REVIEW & INTERVIEW: ADAR ALFANDARI “WONDER”
There is a mysterious, intuitive connection between music and Adar Alfandari. If you listen closely to “Wonder,” you’ll start to hear the fine line between an artist and his music blurs into disappearance as if they have become one. Between nothing, there is everything. “Wonder,” in its tender, colorful spirit, exists naturally yet holds something sacred in our physical world. Immeasurable like trees, flowers, nature, and the universe, it touches your soul in the most significant yet insignificant way. “Wonder” goes beyond the sound we hear.
The story started when the 9-year-old Adar Alfandari first picked up a guitar; a destined path began to unfold. He was falling in love with the feeling and soon became known for his brilliant guitar playing at a young age. At the age of 12, he formed a local rock band, later known as Don Hamabul. By the time Alfandari was 13, he has already been playing in bars and festivals. From local to national, to the season 5 reality TV show “The Voice Israel,” the path of music has only taken him further.
Adar Alfandari started writing when he was 15. Musical ideas flow past him and leave their ink on the paper. Melody comes out of nowhere spontaneously. He then captures it and brings it to life. Alfandari finds his inspiration from everywhere and everything. “Sometimes certain words and metaphors inspire me to write something around them,” he commented, “I really love metaphors and getting lost in a colorful way while keeping a connection to the story or what I try to say and explain.”
His color palettes are like musical sponges that absorb sounds and styles despite cultures and genres. When the Irish singer-songwriter Hozier released the track “Movement” in 2018, Alfandari was blown away by the diversity and movement and the range of its melody, which reflected in the sound of “Wonder.” His fingerstyle guitar and opening tunning are rooted in his early fascination with The Tallest Man On Earth, combined with his love for Dan Auerbach’s solo projects (lead singer/guitarist of The Black Keys) and The Arc. Alfandari is also drawn to the unique, open-minded production of local Israeli musicians including Eyyatar Banai and Riff Cohen, which left a hint in previous single "כלום לא השתנה.”
As Alfandari described, “Wonder” is the “love song” in his forthcoming solo debut project Gold Dust, collecting early and recently written songs with cross-genre influences from folk, indie rock, indie pop, alternative rock with experimental flavors. The album will also include two short instrumental interludes and a few songs in Hebrew.
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