News

10/13/22 Hey everyone! So, baruch Hashem, things are starting to fall in place. Let me try to briefly share some updates and hopefully answer some questions. I've finally released the single "Lechu Neranena Nigun" that will be on the full album entitled "Kol Shav'i" (The Voice of My Outcry). This is my first release since releasing "Nes Gadol" several years back, and some things have changed related to music distribution since then. There's a lot that goes into getting established for releasing music, especially getting it organized and appearing in the right places the right ways. Many have noticed just searching for it has been or can be challenging and that is mainly due to getting setup with my artist profile on all the different online stores and streaming platforms, and this all takes time but it is currently being worked on. For that reason among others, I'm hoping to have this website be a hub for easy access to links for all my music and content on the various platforms so that everyone can easly find and share. As far as the rest of the album, I can confidently say that it is actively being finished up. My goal was to try and have the complete album ready to be released in time for the 2022 High Holiday season, but being that I am currently working on everything myself (engineering, recording, producing, editing, arranging, mixing, and even likely mastering), finding the time to put in the tremendous amount of work that goes into all this continues to be a challenge within my already busy schedule. Most musicians, songwriters, and or artists don't do all or even most of this themselves and there is usually a specific person dedicated to each of the above mentioned tasks. So why am I doing all or most of this myself? Excellent question! There are many reasons I could go on and on about, but that would take another long paragraph to explain. I have had help from some good friends along this long journey, but suffice to say that because of personal and life circumstances, it's really ony been practical for me to have learned to work on everything involved myself because of small and random windows of time I've had and still only have to work on my music. So much of the time that has gone by has been spent on learning the arts of recording, producing, and mixing as well as building my own studio. However, the good news about all that is that it hasn't been time wasted but rather invested up front. This means, practically speaking, that henceforth new music will be coming out much much faster and consitently. It means that the next future releases, b'ezrat Hashem, WILL NOT take 5 years to come out... and believe me, there is MUCH more music to come after the the album is done, and I'm so excited and pumped to finally get to share it with everyone! This process has also allowed me to reflect on what all it is a hope to accomplish. My life, from a young age, has in some form or another involved music. I began learning guitar at age 13. by age 16 I began playing in "garage" bands with friends. I got a job as a luthiery apprentice. At age 18 I started learning to sing and writing and performing my own music. I started teaching guitar lessons and getting hired for music gigs. Around 2003 I started putting together my first home studio setup and started some recording projects for my own music as well as artist friends and bands. Along the way, played guitar, bass, drums, and sang in different bands. In 2007 I started touring with bands professionally. That lead to networking with all kinds of professional musicians and doing studio work and producing. In 2013, Hashem Yitbarach began to impress upon me that my musical gifts and talents came from Him alone and belong to Him. Once this became clear to me, the Tehilim (Psalms) became so much more meaningful and powerful to me and I began to realize and understand that even now, and especially in the olam haba (world to come), this is essentially the only form of music that really matters. To me, the gift of music is the most powerful and universal expression of the human experience as children of the Almighty. It is a language that enables us to connect with our fellow man and ultimately with our Creator in the deepest and most powerful form. With Hashem's help, as an artist and musician, this is the purest and truest form of music and is ultimately the only music my soul seeks to express. And so, my hope and my prayer is that Hashem should continue to use me and my music to inspire the praises of His Name alone, Yishtabach Shemo. I don't have the words to express my gratitue and appreciation to and for all who have encouraged and inspired me to continue. This project for me and so many others seems long overdue and rightly so, but I've learned and grown in so many ways since I started... most importantly, all in His perfect timing. If you've read all of this, I much appreciate your love and support and may you be blessed by this music Hashem has given me to share. Toda raba! -Hillel