The Israeli Scene
Post-punk from Jerusalem. Synth-pop from Tel Aviv. New wave that played at the Penguin and Shiroko while London had no idea anything was happening here. But it was.
Tel Aviv, 1982
While London was busy with New Romantic and Manchester was reinventing the world with post-punk, Tel Aviv developed a language of its own. Places like the Penguin, which opened in 1982, gave people who didn't fit in anywhere else a place to find each other.
Minimal Compact moved to Brussels and built a career there. Berry Sakharof brought the dark aesthetic into Hebrew. Siam played synth-pop in Tel Aviv when they were supposed to be playing pop.
This scene was not an imitation. It was a translation.
Israeli Underground
Minimal Compact מינימל קומפקט
Tel Aviv → Brussels. Sang in Hebrew, Arabic and English. Post-punk that broke into the European scene.
Berry Sakharof בארי סחרוף
A dark-romantic aesthetic in Hebrew. The Depeche Mode vibe in Tel Aviv.
Rami Fortis רמי פורטיס
Israeli punk. "Stories from the Box": the electronic revolution in Hebrew.
Siam סיאם
The closest thing to British synth-pop made in Israel. The Penguin was home.
Nos'ei HaMigba'ot נושאי המגבעת
Kicking Jerusalem post-punk. The bridge between Joy Division and the Jerusalem street.
Poplux פופלקס
One eternal album, "Before Sleep" (1986). Israeli new wave shaped by the British wave. One year, four hits, forty years until the reunion.
Poliana Frank פוליאנה פרנק / אליוט
Eliot's cult band. The song "Ziva" became an anthem; a pioneer of LGBTQ visibility in Israeli music.
Yossi Elefant יוסי אלפנט
The dark prince of Israeli rock. A distinctive Israeli dark rock.
Déjà Vu דז'ה וו
Israeli new wave that played in English: straight to the international scene.
Lipstick ליפסטיק
Tel Aviv dark pop. Israeli new romantic with a black aesthetic.
Ma'atz מע"צ
Early Israeli punk-electronic. EBM before the term existed.
Ethnix אתניקס
Alternative rock that crossed from the underground to radio. The DNA of The Cure and The Smiths.
Chromosome כרומוזום
Early electronic post-punk. A sound somewhere between Wire and DAF.
The Intensive Care Unit היחידה לטיפול נמרץ
Experimental rock from Tel Aviv, 1982. Doron Eyal (Schultz) and Hadar Goldman. Performances in doctors' coats and a mock operating room. Sold out at the Tel Aviv Museum.
Plastic Venus פלסטיק ונוס
Cold, beautiful synth-pop. Sounded as if it had been born in Hamburg.
DXM
Israeli electronic industrial. Deliberately underground.
Sadleks דורלקס סדלקס
Alternative punk. Raw energy. An Israeli-English name.
Carmela Gross Wagner כרמלה גרוס ואגנר
Israeli alternative rock. Grew up on Echo & The Bunnymen.
The Penguin Timeline
Minimal Compact forms in Tel Aviv
The first Israeli band to break into the European scene. A year before Depeche Mode.
The Penguin opens in Tel Aviv
New wave, post-punk, goth. The place where the Israeli scene found itself.
New Order play the Penguin
A night that became legend, one of the first international shows of the Israeli scene.
The scene's peak
The Penguin, Shiroko and Cinema Dan: three hubs that played Bauhaus, The Cure and Depeche Mode.
Rami Fortis: "Stories from the Box"
The electronic revolution in Hebrew. Proof that you could rage in this language too.
The Penguin closes
The club closed, but the scene continued: in Depeche Mode nights, in parties, and in memory.
Clubs of the Scene
The Penguin
New Wave · Post-Punk · 1982-1994Shiroko
Disco · Pop · Alternative · 1985-1988Cinema Dan
New Wave · Live Shows · 1983-1990Liquid
EBM · Acid House · 1987-1992Tel Aviv on the Map
While Berlin had Einstürzende Neubauten and DAF, London had Bauhaus and Siouxsie, and Manchester had Joy Division and New Order, Tel Aviv had the Penguin.
Not the same thing. Not an imitation. But the same language: people who wanted to hear something different, wore black, and felt they belonged to something only they understood.
| Club | City | Years | Genre | Local artists |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Penguin 🇮🇱 | Tel Aviv | 1982-1990 | New Wave · Post-Punk · Dark | Minimal Compact, Rami Fortis, Siam |
| Batcave 🇬🇧 | London | 1982-1985 | Goth · Post-Punk · Industrial | Specimen, Alien Sex Fiend |
| CBGB 🇺🇸 | New York | 1973-2006 | Punk · New Wave · Alternative | Blondie, Talking Heads, Ramones |
| Haçienda 🇬🇧 | Manchester | 1982-1997 | Post-Punk · Electronic · Rave | New Order, The Smiths |