Israeli Tech Dancing to a New Beat
Israel’s vibrant music scene epitomizes the country’s creativity, passion and diversity through sounds spanning a wide range of categories, from Mediterranean to religious beats to Tel Aviv’s underground trance clubs. Lately, Israel’s hi-tech ecosystem is also getting in harmony with its music scene by combining the creativity of Israeli musicians with the innovative spirit of the Startup Nation – and the worlds of music and hi-tech are proving to be a prolific duet.
Take for example CellF, the world’s first neural synthesizer. Invented by Guy Benary, CellF produces music independently by mimicking neural networks in the human brain. Benary says his invention sprung from his “interest in problematizing new bio-technologies and contextualizing them within an artistic framework.” Merging music and algorithms, Tonara has created an app directed at facilitating students and music teachers through a virtual framework. Changing the way in which music is taught, Tonara’s app gives realtime feedback to students, maximizing practice time by turning practice into play. SoundGym is an app that aims to deliver superior sound quality to musicians, while MUGO is connecting musicians with their audiences to heighten the live music experience through its app-based platform. They call it the “ultimate social music app.” And Israeli entrepreneur Matan Berkowitz has created DisCoTech, an event dedicated to the creation of music technology for people with special needs. During a 48-hour hackathon, Berkowitz recruited tech masters to develop working prototypes for a number of people with disabilities.
The mix of music and tech has also permeated Israeli academia – a cornerstone of the success of the Startup Nation – with courses available at institutions such as Bar Ilan University, which offers courses such as Music Technology with traditional music lessons in acoustics and sound, combined with the technology-based skillsets needed to operate a professional or home studio. Tel Aviv-based BPM College teaches music through its online platform to over 1000 students each year.
For those seeking to make connections and share innovative ideas, regular Meetups at Tel Aviv Music Technology offer music and technology enthusiasts the opportunity to get together and discuss some of the interesting projects happening in the space. Given the vibrant nature of Israel’s hi-tech and music scenes, it’s no wonder that the two fields are harmonizing on all fronts.
