or

 

How theAngelcy booked major concerts before forming a band, had a radio hit without having released (or even mixed) a single and has gathered a large, committed fan base before releasing their debut album.

 

This Story Is All Upside Down

 

theAngelcy got together in the summer of 2011. Contrabass (Aner Paker), Viola (Maya Lee Roman) and Clarinet (Uri Marom) players, as well as two drummers (Maayan Zimry and Dov Rosen), joined to complement the classic guitar and voice of Rotem Bar Or. Everybody also sing. 

 

 It happened when Rotem, an uneducated songster and street musician (with past as a homeless in Europe, but that’s another story), has decided to form a band (with the guidance of the band’s dear friend Yaron Gan). They've set In-D-Negev - Israel’s biggest indie festival - as their main goal. 

 

 Yaron had sent the emails to both the festival and Levontin 7 (where the band would play their premiere) while there still wasn’t really a band. Yaron and Dov, a talented drummer who joined Rotem, were still bringing different musicians to rehearsals so that Rotem can choose his crew.

 

 In fact the emails described quite a different composition of instruments to what the band really presented at last on stage. However the songs were already there. 3 songs (out of 15) were recorded by Rotem an Gilad Piker (a sound engineer in his spare time and a very good friend) as a demo. 

 

 These recordings came a long way - they got the band to play great concerts - from the premiere through the festival (the band sold the most CDs in the festival - with the demo and some live recording from the premiere on them) and then through dozens of concerts all around Israel, including Yaarot Menashe Festival - another big Indie festival.

 

Radio Days

 

 In this festival (May 2012), apparently, were present some radio people, who were impressed by the band and its audience (about 1000 people, chanting all the lyrics, bright and early in the morning, as the band didn’t yet get a prime spot in the line up). Next thing you know a song from this demo found its way to the most popular and influential radio playlist in Israel.

 

 Now, this playlist is really infamous in Israel for being very difficult to get into, and there are horror stories being told about how expensive it is to get a PR (or radio plugger) to even stand a chance. 

 

 And there it was - a song that was never released or even properly mixed (Gilad mixed it for fun with his headphones while traveling with his family, just to demonstrate Rotem an idea he had. with no equipment and no idea this would become the final mix), out of a demo that didn’t even state any names of any band members or any other information except for the band and song names.

 

 The song stayed in the playlist for an exceptionally long period, reaching the top 10 in the billboard and still being aired even nowadays, as it made its way to the station’s classic playlist.

 

On The Road

 

 This happened while the band was playing concerts all the time, all around Israel, getting better and bringing bigger and bigger audiences - peaking in their second time @ In-D-Negev for more than 2000 people, again with many knowing the songs by heart somehow. Also the band filled up the huge “Barby” club in Tel Aviv 3 times, which is considered an exceptional achievement for an indie band.

 

 Gradually the band was getting more and more exposure on the media. One other item that has served the band especially well was their live video on “Indie City” - a series of live music videos. Again, unexpectedly, this video is the most viewed in the 3 seasons of this series, and has attracted great attention to the band, both domestic and abroad).

 

 The band had never yet the time and energy to focus on trying to make it outside of Israel, but had still made it to go on a tiny tour to Europe (summer 2013), including a concert in Galapagai festival in Lithuania (was great fun, and the band also got to play a short concert on the train, on the way to the festival) and a concert in Berlin (@ Caffee Burger) that has been sold-out and packed.

 

 In their short, 48 hours, visit to Berlin, the band found itself (besides playing the concert) performing two songs for the great “Berlin Sessions” crew, going on live radio on “Radio Eins”, and getting a second two page coverage on “Melodie&Rhythmus” magazine (the first one being an interview with them in Tel Aviv, earlier on in 2013).

 

Retrospective Debut

 

 At some point, after the radio took another song to play, which was an even earlier recording, quite amateur (recorded in a sound school) and the demand was obvious, it became clear that the band wants to finally record an LP.

 

 Which is where things stand at the moment. The band is working hard on this album, that will bring out officially all these songs they have been performing on stage for more than two years now. It’s amazing to find the audience singing the lyrics of songs that you just cannot find online anywhere and hopefully they will enjoy the album versions.

 

See You Out In The World

 

 The band will have the master ready by mid February and is looking forward to release it in Israel and abroad. The band will go back to touring in Israel in February and is hoping to tour Europe in the summertime, while making plans to move to Europe for a while in the end of the summer, to tour more intensively and try to make more contact with other scenes and audiences.

  

 The band is looking for partners, especially in Europe, to help get the songs out on the radio and the band out on the road.

 

 Thank you.