Navaro

MusicElectronicIDM
Written By Sanjay G

by Mister Mime

24th October 2020

 
a1637450279_10.jpg

Billegal Beats debutant Navaro taps into his experience of the most powerful emotion, love, and chronicles his relationships, personal growth and coming of age in this brand new 4 track EP called ‘Timeline’. His premier sonic sojourn delivers mellow atmospheres, petillant melodies and elegant basslines. This drummer & producer from Israel is one of the many talented new artists to emerge from an exciting music scene in the country and promises to be a force to reckon with in the future.

 

MM: What is the concept of the EP - Timeline? Do any of the tracks have stories behind them?

Navaro: Before I started to make this piece of art, I thought to myself, “How do I start making an EP? Where do I begin? How can I translate emotions to actual music?” That's how I went back to the most powerful thing I've ever felt in my life - Love. From there, I started to build a sort of timeline of my life from my first love relationship, until now. Each track represents a period of time and emotion in my life, from the happiest to the hardest. The first track - ''The Most'', tells the story about my first love, the ups, and downs in it, the conflicts, but mostly, the happiness I felt back then. The second track - ''Tearless Pain'', tells about the sadness that came after the breakup. I was really broken, and it was a hard time for me, although, I learned so much about myself, and grew a lot from this experience. The third track - ''Over'', focuses on the moment I finished my military time, that was three long, tough years, during which I injured my knee. This moment was really emotional and satisfying for me. The fourth track -'' Light Addiction'', is about the time I found myself in music, settled down mentally and physically, with a perfect studio and vibes for creation and producing.

MM: Can you tell us a bit about the artwork?

Navaro: The incredible album cover was made by Funi, who is a unique artist who has many artwork for some of the greatest artists in the genre. One of the best things in collaboration with Billegal Beats is that you get your album cover by Funi. The idea behind the art is to show the listener a sort of a line that goes around portals of different times, colours, and emotions.

MM: How do you keep the balance between a chilled out atmosphere, melodic content and refined technical sounds?

Navaro: First of all, I'm trying. Many times you can get stuck on something during the process of writing a tune. When it happens to me, I have to try different things and not be afraid of doing new techniques or new sounds until I reach the balance\vibe that I'm looking for. Second of all, inspiration. There are a lot of artists that I am inspired by, and using their production as a reference for my work is very helpful and teaches me a lot.

 
 

MM: How has your journey been as a producer, from the time you started to produce music to releasing this EP? How did you come around to releasing it on the Billegal label?

Navaro: My journey as a producer started two years ago when my best friend, Shahar Cohavi aka Dawncall, taught me how to produce. A few months later, I realized that I really like it, and I need to take it more seriously, so I went to study Electronic Music Production at BPM College of Music in Tel Aviv. This year of studying made me learn a lot about music production, the music industry, and how to be an independent global artist. The tools I got from BPM College brought me to know what I need to do to start writing tunes, and go out and start to integrate into the industry. The first two tracks I finished - ''Winter Changes Mood'' & ''Expectations'' (about 9 months ago), I chose to submit them to labels that I love and appreciate, one of which was Billegal Beats. The A&R of Billegal Beats liked the songs and asked me if I could produce two more songs for making a four track EP. I was really excited about the reply, and my answer was that I prefered to make a brand new four track EP with a solid idea and concept. They agreed and wished me good luck, and that's how I started to make an EP for Billegal Beats.

MM: Can you share some of your technical details from your work? What DAW do you use, your favourite plugins, and your general workflow or how you approach writing a track?

Navaro: Right now, I'm working with Ableton, which is an amazing DAW. I would say that my favourite plugins are: Operator, ValhallaRoom/Shimmer, NOIRE Piano, Ableton's Sampler, FabFilter Saturn, and of course many more. Most of the time I'd start with a sort of harmony\melody move. Many times it goes from the intro and so on to the drop. Sometimes I can start with the master loop of the track - (the main drum loop), but lately, I see that my workflow gets stuck with this kind of method. I'm always trying to make sure that the mix sounds great and big during the process. I think that Mixing is an integral part of producing, and arrangement session. Also, as I said before, reference can help a lot to the workflow and for mixing.

 
 

MM: Who are your biggest inspirations among idm/ glitch/bass artists, all electronic artists and music from any other genres?

Navaro: Oh wow, there are so many! I must say that Culprate, is the biggest inspiration of mine. He is one of the reasons I started making this kind of music. I can't forget the first time I heard Culprate's song, it made me feel something different. Ekcle (so so good), Koan Sound, Vorso, Refraq, Echo Map/Synergy Sound, Tom Finster, Copycatt, Mr. Bill, Azaleh, Alon Mor, Ivy Lab, Camo & Krooked, Akov. I am influenced by many genres as well - Rock, Fusion, Jazz, Chill, Indie, Alternative, with - Red Hot Chilli Peppers, Pink Floyd, Radiohead, Yussef Dayes, Alfa mist, Jorden Rakei, Hiatus Kaiyote, Tatran, Sticky Fingers, and many many more!

MM: Outside of music, what do you like to do? And how does your hometown and home country of Israel, and also the entire world, inspire you in your art?

Navaro: Playing drums! - I take it very seriously, I train 2-3 hours a day. I like to hang out with my friends, dance, go to raves, play sports like basketball. I can say that one of the things that inspires me, here in Israel, is the nature, that changes at such a short distance. Although Israel is a really small country, it has almost all types of nature, just in 2-3 hours drive. Traveling is also a big part of my life experience and my inspiration. When you’re traveling around the world or just here in Israel, you get to see how beautiful our world is, and you get to meet so many amazing people with a different culture and mentality that you can learn from it.

 
57908915_278690189747121_7655705370337214464_n.jpg
 

MM: How has 2020 been for you and what are your artistic plans for the future?

Navaro: At the beginning of 2020, a lot of things came around and clicked for me. I started to integrate into the alternative music community here in Israel and I found some great people who became friends of mine and also a big part of my journey as an artist. I started to perform, which is one of the biggest dreams in my life, and of course, I finished my first EP. When covid-19 came here, it was kind of nice to be home all day and produce, but after a month like that, it really affected me and my productions badly, because it's hard for me to be alone all day for a long time. But eventually, I learned so much from this stage of time. Now, I'm focusing on learning about music production as much as I can so that my music will get bigger and get sort of a Navaro's signature sound. My artistic plans for the future are to sign in some great labels that I'm a big fan of, perform in festivals, not just in my country, and connect my live drumming to my productions/show.

 
DSC_2376.JPG
 
Sanjay G https://mistermime.world
Previous

Zen Baboon
Next

KiloWatts