Is Lola Marsh an allegory of a real person as it’s none of your names?

We didn’t have a name for our duo for a really long time. When we wanted to advertise our first show we realized that we have to write something on the banner, right? We brainstormed for a few days and came up with a bunch of names, including “The Lost Penguin”, “One Night Zebra”, “The Dreamers”… I guess „Lola Marsh“ just sounds better.

How did you get into music?

Gil: I grew in a musical house and since I remember myself, music played a big role for me. My father played the guitar and sang a bit. He was the one who showed me how to play the guitar. In addition, I studied piano from the age of 6, and guitar since the age of 11.

Yaeli: I remember myself singing and dancing from a very young age. I always loved the stage and the feeling you have when you tell a story/sing a song/perform in front of an audience. I’ve learned to play the guitar at the age of 13 with a teacher and studied music in high school. My guitar teacher was the first musician in my life that told me to go for the singing.

To be honest, I don’t know many artists from Israel. Did you ever think you’d be successful across the borders?

It’s important for us to focus on our music and to keep on writing, we can’t control of what will happen with our songs after we write them, and how far they’ll go, we just write whatever that is on our minds and hearts, and hope that someone will connect. We don’t believe in “big steps”. You take one step at a time, slowly and patiently, and try to enjoy the ride.

I know comparisons aren’t that cool, but your sound reminds me a lot of the great Lana Del Rey. Is she an inspiration for you or is it just a coincidence?

Yaeli: Yeah, I often hear that our voice is similar. She’s a brilliant artist and I’m flattered! I do feel that our music and songs are really different.

When you create a song, what comes first – lyrics or melody?

Our writing process changes all the time. Sometimes the lyrics come first, and sometimes the melody. We like to change the instruments that we write with, because each instrument gives us different vibe. It can be a piano, synth, guitar, ukulele, drum loops and many others. Sometimes we write alone, sometimes we work together and challenge each other.

Is there already an album in progress and when may we expect it?

Last year we’ve released our first EP. Our next step will be to release our full album. We are almost there, hoping that it’ll be ready in the beginning of next year.

What is your suggested emotional and mental mood or time to listen to your music?

Mmh nice question! We are nostalgic-dramatic-romantic people, so I guess that one of these moods will work.

What does music mean to you?

Damn that’s a hard question! Everything. It’s kinda hard to explain how much we love this thing called music. It can change everything. From being really sad and hopeless, with the right song, you can turn to a happy and cheerful soul! Oh and occupation (laughs)

Which German words do you know?

(laughs) Our memory is so bad. So unfortunately only the basic stuff,

Gehen wir!

Es freut mich.

Gute Nacht (smiles)

What about the music culture in Israel? Is there a similar festival like the Reeperbahnfestival with its huge amount of small clubs?

The music scene in Israel and especially in Tel Aviv is very wide, colorful and diversified. What’s interesting about this scene is that it is influenced not only by American, British and western music, but also from eastern cultures and mentality. You can find here any genre, Folk, Pop, Electro, Indie et cetera. You have lots of festivals around the country but we don’t think we have a festival like Reeperbahn, maybe smaller.

What should / shouldn’t you do at a festival?

It depends on the festival. But you totally have to come to a festival open minded and relaxed. We always like to walk around festivals, to feel the vibes and hear new music. You shouldn’t lose your shoes in festivals!

Yaeli: It happened to me at the primavera festival, couple of years ago.. (laughs) I performed bare foot..

We’re huge fans of mixtapes and playlists. Could you tell us your favourite songs for…

 …love song?

Elvis – “Can’t Help Falling In Love With You”

…nightly car drive?

Arctic Monkeys – “I Wanna Be Yours”

…beach music?

Jungle

…heartache?

Sufjan Stevens – “Should Have Known Better”

First record ever bought?

Alanis Morissette

Inspiration / idols?

Yaeli’s grandma

Album of the year?

Roosevelt – “Roosevelt”

Which song is on continuous loop in your current playlist?

„Elle Était Si Jolie“ by Alain Barrière

If you had to choose: small gigs or big festivals?

Can’t do. Each gig has its own magic.

Is there a music genre that shouldn’t exist in your opinion?

Not really. Everything goes!

Interview conducted by Maria

  https://soundcloud.com/anovamusic