Israeli electronic artiste Hod Moshonov, better known as ‘Bemet’ on stage, has returned to India this year for a massive eight-city tour curated by NCM Agency.
Drawing inspiration from his October 2017 visit to the subcontinent, Bemet’s current showcase, The Sababa Tour, is dedicated to his Bollywood-infused Middle Eastern track, also by the same name. “I named my tour Sababa as it was my first track in India. Sababa means cool. It is a word in Arabic that we use a lot in Israel because Hebrew, our language, is mixed with Arabic,” shares Bemet, who was first discovered by the Indian audience after he put out a super-funky cover of Nucleya’s ‘Mumbai Dance’ online in 2016.
The India feels
Elaborating on his India connection further, the musician shares, “This is my fourth time in India and it has been incredible as I can feel a lot of love this time from the audience — even random people on the streets — after I created Sababa. The first time I came here, I saw that people knew this track when I walked around in Delhi; I could hear it playing in cars, and when I was in Goa, I could hear it at beach parties and people recognised me.”
The musician strongly feels that the Indian audience is “real”. “If they love a number, they go crazy about it like no audience I have ever seen before. And if they don’t like something, one can tell immediately. It is a little bit like kids. I used to do shows for kids and the thing is you cannot fool kids; either they love it or they just don’t like it. I think I have already done 15 shows in India till now.”
Bemet before music
When asked how he discovered his interest in creating music, Bemet replies, “I realised that I had this talent when I was 10-12 years old, when girls just wanted to hang out with me after they saw me play the piano at parties and when I was with my friends. That was the time I found out that I was gifted.” He laughs and adds, “It’s all about girls, naturally!”
The 28-year-old reveals that before he took up music professionally, he wanted to be like Michael Jordan. “He had a very strong influence on me. After two years of trying to be Michael Jordan, which didn’t work out, I found my calling in music!”
Soon after he started focusing solely on music, Bemet got the chance to travel all around the world as part of musical tours. “I got to see many cultures, many different languages, all kinds of different places and people, and shows by artists who had influenced my music. This is why for every show I do, I have a new inspiration or a new track or a new song,” he explains.
“People say how do you those shows, how do you do these crazy tracks, how can you play so well; So I answer that this is all I do 24-7. I don’t do anything else! I can manage to do all the shows because I don’t have any hobbies. It did not come so easily at first as it’s all I do all day long,” states Bemet.
International alliances
At the shows in India, Bemet will also be performing his brand new track titled Chakadi, featuring Indian/Israeli pop singer Liora Itzhak, who performed for Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2017. In addition, he will be collaborating with famous sitarist Imran Khan at the Ragasthan Festival in Jaisalmer. A surprise drop on his setlist will also include Baba Yaga, highlighting eastern European folklore.
Under the Bemet moniker, Hod has been steadily building momentum in the musical world over the last three years by working with Israeli EDM producer Borgore and performing the opening act for EDM trio Major Lazer.
The artiste says, “I have played in a bunch of places — U.S; I just got back from U.K; I have played all around Europe (France). Of course, we have played a lot in Israel, also in Africa and Senegal. We haven’t done Brazil yet but I really want to perform there,” he signs off.
