“Your eyes are red… And colors of the rainbow fill your head.” These are the words that accompany Israeli born musician Dorine Levy’s latest auditory/ocular accomplishment, “Salvation”. She wrote the song—the above lyrics inspired by Radiohead’s In Rainbows—some two years ago on/in honor of Israel’s Memorial Day. “It’s a day of remembrance of soldiers who lost their lives during their military service,” she says. The song’s universal message takes on a multifaceted dimension depicted in the minimalist black and white music video that accompanies it. Overlapping images of different “cultural traditions and rituals we embrace, that we believe in or that ‘may’ give us salvation” flash across Levy’s face as she stands centered in the frame. Though the word means an infinite number of things to an infinite number of people, this artist found her form of salvation in music.
Levy spent the majority of her formative years, age 6 to 14, growing up in French Canada. When her parents made the abrupt decision to return to Israel, not only did she find herself separated from her friends and way of life, she also had to leave behind an older brother with whom she shared a close relationship. “He introduced me at a very young age to all sorts of music, like Pink Floyd, Depeche Mode, Jimi Hendrix, Duran Duran, Bob Marley, Telephone and many more,” recalls Levy.
Starting anew in an unfamiliar and foreign place, Levy looked to music to channel the rebellious and embittered emotions she’d adopted toward her parents. The trilingual singer began playing guitar at the age of 16 and admits now that she probably played out of tune for the first two years because she simply wasn’t aware guitars required such upkeep.
While still in her teens, Levy obligatorily joined the Israel Defense Force. Once having completed her duties, she says, “The only thing I really felt was that I had the urge to create things from scratch.” She dabbled in fashion and forms of visually expressive art; she cites Picasso as one of her biggest influences—just behind Radiohead. In the end, it was an impromptu recording session with a friend, Roy Sela that eventually provided her with the proper tools to finely tune that proverbial guitar of hers — and also her actual guitar. She got the hang of that too, and soon let the melodies soar. The first song she released with Sela’s help was entitled “La Morte” or “Death”.
Levy released an eponymous three-track disc in 2008. This time she opted for more uplifting song titles; “Sun”, “Falling Star” and “Fly With Me”. The straight-up pop/rock foray can be purchased on CD-Baby, an independent music site that describes Levy’s sound as comparable to Alanis Morissette, Tori Amos and Sheryl Crow; her album, “like a licked lollipop”. Not sure if they’re insinuating a Lil Wayne connection here or just trying to cleverly convey the message that Levy’s a sugary-sweet pop candy morsel, but either way, the girl’s got big plans for the future.
Currently, the singer is in the process of producing a full length LP. She hopes to release it in the near future coupled with a potential North American promotional tour. In speaking of the future, her eyes brighten, “Oh, and I’ve been learning classical ballet for the last 8 months,” she says. “So hopefully, crossed fingers I will make my first pirouette without falling.” Dorine Levy: a little bit black swan, a little bit white swan.