GERMANY: Controversial Israeli singer Aviv Geffen promotes his first English language album in Germany

Record ID: 715947

  • Title: GERMANY: Controversial Israeli singer Aviv Geffen promotes his first English language album in Germany
  • Date: 30th July 2009
  • Summary: MUNICH, GERMANY (JULY 28, 2009) (REUTERS) ISRAELI SINGER AVIV GEFFEN BEING INTERVIEWED (SOUNDBITE) (English) AVIV GEFFEN, ISRAELI SINGER SAYING: "Fifty percent of people in Israel want me to be dead. It's the truth. I got my bodyguards in Israel. Some of my tracks can't be played on the radio because I'm dealing with really extremely left-wing (issues). But again, I'm Jewish. I'm proud to be Jewish. I present the new Jewish type. I'm supporting homos and lesbians. I wear make-up, I don't believe in God. I think it's all shit, to be honest." GEFFEN'S EYES
  • Embargoed: 14th August 2009 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Germany
  • Country: Germany
  • Topics: Entertainment
  • Reuters ID: LVABXKX72Z4HMSZ1EE2HLA608JPZ
  • Story Text: Aviv Geffen, the controversial Israeli singer who says half his country wants him dead, was in Germany on Tuesday (July 28) to promotes his first English language album.
    After Geffen recorded 14 albums in Hebrew only, the album simply called "Aviv Geffen" contains songs in English such as "It was meant to be a love song" and "Berlin."
    The singer and songwriter has been named a peace activist and was involved in what he himself calls "extremely left-wing" issues.
    "Some of my tracks can't be played on the radio because I'm dealing with really extremely left-wing" issues, Geffen said in an interview in Munich on Tuesday.
    "But I'm Jewish. I'm proud to be Jewish. I present the new Jewish type. I'm supporting homos and lesbians. I wear make-up, I don't believe in God," he said, adding "I think it's all shit, to be honest."
    Geffen, son of the poet Jonathan Geffen and a nephew of former Defence Minister Moshe Dajan, never went to army.
    "In Israel I felt like I was living in a big lie," Aviv Geffen said.
    "When all my friends turned 18 they were sent to serve the country and they started to kill people and got the worst nightmares. They ran to Thailand to swallow drugs and LSD."
    Geffen said he became "the observer" and he started to write songs about it, "about the process, about the brain washing my friends went through."
    "You can hear it on my new album in the song called 'Heroes."
    Geffen's album will be released in Germany on August 28, followed shortly afterwards by the release in Great Britain.
    "Aviv Geffen" was produced by Grammy-award winner Trevor Horn and New York producer David Andrew Sitek.
    According to Geffen's German promoters "Revolver Promotion," "about every other Israeli household in this country of seven million people owns one of his records."
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