In The Photo : Tally presents President Shimon Peres with
her album 72 Names
http://www.totallyjewish.com/entertainment/features_and_reviews/?content_id=15496
Boris Johnson tells Tally of his Jewish side.
By George! Radio programme helps Tally to change direction
SIMON YAFFE discovers how The Beatles influenced Israeli singing star Tally Koren to alter her style
THE pivotal movement for Tally Koren came when she was listening to a radio programme about The Beatles.
It was then that she decided to release a different type of album.
72 Names is the Israeli-born singer’s first in two years and represents a change in direction for Tally.
“I have been working for so many years and not releasing material because I did not think it was good enough,” Tally told the Jewish Telegraph.
“Sir George Martin (The Beatles’ legendary producer) was talking about a collection of singles by the band and it made me sit up and notice.
“I have a collection of my own, of my best songs, but I never released them, despite people telling me that they were good.”
Tally, Phil Curren and Israeli Yoad Nevo, who has worked with the likes of the Sugababes, Girls Aloud, The Pet Shop Boys and Goldfrapp, have produced the album.
A graduate of London’s Leo Baeck College with a BA in Jewish studies, all of her lyrics are influences by Judaism and the Bible.
And the title song, 72 Names, translates as El Hayam in Hebrew.
Tally explained: “This album represents who I am in the best way.
“I sent Yoad a demo of El Hayam that I had recorded and he loved it.
“It was in Hebrew, but I realised that it couldn’t be for mainstream radio.
“I translated it into English, but it was almost an impossible task because it is a biblical text.”
As well as singing, she is also
a qualified healer. When she was 11, Tally went
to live in Mexico City with her parents.
“It was quite a culture shock, totally different to Israel,” she recalled.
On her return to Israel, the family settled in Haifa, where Tally was spotted by a modelling scout .
At 15, she ended up modelling on the catwalks of New York, Mexico, Texas and Tel Aviv.
But her modelling stint came to an end when she joined the Israeli army and discovered that she had a good voice.
She was offered a long-term record deal in America, but decided against it.
And, since moving to London in the late 1990s, she has worked with several well-known producers, such as Dave Dix and Thrashing Doves’ Foreman brothers.
On her first album, Timeless Melodies, Tally wrote, produced and edited melodies by the great composers, turning them into songs.
And record label EMI went on to include one of the tracks on their compilation CD Crossover Superstar, which featured artists such as Charlotte Church, Kiri Te Kanawa, Russell Watson, and Sarah Brightman.
She also wrote a song for the 2008 film The Man Who Sold The World.
Of the new album, Tally said: “It is full of sounds, colours and cultures which have influenced me throughout my life.
“It is quite an eclectic mix, so putting it together was like doing a jigsaw.”
The influence of the Thames also shines through on the album, as the river runs past her home in the London suburb of Barnes.
She performs her own take on poet William Blake’s Men of the Thames.
Settled in London, Tally became a British citizen last year.
She is married to hypnotherapist and life coach Simon Edwards, who converted to Judaism to marry Tally.
Tally said: “Being Israeli, I had hardly ever been in a synagogue, but when Simon started his conversion journey at the Westminster Synagogue under Rabbi Thomas Solomon, I understood for the first time the importance of Jewish community.”
Tally, who is of Polish, Syrian and Lebanese descent, returns to Israel once or twice a year.
And she is not surprised at the amount of musical and acting talent emanating from the country.
“Perhaps the political situation there causes people to be more creative,” she pondered.
“I do love real Middle Eastern music though, it reminds me of home.”
Tally has sung at such events as Pizza on the Park and at the Marbella Film Festival.
And she also performed for Israeli president Shimon Peres at a charity event.
On Sunday, November 28 (1pm), Tally will perform at Tate Britain as part of an exhibition on William Blake.
s www.tallykoren.com
SIMON YAFFE discovers how The Beatles influenced Israeli singing star Tally Koren to alter her style
10 November 2010 – Call Upon The Author
NEWSFLASH: Tally Koren Announces Debut Album
72 Names is the exciting new album by hotly-tipped singer-songwriter Tally Koren.
Produced by Phil Curren and Yoad Nevo, who has made platinum selling albums for the likes of the Sugababes, Girls Aloud and The Pet Shop Boys, 72 Names blends Tally’s distinctive, resonant vocals with the many distinct sounds and cultures that have influenced Tally throughout her life.
Tally’s music has featured on the EMI compilation CD Crossover Superstar and has been used on the soundtracks of the critically acclaimed independent films Cargo by Andi Reiss and Louis Melville’s The Man Who Sold the World which screened at the Cannes Film Festival. On both film soundtracks, Tally’s beautiful and unique voice won admirers and her music is now deservedly finding a wider audience all over the globe.
Originally born in Israel and now living in London, Tally has regularly performed at many of London top venues as well as at events such as The Marbella International Film Festival and with 72 Names she makes a powerful statement of intent as a solo artist to really watch out for.
Showcasing percussive beats that reflect her Middle Eastern roots fused with Western electronic influences, 72 Names is a truly unique album which heralds the arrival of a new and refreshingly different talent.
Call Upon The Author.com
Tally Koren lands a role in the new James Bond film
Meet a new James Bond girl…
although you will hear her rather than see her in the new film Quantum of Solace.
Tally Koren, an Israeli singer-songwriter, is the voice of an Israeli agent in the Daniel Craig film, which has its world premiere next Wednesday.
She tells People: “I was a bit worried, as they asked me if I could talk as if I had an Israeli accent. The director said I sounded German, so I tried to make myself sound sexier.”
Later this month – October 29 – Ms Koren, who is in her late 30s, launches her debut album in the UK, Timeless Melodies. It is based on the music of Mozart, Chopin, Satie and Beethoven, among others. Tracks from the album have featured on Classic FM and the album is available at HMV, Virgin, Amazon and iTunes. Born in Israel, Ms Koren moved to London in the late 1990s, where she began to perform and record. One of her songs, Shiru Ladonai – based on Psalm 96 – is being included in the Reform movement’s new music book to accompany its new siddur, Seder Hatefillah, published this summer.
“In a way, this is a bigger achievement than being in James Bond, even though James Bond makes more news,” she says.
She adds: “As a child I always sang, but I did a Wizo singing competition and didn’t get first place. I was so upset that I stopped singing.”
She became a model instead. But 16 years ago, Ms Koren decided to take up singing again. She also has a degree in Jewish Studies from the Leo Baeck College. Home is in Barnes.