Erez Safar a.k.a. Diwon (formerly dj handler) is the founder and director of Shemspeed (largest, most diverse Jewish music site), Modular Mood Records (an independent record label), Hip Hop Sulha, and The Sephardic Music Festival. Diwon is a musical mystic, multi-genre producer who travels the globe performing, producing and researching sounds. His styles range from Yemenite music blended with electro hip hop beats to cinematic psychadelia. Throughout Diwon's albums, remixes, singles and mixtapes, one could hear the influence of his family that migrated from Yemen to Ethiopia and finally settled in Israel. It has been rumoured that Diwon reaches a states of synesthesia throughout the writing and recording processes.
As a prolific producer, Diwon releases a wide range of albums a year. This past year brought, "The Beat Guide to Yiddish", the "Rarities & Remixes" series, the "I Heart Mixtape", and "Shir Ha Shirim" (The Song of Songs) an hour long meditation which mixed emotive Moroccan singing with hypnotic hip hop, rock and mizrahi sounds. At the same time he is finishing up his "Dreams in Static" album, a cinematic record with guitarist Dugans, as well as working on a revolutionary hip hop record, "This is Unity," with Y-Love. His live sets include a diverse mix of singers and live musicians, creating a lively blend of world music, hip hop, and jazz. Diwon's music, style, and presence get famous US clubs to resemble the craziest festivals abroad.
Erez Safar has performed with Lou Reed, Anthony Coleman, DJ Spooky, Matisyahu, Idan Raichel, and countless others. London Radio's 104.4 FM called him "one of New York's hottest Jewish musicians." URB MAGAZINE listed him amongst their NEXT 1000. The Village Voice stated that his work "as producer and DJ is among the most adventurous and banging on the new Jewish music scene;" the Jerusalem Post dubbed him, "Jewish music's multimedia mogul;" Forward listed him as one of the Top 50 "most influential Jews of 2007." The Jewish Week gave him a spot in their "36 under 36" list, and Heeb listed him in that magazine's "Heeb Hundred." Erez resides and maintains his many companies in the stereophonic heart of Brooklyn.
MYSPACE
myspace.com/diwon
JPost Cover (click to read)
LIVE PHOTOS
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Selected PRESS:
QUOTES:
"Diwon is something else …in a profound kind of way. The New Yorker gets crafty when it comes to beats by extracting world music—mainly traditional Yemenite music-- and fusing it with electro hip hop; creating a titillating sound that’s juicy and for the ears. - URB Magazine
"one of New York's hottest Jewish musicians;" - London Radio's 104.4 FM
"as producer and DJ is among the most adventurous and banging on the new Jewish music scene;" - The VIllage Voice
"Jewish music's multimedia mogul;" - the Jerusalem Post
"Top 50 most influential Jews" - Forward, 2007
MUSIC:
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