lighten up a bit, I try to change direction and ask: Are you more of a singer-songwriter or … a guitarist to hire? “Being a singer and creator is in a higher place for me in spirituality and self-determination, even though I am addicted to playing and producing for others,” he replies.
Singer of what?
“In general I would not want to be a singer of a certain style because I feel it is narrow. If I refer to the new album, it seems to me that I have moved away from rock, compared to my previous album, ‘Truth is Muscle’, which appeared five years ago and had skeletons in the closet of music I grew up “On the other hand, the current album comes to express my here and now, including the influences I am affected by, with something softer and brighter, as someone who tries to be softer and gentler with myself and others.”
Almost 37 years old, Nir Shlomo, originally from Kfar Saba. Shlomo, like his grandfather, is his middle name while his last name – Koplowicz – is out of his musical business. “Music has always been an important thing in my home,” he notes. “And on family trips there was listening to what was playing in the car.”
An organ was the first instrument in which he played. “From there I switched to … saxophone, I continued on guitar and that brought me to the music department at Katzenelson High School,” he testifies. “My next musical step was in Rimon, where I studied for a year and then I felt I was ready to move on. In Rimon I met Hila Ruach, with whom I formed the band ‘Spirit Dogs’ in 2010. Following the album we released, I released my debut album in 2015, called “It’s just ‘Nir Shlomo’ and I myself produced it. In contrast to the album that came after it, the new album comes out in a digital edition only.”
Are your songs meant to make you happy?
“Yes, although they are not cheerful and have sadness and melancholy in them. It seems to me that whoever identifies with the songs on the album and sees himself in them, it will give him comfort and eventually make him happy. I mean, music that is exciting, in the end it is happy.”
Have you previously identified with Meir Ariel’s style?
“Meir Ariel is the one who introduced me to Hebrew music.”
We got to the point!
“Meir Ariel is one of my favorite writers. When I was quite ignorant of Israeli music in my teens, he was the first artist who really made me delve into writing in Hebrew, after in his writing you can see the relevance it has.”
In the voices that accompany the songs on the album, the singer Daniel Rubin, the belief in the production of the song on it, is well heard. Robin is Nir’s partner and they released a cover version of Arik Einstein’s song “Maybe Maybe We Should Give It More Time” three years ago.
“When we first met, we approached the issue of collaboration carefully, because creating music is a sensitive thing. Today we do songs together and are mutually hosted in performances. I chose her to produce the song when in my opinion it is the best beyond that we have fun together.”
And outside of music?
“Lately I like to be … bad at chess, having recently started playing. In running I am more successful. In general sports do me a lot of good.”