The recording machine who is Israeli guitarist/songwriter AVI ROSENFIELD has released a new album in his ‘Very Heepy Very Purple’ series, making this one ‘XV’, featuring 10 original tracks than are in the vein of that classic heavy early 70s sound. This one features a number of guests, most notably Canadian singer Nick Walsh (Slik Toxik, Moxy, Famous Underground), American singer Harry Conklin (Jag Panzer, The Three Tremors), American guitarist Brian Young (David Lee Roth, Jeff Scott Soto), singer Bryan Ketelaars (August Life), and Argentiian singer Pablo Sanchez. A series of albums worth checking out. Highlights on ‘XV’ include “Metal Tears”, a Rainbow inspired rocker (reminiscent of “Stargazer”), one of a few tracks featuring Nick Foley on Hammond organ and “Lady Luck” features Nick Walsh on vocals, with a Gillan era Purple vibe and Heep-ish backing vocals, as well as a cool Hammond organ intro and performance by Niall Temple (of UK band Lost In Thought). Later on “Wheels Are Turning” lightens things up a bit here, and features Italian guitarist Claudio Acampora, while Atomic Punks’ guitarist Brian Yooung (and ex David Lee Roth) lays down a killer solo on “It’s Alright”. Check it out!
The latest album from Avi Rosenfeld is out and is very much in the mold of classic Rainbow, featuring a pair of singers – Josa Tamas (from Hungarian bands Divided and Archaic), as well as Deibys Artigas from Spain. There are a number of players from around the globe on this, but it’s Canadian keyboard player David Stone (ex Rainbow, Max Webster) who is the guest star here, and leaves his mark playing Hammond organ & synths on the 10 minute epic “I Believe In The Sunrise”, with Rosenfeld delivering a fairly Blackmore-Rainbow era guitar feel throughout this one. Best cuts include “Down To The Waterline”, “Rock Down The Stage” (featuring Michael T Ross on keys, ex of Angel, currently of Aldo Nova’s band), and the last 2 here – the largely instrumental “Hey Uchnem”, and the excellent classic Rainbow/Purple type rocker “Out Of The Shadows”, dig the vocal, the backing vox, the Hammond organ from Michael Berry throughout this, and the guitar solo courtesy of Wellington Alves.
Enjoyed this album, and I’m sure anyone into classic rock that features Hammond organ will dig this. Cool album cover too – was someone drawing David Stone on this(?) *Check out the press info below, as well as links, and video!
“In the style of Dio, Rainbow, Iron Maiden, Jethro Tull, Judas Priest, Uriah Heep, Deep Purple …. “Burn The Castle” is tribute to the best Hard Rock and Metal bands of the 70’s and 80’s, Featuring the powerful voices of Josa Tamas and Deibys Artigas. “
“Rainbow’s David Stone is playing Keyboards on one of the songs, another time this dream come true. He wrote “Gates of Babylon” with Ritchie Blackmore, a great honor to have this guy on board. This albums features the mighty vocals of Josa Tamas and Deibys Artigas, super vocalists with mighty voices that cut through the mix straight into the heart. Together with super musicians from all over the world we recorded this cool album. A tribute to the times when music was real. We gotta keep the torch or Rock alive , Long Live Rock’n’Roll!”
From Israel, musician Avi Rosenfeld has released an outstanding number of albums – somewhere around 60! Battle Of Rock is his third album this year! His latest is a heavy rock album featuring the powerful vocals of Brazilian singer Andre Tulipano of Steel Warrior. (See my review elsewhere). In this interview below Avi Rosenfeld tells us about his influences, his numerous albums, his latest albums, album covers, and more. Check it out, and definitely check out Battle Of Rock. (*Ordering info and various links below.)
First, can you give me a bit of background on your musical start – influences, any early bands you were in, first recordings you made…?
I was passionate about music from an early age. Those were the late 80’s, early ’90’s … I remember watching Pink Floyd’s The Wall and the music and imagery captured my attention, Guns And Roses were rocking on MTV and we as kids tried to imitate them. Dad was listening to Deep Purple, Uriah Heep … and I admit that at an early age we used to say what is this noise? but the right moment had come and all the sounds found their right spot in my ears , and it was like magic. The discovery of a new continent. Since then I was hooked. First recordings I ever made were at the age of 17, with a regular computer sound card with an endless latency which I had to shift from side to side. And first bands came later on, at university times, there are great memories from that time.
You have released 14 albums in the Very Heepy, Very Purple series. Can you tell me how that series of recordings started and what keeps it going?
The love for Deep Purple, Uriah Heep and the passion to create music in that style, I was just curious to see if I’ll be able to pull it off. It was a challenge, and as a musician we gotta have those challenges to keep our music world interesting. There wasn’t a plan to record many of them, just one. But with the musical success of the album came a bigger appetite to do more of it. And along the way I met many super musicians who share the love for this music and can actually play and sing it, which isn’t easy at all. So step by step we recorded all of them, and I guess there are more on the way. The next one is always in the making.
You’ve recorded a huge number of albums. As a songwriter/ guitarist/ producer — how do you manage to keep up this speed of turning out records — with reference to your studio set up, any other day job, connections to other musicians who join you, and where ideas come from to create so much!?
Time is precious and we always get too little of it. But for musicians, artists and any other man who have things and interests that move his soul and he knows that he’s gotta do them, whether he’s gotta write, paint, dance, run or whatever, then he will find the right time for it. I used to create music at night. but gotta keep it quiet since the kids are sleeping in the next room. I usually create the song structures with guitar, and melodies with lyrics, then send them to the other musicians. We record the albums as a collaboration project, each recording at his own studio, then I mix it all together. I find this process kinda fun and that keeps the interest going. The ideas for the songs come from so many possible musical things , for example, melodies or a cool rhythmical groove that I sing or play on guitar, or a riff, or even a nice lyric phrase that sounds interesting. I record those ideas so they won’t be forgotten. Then when I plan to write some lyrics I come back to those recorded ideas and choose one.
You’re largely inspired by the classic ’70s hard rock era, but you’ve done a few very different albums. Can you give me a bit of info or rundown of albums you’ve done?
So there are the Hard Rock albums of “Very Heepy Very Purple” and also few more like “Battle of Rock”, “Very Classic Very Metal”, “Into the Wild”, “After the Battle”, those are the ones where I pay tribute to the bands that created this genre. And my other albums are more Classic Rock oriented, some are heavier, some acoustic, some more personal with my vocals and and many later ones with a real vocalist. I love the albums that I record with amazing powerful vocalists, like Marco Buono, Lain Barbier, Ethel Aldrete and of course the heavier albums that feature super voices. They all feel the music in their hearts and it really shows in the songs.
Your latest release is Battle Of Rock with Brazilian singer Andre Tulipano. What is the concept behind this album, and how did you come to collaborate with Andre T?
This album is again a tribute to Hard Rock and Classic Heavy Metal and the bands that invented and shaped it. Deep Purple, Rainbow, Dio, Iron Maiden and others… Those bands were like the gladiators of rock. And thus “Battle Of Rock”. So I had the songs, but you need someone who can actually sing this style. Especially in this style where you need to sing so high and powerful at the same time. I remember Bruce Dickinson said that after he is singing like that he used to feel like his eyes are gonna pop out and head is going to explode. I wish I could sing like that, but each one should know their limits. I heard Andre on YouTube, singing an Iron Maiden cover I think, and I was blown away with his voice. And it was perfect for the songs I had. A really talented vocalist, and now also a great friend. I love the result of this album.
How long did this album take to put together – from writing to finished recordings? I assume you have a set method/process!?
To tell the truth , I don’t set deadlines for album completions. Good things take time to complete. And this is also part of the fun in this journey. I guess it took about a year to complete everything, but the song’s ideas were already there for a long time. Remember there are lots of musicians involved here and each has his own schedule.
Can you tell a bit about who else plays on this album? Do you have a number of players that you use regularly on various records?
There are many great musicians here, the list is too long to mention all; it’s all detailed on the Bandcamp album page, but I gotta mention Timo Tolkki (ex STRATOVARIUS), who’s plying the guitar solo on “Burn the Light”. He’s a real musical inspiration, right since the day I listened to the album “Episode”, a metal masterpiece! Miguel Angel Seiz play drums on many songs here, and he’s amazing. Giovani Maucieri and Michele Milano play drums on one song each and they are smoking too. The sound of drums is super important for the song as it gives the overall sound of a song. And those drummers got the perfect sound, and of course the best of talent. I love sharing guitar duties with other guitarists and especially when they play a million miles better than me, and Claudio Acampora is one hell of a guitar hero. He plays on three songs on the album. On Bass, among others there are Ernani Junior, Cedric Camus and Milan Pecanac, they are masters of the bass. Victor Hugo Santafe Ossa is a real musical mastermind, check out his keyboard parts on “Send Down the Angels”. And if you love Purple then you gotta love the Hammond organ like I do, Nick Foley is the perfect Hammond Wizard, he knows all the Jon Lord tricks.
“Raven” is an outstanding track on the new album, it definitely has a New Wave of British HM feel to it. What inspired this song musically and lyrically?
“Raven” is all about ’80’s Classic Heavy Metal… It has some influences from Dio, Savatage, Judas Priest in it… .fantasy style lyrics, Dio inspired. Andre is singing like the best of the best, he’s 110% into the character and song… And with that mind blowing guitar by Claudio Acampora is really creates that feeling of “Yeah, this is what I’m talking about”.
There are a few other very good tracks on Battle Of Rock, particularly “Send Down The Angels”, which features a great Hammond solo. Can you provide a bit of detail on this song? Any songs that you’re particularly happy with on this album?
Yeah, “Send Down The Angels” another great fast rocker with a cool groove. War style lyrics with bombs falling down and a band of brothers fighting together. I love the keyboard ideas by Victor Hugo Santafe Ossa. There are a few seconds in the middle of the instrumental section that kinda reminds me of “Phantom of the Opera”. I love all the songs on this album; I find them to be quite good. Each song has it’s own characteristics and influences. You can clearly hear obvious influences here like Rainbow and Iron Maiden, of course, but also the ones like Santana, AC\DC, Rata Blanca… I will leave it up to you to guess which songs relate to each of those influences.
Do you have any plans to perform any of this album live? …Do you perform live much?
Unfortunately, there’s no time for live concerts. A live band is a dedication and you gotta choose wisely what you gonna do in the time that’s dedicated to music, and we already agreed that we’ve got too little of that. So this project is mainly aimed for studio recordings. But who knows what the future will bring.
Your album covers are always very eye-catching. With reference to your albums in general tell us a bit about the whole task of coming up with your final album art? How important is the album art to you when finalizing an album to release?
In times when people actually devoted time to listen to music they also had a visual aspect of an album in the shape of a vinyl LP, CD or even a cassette. They could hold it, feel it and look at it’s cover art. Cover art is a very important part of the album concept. I remember as kids we used to go to the music store and go over all the CDs available and choose one, the cover art would catch your eye. I once bought an album based only on its cover art, without knowing who the musician was, that album was Yngwie Malmsteen’s ‘Trilogy’. What a cool cover, showing him fighting that dragon with his Stratocaster. The Funny thing was that I thought “Trilogy” might be a collection like “Anthology”… and that it would be a good idea to start listening to this cool dragons fighting guitarist with a collection. Man, this was better than his collection. And I have been a fan since then. Most of my cover arts are by artists and I must mention my favorite one “Aquasixio – Cyril Rolando” who is a real genius of art. I also used photos by Haim Rosenfeld as cover arts for a few albums, he’s got a sharp artistic eye, and all of my earlier albums cover arts were paintings by Maya Rosenfeld. And My latest two releases “Battle of Rock” and “Seasons Blues” feature an AI cover art!
What other albums/projects do you have on the Go at present?
There are more of them in the makings. Some Hard & Heavy and a few more Classic Rock oriented. With vocalists and musicians from all over the world that I’m so proud to work with. Talking in the best language of the world – music. Once someone told me I’m gonna break the Zappa record. But it’s really not about the number of albums, it’s all about the music that we, musicians, is burning inside us and we gotta get it done.
Any long term goals as far as albums or styles you’d like to venture into creating or people you’d like to collaborate with?
Ian Gillan, Ritchie Blackmore, David Coverdale, Glenn Hughes, Graham Bonnet, Bruce Dickinson and the list goes on and on… It’s nice to dream. I guess I will continue to write music that will be enjoyable for me to listen to. And continue to have fun on the journey creating it. A Wise man once said, “Life’s a journey, not a destination”. and he said that way long before Aerosmith.
Do you have a big record collection yourself? (Listen to a lot of music?) and Can you give me a ‘Top 10’ of Avi’s favorite albums (from your youth)?
I Had a CD and Vinyl collection, which is at my parents house. And those were other times, when we had the actual time to sit and listen to an album and just do that. Today the main time for listening to music is in the car while driving. And BTW this is also the big test for the mixing of an album sound, it must sound good in the car. So the list might change but I think today’s Top 10 will be , not in this particular order and with the limitation of one album per band:
1. Deep Purple – Machine Head 2. Uriah Heep – Look At Yourself 3. Rainbow – Ritchie Blackmore’s Rainbow 4. Dio – Last In Line 5. Iron Maiden – Powerslave 6. Beatles – Abbey Road 7. Queen – A Night At The Opera 8. Whitesnake – Live… in the Heart of the City 9. Black Sabbath – Heaven And Hell 10.Yngwie Malmsteen – Trilogy, with the best cover art!
For his latest project, Israeli guitarist/songwriter/producer Avi Rosenfeld teams up with singer Andre Tulipano from Brazilian band STEEL WARRIOR. Battle Of Rock is a good rock album, with a number of stand out cuts, heavy on guitar, and fine vocals – with Tulipano being from that Rainbow/Purple influenced school (ala Dio, Doogie White, and a bit closer to Ronnie Romero, IMO).
“Raven” leads of this 10 track album. It has a soft yet atmospheric intro before the band kicks in along with a big scream. This is the best track here, has a NWOBHM feel, and Andre Tulipano’s strong vocals suit this perfectly, making a pretty powerful sound. Other standouts include the rocker “Send Down The Angels”, with a bit of an ’80s Deep Purple feel, and cool Hammond solo courtesy of Colombian player Victor Hugo Santafe Ossa, as well as the faster paced “It’s Hot”, featuring British Hammond player Nick Foley. “Burn The Light” is highlighted by Finnish guitarist Timo Tolkki (ex Stratovarious). There’s a lot of players here, pretty amazing how Rosenfeld pulls together so many different musicians from various parts of the world. Battle Of Rock is well worth checking out, and can be purchased digitally or in a very limited vinyl edition Here.
Very Heepy Very Purple XIIIis the latest in Avi Rosenfeld’s series of original hard rock influenced by …..Uriah Heep and Deep Purple! Rosenfeld, born in 1980, is from Netany, Israel and has 63 albums to his credit (tho he says it may be 64 by the time I publish this article!). The 2 bands that Avi sites as his favorites are obviously noticeable throughout this album – there’s harmonies, Hammond organ, various keyboards, and plenty of hooks and solos sounding like Blackmore was his major guitar influence. But there’s more than just a Heep/Purple combo thing going on here -lead off track “Icarus Dream” starts off with a symphonic rock keys and piano before the riff [band] kick in, which sounds fairly Iron Maiden, but the song quickly progresses with harmonies, lead vocals, some Hammond organ in the mix, … a good lead off track. There’s bits of blues, symphonic rock, even a bit of an Indian inspired intro on the non-lyric track “Nigun”. Fave cuts include “Silver Shines” [gotta love when the Blackmore-type solo kicks in and it all speeds up], the fast paced “Knights Of The Castle” [Rainbow?], and “Marching To Nowhere”.
Avi Rosenfeld writes all the music & lyrics here, and works with a number of players and different singers on this album, presumably through online connections. He also plays some great guitar throughout. Cool album artwork, as it seems to be with all of Avi’s releases. Very Heep Very Purple – sounds like an interesting series I’ll need to check out further. Avi notes of the album – “Heavy Metal is the cure for these crazy times that we live in. This is another chapter in the Very Heepy Very Purple saga with influences from times where music at its best and played from the heart. From times where people actually had patience to listen and waited for the cool guitar solo, or even to the end of the song. From times where you could hold up the cover art and imagine the sounds and feelings. Times where every power chord made you move, and every note had a meaning..”
Outsider Rock 