Rendezvous (band)

Musical style

Rendezvous' music is a mix of electronica and jazz, and the result of a fusion of the two. It can also fall in the experimental music category. The jazz the band plays has been dubbed in music websites as acid jazz, psychedelic jazz and contemporary jazz. Their psychedelic jazz style was inspired mostly by the songs of Pink Floyd, a band Simon loved since childhood. Rendezvous differs from many other contemporary electronic acts by the fact that their music is actually played and recorded live on analog instruments, rather than produced digitally on computers and digital instruments. This analog approach to music is reflected upon their music, expressed with a warm and enveloping sound, which the band prefers over today's colder, stricter and less round sound.

Musical Influences

Rendezvous' members' musical influences are mostly based on the music they used to listen to at their youth, which they claim to always enjoy going back to listening to once in a while. Amongst the bands that mostly influenced the band, Pink Floyd and Depeche Mode are the two most prominent ones, and their sound is to some extent a merger between that of the two. The list of other acts that influenced the band is very varied and includes (in no particular order): Air, John Williams, King Crimson, Jethro Tull, Royksopp, Led Zeppelin, The Shadows, Jimi Hendrix, Sweet Smoke, Tiesto, Nirvana, Heather Nova, Madonna, Suede, Garbage, Coldplay, Massive Attack, Portishead, Medeski Martin & Wood and Combustible Edison. Izenberg and Simon also state they feel connected to and influenced by the synthpop and electronic pop emerging from the UK in recent years, and to the retro feel that corresponds with the electronic sounds of the eighties.

Formation

Rendezvous’ two members, Itai Simon and Hagai Izenberg, met at the Rimon School of Jazz and Contemporary Music in Israel, where they both took up music. The two met on their first day in Rimon. The name of the band, Rendezvous, was actually inspired by their gathering with other musicians after their fateful meeting in the said school. The band was then formed in 2003.

First releases

On 2004, Rendezvous got together with two friends, also very talented musicians, and produced their first EP. Simon played bass while Izenberg handled Fender Rhodes keyboards. Their friend, Erez Bachar was the drummer, while their other comrade, a somewhat mysterious character and quite a genius musician who they called Andrei, was the saxophonist.

The band recorded the live session, which they described as “almost entirely improvised on the spot,” during one session spanning one full night, on a non-working holiday, an Israeli memorial day. At that time, since all studios were closed, the musicians found an empty one that evening where they recorded their session in complete insulation.

After recording, they mastered the tracks at Eshel Studios in Tel Aviv. The fledgling band then created a website where they uploaded their EP. The website received thousands of visits and music downloads from all over the world. These downloads made them soar to the top of underground band lists. Radio stations in London, the US and Candana also began to play their music on the air, and many music blogs throughout the web and internet magazines featured their music and wrote about it. As a sneak peek into their debut album, they have uploaded videos of their different studio sessions, all filmed by the renowned Israeli filmmaker, Uzi Adam.

Current project

Rendezvous’ first full-length debut album "Another Round Please" is now on its final stages of production. The band began to work on the album after their fans on the net requested more of their music. Now six years in the making, the album is scheduled for release this year. The album has eight original tracks.

The band released a first single from the debut album, the track "C Sharp", on late June 2011, acoompanied by two remixes produced by Carl Cox. The "C Sharp" music video, produced by M-I-E studios, London, was an animated video featuring a faceless robot that runs away from his home. A second animated video, the critically acllaimed "The Murf", animated by Scott Benson, was released later on September 2011 and was featured on many animation blogs such as Motiongrapher and Aniboom, as well as other blogs, news sites etc. The single for "The Murf" is planned to follow very soon, distributed by Rough Trade, along with 3 different remixes by John Digweed, Loverush UK! and Timothy Allan.

Simon and Izenberg are working with David Bascombe, the producer and mix engineer who also produced and mixed for 80's bands Depeche Mode and Tears for Fears. Bascombe also did the same for artists like Kylie Minogue (for her Parlaphone album), Natalie Imbruglia, The Verve, Moby and Korn. Bascombe mixed the album in Metropolis Studios, London. John Davis also mastered the album in the same location.

The band collaborated with Israeli filmmaker Uzi Adam as well to shoot the recording and production sessions for their first album. Adam’s artistic abstract video footage is also being mixed with the band’s music.

Rendezvous’ debut album is planned to be released as an audiovisual package, featuring Adam’s shoots of the band’s production as well as the music tracks themselves. The videos will be released as eight separate episodes but will be matched with the corresponding album tracks.

Discography

Live Studio Session (EP) (2004)
C Sharp (Single) (2011)
The Murf (Single) (To Be Released 2011)
Another Round Please (Album) (To Be Released 2011)

Band members’ profiles

Hagai Izenberg was born on March 20, 1978. He started playing the organ when he was only 4 years old and was studying and composing music throughout his childhood.

Hagai studied in Rimon School of Jazz and Contemporary Music, where he met Itai. While choosing the piano as his major instrument, Hagai kept on looking for his own unique sounds which turned out to be vintage analog synthesizers. He now plays Synthesizers for Rendezvous.

The other half of the band, Itai Simon, was born on December 9, 1979. He became interested in music when he was 10 years old and started playing the electric guitar until he reached age 17. From this point onwards, he played bass guitar, which he claimed was his “true calling.” Now, he plays bass for Rendezvous.

Simon was a member of other Israeli rock bands, namely: The Relics (1998), Utopia (1998–2001), Missing Points (2001–2004), The Butterfly Effect (2004–2006) and SugarPlumBaby (2005 to present). He also produces and arranges music and plays bass guitar for other different artists.

Simon teaches at two music schools in Israel: Ulpan Le Muzika - Giv'at Brenner, and Beit Ha'noar - Ra'anana.