Eli Nissan is back with his brand new release and he’s here to talk lifestyle, indoctrination, and friendship. The Israeli musician has produced a brand new release named Karnaval. This mind blowing material has been released by Guy J’s prestigious label Lost & Found and it also contains remarkable remixes by Guy Mantzur and Roy Rosenfeld.
Nissan has been involved in the music industry most of his life. Even though he experienced the rock’n’roll lifestyle , touring with his band ‘Portrait’, this skilful Israeli multi instrumentalist kept his system of beliefs very grounded and universal. His attitude to life isn’t pretentious, even though it’s as deep as the literature written by the most profound Stoic philosophers.
One would think that a DJ with numerous international gigs and releases on the world’s biggest labels has no life out of the studio, but Nissan has grown not only as an artist, but as a human being, There’s no doubt that music is very important to him, but Eli makes the relationships with his children, his family, and his friends his top priority.
WWD: Your music speaks volumes, so if you don’t mind, let’s skip the talk about your new release on Lost & Found for now, and focus on your worldview for a little while!
Sure! I’m glad to share thoughts with all of the music lovers, fans, followers, and those who are going to fit in those categories in the near future.
WWD: A lifestyle of this epoch is in many cases an era of imposed values. How do you see today’s correlation between mankind and technology?
We live in a challenging time where technology enables world-wide communication at the push of a button. At the same time, it also allows social networks and huge media entities to take over our consciousness and decide what is good for us. That way a lot of technological advancements don’t really benefit us, but instead they are used for completely different purposes. In addition, a lot of fake news and propaganda is infiltrated in all the information we receive, especially in the political field, greatly affecting all of our lifestyles.
WWD: How do we overcome indoctrination and distinguish brainwashing from truth?
I encourage everyone to be more curious and ask more questions! It’s important not to trust every single reportage without cross-referencing the information from several sources. Also, one of the crucial things is to travel more and experience life away from social media!
WWD: Talking about social media, there are all kinds of statements online these days, including the claim that people of the age 50 and over should simply withdraw from the electronic music scene keeping their dignity. How do you feel about that?
I don’t see any sense in that claim. No age group has an embargo on music! What actually is beautiful about electronic music is that the age range of the audience is very wide and ranges from 18 to 60 and even more.
Hernan Cattaneo is the most prominent example of this. You can see a blend of clubbers of all ages going through the same experience at his parties.
Lee Burridge runs the world famous parties ‘All Day I Dream’, and his events are intentionally created for a more mature audience, enjoying their parties by day rather than by night.
The amount of mature DJs such as John Digweed, Sasha, Nick Warren, Carl Cox and many others, who always manage to attract big crowds all around the globe basically says it all! Electronic music is for everyone and for all ages!
WWD: What are the most important factors for success in the music business?
First of all, it’s being true to yourself! Electronic music is a very dynamic world. You have to be open to all the changes and adapt. However, this must be done without losing your own identity. It’s also crucial to be a socially positive person. After all, our purpose depends on doing good for other people.
WWD: How do you manage to balance your music-related activities with other commitments and your private life?
My family and my kids are a top priority. I wasn’t always able to balance the music with my other commitments, but since I have made a decision to leave all my other occupations and focus on electronic music the stars aligned for me and good things started happening. I can’t logically explain this phenomenon, but apparently I made the right decision!
WWD: Well, your new release definitely proves the point! However, in the world of music it isn’t all rainbows and unicorns.
As we all know, we are experiencing one of the most difficult times humanity has ever known. Our music industry is especially going through a crisis like never before.
WWD: Can you identify at least one of the major problems negatively affecting the global music scene besides the current situation?
One of the biggest problems on the scene is the excessive amount of famous fake DJs and artists who shamelessly use ghost composers and ghost producers. They actually lie to the audience every time they announce information regarding their new releases. I have zero appreciation for these people. They very well know who they are!
WWD: Is there any hope of finding a solution to this problem?
I hope the audience will start to understand that they are being lied to and will leave that part of the industry behind.
WWD: On the other hand, there are genuine artists such as Guy Manzur and Roy Rosenfeld. They are the remixers on Karnaval, your latest Lost & Found release. What is your relationship with these heroes of the global scene?
My relationship with Guy and Roy started a long time ago through our mutual love for music. However, it turned into something that’s far more significant than singles and tunes. It grew into a friendship that became much more important than the music itself.
WWD: Considering that your friendship is much more important than the music itself, is it still possible for you to be a fan of their works?
Definitely! Above all I adore both of them as musicians as DJs and I feel lucky to have them in my life.
WWD: You’ve been a drummer, a guitarist, a producer and a DJ. How do you see the development of your career in the next couple of years?
I would like the above things to connect in a way that I can use everything I know and understand into one sole piece or kind of music. The prophecy was given to fools and I have already mentioned that the music industry is dynamic and constantly changing, so I hope to be whole with myself and continue to do what I love.
WWD: This seems like a good place to stop our conversation. Thank you for your time and let’s remind everybody that Karnaval, your brand new Lost & Found release is now available on Beatport!
Certainly! Check out my new release featuring remixes by Guy Manzur and Roy Rosenfeld! I have to admit I’m already touched by the reactions of people who received this music with great love. It means a lot in these difficult times!
Interview by Damir Ludvig