Oren Lavie (born June 13, 1976) is an Israeli
songwriter
A songwriter is a musician who professionally composes musical compositions or writes lyrics for songs, or both. The writer of the music for a song can be called a composer, although this term tends to be used mainly in the classical music gen ...
,
author
An author is the writer of a book, article, play, mostly written work. A broader definition of the word "author" states:
"''An author is "the person who originated or gave existence to anything" and whose authorship determines responsibility f ...
,
theatre and video director. His music video for "Her Morning Elegance" earned a 2009 Grammy Award nomination for "Best Short Form Music Video" and has become a YouTube hit with over 35 million views to date.
Lavie released his debut studio album, ''
The Opposite Side of the Sea'', on March 10, 2009 in the United States. He is the winner of the ASCAP Foundation Award for promising lyricist. His first book for children, ''The Bear Who Wasn't There'', was published in 2014 and has since been translated to numerous languages. Lavie's second studio album, ''Bedroom Crimes'', was released in May 2017.
Life and career
Lavie was born in
Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv-Yafo ( he, תֵּל־אָבִיב-יָפוֹ, translit=Tēl-ʾĀvīv-Yāfō ; ar, تَلّ أَبِيب – يَافَا, translit=Tall ʾAbīb-Yāfā, links=no), often referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the G ...
,
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 ...
, where he spent his youth.
[Internet presentation of BBIsland](_blank)
(agents of the artist) In 1997, his play ''Sticks and Wheels'' and his production of it were awarded the main prizes at the
Acco Festival of Alternative Israeli Theatre. The production played in Tel Aviv during 1998.
[MCC Playwrights Coalition](_blank)
, New York In that year he went to
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
to study theatre directing at the
London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art
The London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA) is a drama school located in Hammersmith, London. It is the oldest specialist drama school in the British Isles and a founding member of the Federation of Drama Schools.
LAMDA's Principal is ...
(LAMDA).
[Review](_blank)
of the première of "Bridges and Harmonies", Ian Shuttleworth
Terence Ian Shuttleworth (born 6 July 1963 in Belfast, UK) is a Northern Irish theatre critic and author. He was joint senior theatre critic for the ''Financial Times'' from May 2007 until March 2019. He was editor and publisher of ''Theatre Recor ...
, website of the author; written for The Financial Times, 11/2000 After his graduation, two of his plays were produced in various London theatres. They already contained several songs written and composed by him.
In 2001, Lavie moved to
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
where he directed several workshops on his plays, and gradually shifted his focus to songwriting. In 2003, he relocated to
Berlin
Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...
and began recording his first album, ''The Opposite Side of the Sea'', which he self-produced. The album was released in Europe in January and February 2007, and in the United States in March 2009.
In 2009, his
stop motion
Stop motion is an animated filmmaking technique in which objects are physically manipulated in small increments between individually photographed frames so that they will appear to exhibit independent motion or change when the series of frames i ...
style music video, "Her Morning Elegance", featuring
Shir Shomron, an Israeli-born actress/model, achieved significant popularity on
YouTube
YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...
,
receiving over 30 million views. Lavie produced and co-directed the video with Merav and Yuval Natan, which was shot in 48 hours without a break.
"Her Morning Elegance" was screened at Cannes Lion, SXSW, LA Film Festival, Vienna Shorts and many other film festivals worldwide.
Oren performed "Her Morning Elegance" on Jimmy Kimmel, singing with a giant puppet.
Oren appears on ''
Chimes of Freedom: Songs of Bob Dylan Honoring 50 Years of Amnesty International'', covering Dylan's "
4th Time Around
"4th Time Around" (also listed as "Fourth Time Around") is a song by American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan, which was released as the 12th track on his seventh studio album '' Blonde on Blonde'' on June 20, 1966. The song was written by Dylan an ...
."
His first book for children, ''The Bear Who Wasn't There'', was first published in 2014 and has since been translated to numerous languages, and published throughout the world.
Discography
;Studio albums
*''
The Opposite Side of the Sea'' (2007)
*''Bedroom Crimes'' (2017)
Singles
*"Her Morning Elegance" (2007)
*"Did You Really Say No?" (2017)
;Other songs
* "A Dance 'Round the Memory Tree" was featured on ''
The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian'' (2008) film soundtrack.
* "4th Time Around" was featured on ''
The Chimes Of Freedom: The Songs of Bob Dylan Honoring 50 Years of Amnesty International'' (2012).
* "Balada Bein Kochavim (The Ballad of Jupiter and Venus)" was featured on ''Layla Shel Kochavim (A Stars' Night)'', an album of Hebrew songs performed (and possibly written or co-written) by Israeli artists, among others (2012).
* "Transparent Wall (חומה שקופה)" was featured on an album of songs in Hebrew by Israeli artists, called ''Yale & Yevo: The Tribute Project To The Songs Of Yoram Taharlev, part 2'' (2022).
Books
''The Bear Who Wasn't There (And The Fabulous Forest)'' - Akashic / 2016
Dramatic works
Directed by Oren Lavie
* 1997 - ''Sticks and Wheels'' (Première: Acco Festival, Israel)
* 1999 - ''Lighting the Day'' (Première: Bridewell Theatre, London Stage Company)
* 2000 - ''Bridges and Harmonies'' (Première: Bridewell Theatre, London Stage Company)
Others
* 2006 - ''The Empty Princess'', German: ''Die Prinzessin mit dem Loch im Bauch'' (Première: 2007-05-25 at Staatstheater Oldenburg)
References
External links
*
* https://www.amazon.com/Bear-Who-Wasnt-There-Fabulous/dp/1617754900
* http://www.akashicbooks.com/catalog-tag/the-bear-who-wasnt-there/
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lavie, Oren
1976 births
Living people
Alumni of the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art
Israeli composers
Israeli male dramatists and playwrights
21st-century Israeli male singers
People from Tel Aviv