Asaf Avidan

Asaf Avidan was born in 1980 in Jerusalem

Asaf Avidan was born in Jerusalem in 1980. His grandparents came to Israel from Romania. His father served abroad for the Foreign Ministry, and the family lived in Jamaica for 4 years.

He studied film at a Jerusalem arts high school and served in the IDF. He then studied animation at the Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design, and his final film won an award at the Haifa Film Festival. He worked as an animator in Tel Aviv and also dubbed animated films and series.

In 2006 he returned to Jerusalem and released his first EP. Later that year he formed Asaf Avidan & the Mojos, which released 3 albums independently. Their debut, The Reckoning, came out in 2008 and reached Gold status in Israel.

In 2012 a remix of "Reckoning Song" by the German DJ Wankelmut was certified Gold and Platinum in several countries. That year the band split, and Avidan began a solo career with the album Different Pulses, certified Platinum in France. Later albums include Gold Shadow, The Study on Falling and Anagnorisis.

In a 2015 interview with Le Monde he said he did not really feel Israeli, which drew wide reaction in Israel. He lives in France. He applied for Romanian citizenship in 2023.