Katamine ( he, קטאמין) is a collaborative musical project that joins a changing cast of artists with the

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

i singer and songwriter Assaf Tager (אסף תג'ר). Today, Assaf Tager collaborate with

Uri Frost Uri Frost (born 1962; אורי פרוסט), is a musician, composer, producer and director. Frost grew up in Europe and Brazil before moving to Israel in 1973. He formed the bands Kazbah (in Rio de Janeiro), Hapliz, Carmela Gross Wagner, Rir, an ...

(guitar), Haggai Fershtman (drums) and Zoe Polanski (Vocals, Bass and

Casio is a Japanese multinational electronics manufacturing corporation headquartered in Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan. Its products include calculators, mobile phones, digital cameras, electronic musical instruments, and analogue and digital watches. It ...

synthesizer). After graduating from the London Music Academy, Tager began to take on musical projects that challenged different aspects of his ability. During this time, among other projects, he played guitar for

Elliott Smith Steven Paul Smith (August 6, 1969 – October 21, 2003), known professionally as Elliott Smith, was an American singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. Smith was born in Omaha, Nebraska, raised primarily in Texas, and lived much of hi ...

and

Beth Gibbons Beth Gibbons (born 4 January 1965) is an English singer and songwriter. She is the singer and lyricist for the band Portishead, which has released three albums. She released an album with Rustin Man, '' Out of Season'', in 2002, followed by an ...

, and scored string arrangements for the pop group

Moloko Moloko () were an Irish-English electronic music duo formed in Sheffield, England, consisting of vocalist Róisín Murphy and producer Mark Brydon. Blending elements of electronica and dance music, they are best known for their UK top 10 sing ...

. Soon after, he decided to return to Israel to pursue his own goals. He became a member of the Israeli super-group "Family Butchers", which was soon asked to record by record producer

Bob Weston Bob Weston (born 1965) is an American musician, producer, recording engineer, and record mastering engineer. Critic Jason AnkenyAnkeny, Jason. " Bob Weston: Overview from Allmusic.com declares that "Weston's name and fingerprints are all over th ...

, but was primarily focused on his solo work, which became the idea for Katamine. The first recording released under the name Katamine was released in 2004. It was an eponymous EP consisting of 5 acoustic songs - four originals and a cover of

Sonic Youth Sonic Youth was an American rock band based in New York City, formed in 1981. Founding members Thurston Moore (guitar, vocals), Kim Gordon (bass, vocals, guitar) and Lee Ranaldo (guitar, vocals) remained together for the entire history of the b ...

's ''Pacific Coast Highway''. The record was positively reviewed by

Yedioth Ahronoth ''Yedioth Ahronoth'' ( he, יְדִיעוֹת אַחֲרוֹנוֹת, ; lit. ''Latest News'') is a national daily newspaper published in Tel Aviv, Israel. Founded in 1939 in British Mandatory Palestine, ''Yedioth Ahronoth'' is the largest paid n ...

. The full-length album ''Lag'' followed in 2005. On it Tager collaborated with several musicians, among them the guitarist Uri Frost of Carmela Gross Wagner and Rir and Sharon Kantor of The Girls. The album included 9 original songs and a cover of

Butthole Surfers Butthole Surfers are an American rock band formed in San Antonio, Texas, by singer Gibby Haynes and guitarist Paul Leary in 1981. The band has had numerous personnel changes, but its core lineup of Haynes, Leary, and drummer King Coffey has been ...

' ''Creep in the Cellar''. Israeli media has called it "a beautiful, cruel and gloomy CD; more painful than Elliott Smith, nd aspowerful as

Kurt Cobain Kurt Donald Cobain (February 20, 1967 – April 5, 1994) was an American musician who served as the lead vocalist, guitarist and primary songwriter of the rock band Nirvana. Through his angst-fueled songwriting and anti-establishment persona ...

". Katamine's next album, ''Forest of Bobo'' was produced by

Wharton Tiers Wharton Tiers (born 1953, in Philadelphia) is an American audio engineer, record producer, drummer and percussionist. Biography After receiving a diploma from Villanova University (Radnor Township, Delaware County, Pennsylvania), he moved to ...

and released in 2006. This was a

concept album A concept album is an album whose tracks hold a larger purpose or meaning collectively than they do individually. This is typically achieved through a single central narrative or theme, which can be instrumental, compositional, or lyrical. Som ...

, telling the life story of Bobo the bear. Each song was accompanied by a drawing in the CD booklet, painted by the radical comic artist

Seth Tobocman Seth Tobocman (born 1958) is a radical comic book artist who has been living in Manhattan's Lower East Side since 1978. Tobocman is best known for his creation of the political comic book anthology ''World War 3 Illustrated'', which he started ...

. In 2006 Katamine were also the opening act on Devendra Banhart's concert in Israel.

External links

צלילים ממכרים - A review of ''Lag''
in

Israeli rock music groups {{Israel-band-stub