Out of the north, a folk singer breaks forth

Folk-rock singer Maya Isacowitz is a native Israeli who writes her lyrics in English and welcomes the elements of Celtic harp, banjo and harmonica that are blended into her sound.

It’s all part of the mix that happens when you take the daughter of South African immigrants, raise her in primarily Israeli enclaves in the north, and throw in a father who builds musical instruments and plays harmonica.

Isacowitz, a 24-year-old singer/songwriter, first discovered music at around 13 when her father taught her some guitar chords. It appears to have been the right introduction, as Isacowitz immediately began writing songs, playing guitar and singing for hours in the comfort of her room, in a typical teenage way.

“I knew that this was what I wanted to do with my life, but I didn’t have the courage to sing in public and a lot of my friends didn’t even know I sang,” said Isacowitz. “I slowly started to sing in school and at ceremonies and open mike nights.”

Ten years later, and after a two-year stint working with autistic adults and children for her national service, and another six months trying to make it in New York City, Isacowitz is making considerable inroads in the Israeli music scene — in her quiet and considered manner.

She began playing in small northern venues after returning from New York and produced her first album, “Safe and Sound,” up north before she felt it was time to move to Tel Aviv. Now she spends considerable time touring around Israel, playing local clubs with her cousin, Shai Locoff, who is also her guitarist and performing partner, and a band rounded out by Gal Benjamin on violin, Nimrod Goldfarb on bass and Udi Naor on drums.

“Israel is my home base and I feel like I’m still in the beginning of this process,” she said. “I find it strange that now people actually recognize me and know my name; it’s strange in a nice way, but I find it really mind-blowing. It almost feels like two different people, like it’s me and someone else.”

The Hebrew press has commented on her “daring” to produce songs in English, given that she’s Israeli-born, but Isacowitz said that her strongest musical influences have always been in English, given her family’s English-speaking home and the music she heard when she was younger.

“That’s what came out,” she said. “There was a point that I fought myself to write in Hebrew because I’m Israeli and live in Israel, but then I decided to do whatever comes naturally.”

Her songs tend toward the soulful, telling the stories of lost loves, difficult life transitions and the common yearnings for security and satisfaction. For Isacowitz, songwriting — whether in English or, sometimes, in Hebrew —  is about authenticity, she said, with lyrics and sounds that “come from an honest place.”

“I didn’t pay attention previously to the fact that my music was in English,” she said. “In the last two or three years, there have been many more Israeli artists singing in English and it’s a lot more acceptable. But I think that it’s all about music that feels real to people, whether it’s in Hebrew or English.”

http://youtu.be/CC8ygcovPmY

For now, Isacowitz is reveling in performing and meeting her audiences, “the most fulfilling experience that there is,” she said.

“I started from really, really small and maybe only one person out of five that really flipped out and bought my CD and told his family about me,” she said. “I enjoy every step of the way. Even if it’s difficult, it’s important for me to go through this.”

And for her parents — they who gave her that first guitar, exposed her to music and then helped her pay to produce the first album — there’s nothing more thrilling than when customers walk into her father’s Rosh Pina musical instrument store and realize he’s Maya Isacowitz’s dad.

“I figured I’d try this for a year or two,” she said of making it as a musician. “And if nothing comes out of it, then I’ll work my butt off to pay them back.”

Maya Isacowitz will be performing this Tuesday, May 29, at Barby Tel Aviv. Doors open at 9:30 pm.