When Yoav (pronounced Yo-Av) was fifteen, he went to one of his first rock concerts: a Crowded House show in his native South Africa. Neil Finn asked if anybody from the audience wanted to come up and sing "In Temptation". The guy who was chosen sucked, and was boo'd off after two lines.

Then Neil said, "Ok, one more." All of Yoav's friends pointed at him, and he was chosen. He sang the entire song in front of 15,000 people to a standing ovation. He knew at that instant that music would be his career.

So perhaps we have Neil Finn to thank for one of the most innovative, compelling artists I have heard in a long time. It's difficult to classify Yoav's sound. "Damien Rice as produced by the Neptunes" says one review. "Justin Timberlake doing an acoustic record with Portishead" says another.

Yoav's love of electronic music and hip-hop forced him to figure out how to evoke those same rhythms and sounds on his acoustic guitar. Using effects pedals, the sound that Yoav can make as a single man on a stage is absolutely jaw-dropping on a live stage.

His music, however, is also equally compelling in a fully-produced setting, as it lends itself well to club treatments. To demonstrate some of the awesomeness that is Yoav, I give you two videos.

One is the fully produced "Club Thing". The other is Yoav alone on stage presenting "Beautiful Lie". I like "Club Thing", but as "Beautiful Lie" builds and opens up, it absolutely flattens me.

Yoav's newly released album is now available on iTunes for $7.99.

Beautiful Lie Video


Club Thing Video