L’olam Va’ed REACTION ft. Benny Friedman

Uziel [music] reacts, he doesn't detract when he hears a brand new song. Oy oy oy. Uziel reacts and makes an impact when he hears a brand new song. >> Hey guys, today we have a very special episode because it is the one year anniversary of Benny Friedman's most recent full album, Bigger Bench. And in special for today's reaction, I will be sitting with Benny Friedman going over the first song on the album, The Oilam Void. Before we check it out, a reminder to please subscribe and share this video with anyone you know, and please also check out our other channel. There's a lot of things coming up. Thank you for joining and enjoy. I'm reacting to an album that I did not hear yet, the new album of Benny Friedman, Bigger Bench, with the one only Benny Friedman with us. How are you, Benny? >> Hashem, Uziel, I just want to say this is very exciting for me because I also have never heard this album before, so I'm also going to be reacting for the very first time, so it's super exciting for me, too. >> Yeah, we're going to go through a bunch of the songs in the album throughout the the songs. I'll react to it with you with you with me giving me some commentary. I'm really excited and haven't done this, so this is a great experience. So, let's start from the beginning. Question that everyone asks and it's a pretty like obvious question that probably asked you and I've been freezing and many other singers, what took so long? >> It's a very good question. I was going to correct you and say I have released um many other projects. >> Oh, yes. >> three a cappella albums, two holiday-themed albums, one Israel-themed album. Original songs, original studio album took a long time. Why? I don't have a good answer. It takes a long time to find material and then it takes a long time to produce it and you have to be focused and with my situation, you know, you you you you decide, "Okay, we're going to sit down and we're going to work on it and we're going to do it." >> Right. >> And then you get distracted by something and then something else comes up and then something else comes up. There's no reason for it. There's no good excuse, but uh the Hashem had intended for it to take this long. I don't know why. Hopefully the next one won't take won't be so long. >> Perfect. Perfect. I do want to emphasize this and every time I react to music in general my channel, I like to bring this subject up about Donny Gross. Like he really changed a lot of things in Jewish music and especially a lot of interviews that you have done um where you also talk about like the the process and the projects that you've done with Donny and how much how much he really like changed for you personally in your career and for yourself. Um just in short cuz I don't want to go too long. Uh what can you say about Donny Gross and especially in this album that that really has his touch that you feel like this couldn't have been the same album without Donny? Um the first thing that I'll say is that Donny changed the way that I sing. Um he's a he's a he's a master of getting the best vocal out out of a a singer. No singers uh I think come away having performed better than they thought possible. That better than they thought they they did themselves could do it. So that's first of all. Second of all, he has a certain interesting taste in music. I think when you'll hear the album, you'll notice that it's different from a lot of the modern music. We went back a little bit. We went back to the old sound. Um so uh yeah, he certainly has his uh fingerprints all over this album. No doubt about that. >> Yeah, and with that in note, I'm actually pretty excited cuz I feel like there is a lot of uh things without going detail, there's a lot of things that that I do believe that music needs the both the traditional and the and the nostalgia way of the process of music and both the modern day of using its tools and technology. So, I'm actually very excited to go into this album to with that in mind. So, let's get to it. The first song Leil Ze Ved. Uh before we get into it, what you could tell me about that song? >> First of all, this song is composed by Ari Goldwag, who is a legend and who I admire personally. He's uh changed my life in a tremendous ways. He composed Yesh Tikvah. >> Yeah. >> He composed Yevarechecha. >> Shalom Aleichem. >> He composed Shalom Aleichem. He composed um Leis Asher Yishaneh Ugeh Mayna. >> That's great. >> So, he's had a major major impact on my life. And um this is our latest uh collaboration. >> So, was this him sending you the song? Was you Was you him texting him about an idea of a song? Because a lot of composers have like different ways of doing it. So, how did that start? >> Um this was him sending it to me. This was him sending it to me. And um my kids falling in love with the song even before I recorded it. Just from the the um the uh demo that he sent me. Went crazy in my house. So, I said, "Okay, that's enough for me." >> Nice. Yeah, I I I like those stories where the demo is like the one that that that that the It's unlike like sometimes where the demo you have to like improve it into the song that it becomes an album. The demo is what catches you and that's like That's it. Like I like those stories. Those are the type of songs that I like. So, we're going to watch the where I reacted to it from Zaka without giving much thoughts because I think my reaction could give a lot of context of how much I enjoyed the song. Let's get to it to me listening to Leil Ze Ved. >> Zaka B'ke Ayom >> I don't know this song. Benny Friedman But now he's back again. That's That's a That's a new one. I like it. I don't know this song. I'm liking it. >> [singing] [singing] >> Yes, I know that just that second because of the promotions for the album, but I'm liking this song. It's really good. I It's It's pretty good song. >> [singing] >> Okay, I don't Pretty good song. >> [singing] >> What I love about this song is because Ashira was more of like an Israeli thing, Israeli songs in the in the album. So, I'm liking how we're going back kind of to like to the traditional Benny songs that we would get usually. I'm loving it. Pretty good. That was pretty good. Ooh. That's a really high key for Benny. Oh, he's rocking it. Great. >> [cheering] [screaming] >> Nice. Nice. That is That is amazing. That is great. Uh in short, that that's how much I enjoyed this song. I also like it give it context cuz you came up in the middle of a concert after Shulem and Itzik. So, when you watch a whole concert, the first song that you come in as a singer and when you first come in, you're kind of like get like trying to feel the vibe right there and then, but I love the song how it got me straight into it into the vibe. And especially, I bet that's how people felt in the album, especially when it's the first song. So, I think this is perfect being the first song on the album. And I also love the fact that like you after listening to it once, you get everything. It's catchy, you get the words, you get the notes. It's like the perfect first like pumping up song you want in the in the first in in the beginning of the album. So, that for me is like really good. >> Thank you very much. >> Who arranged the either this song or in general the album? >> That song was arranged by Danny Gross. Brass by Danny Flom. >> Oh, I haven't heard him in a long while. >> Oh, he's all over this album. It's unbelievable. >> Great. >> Great great stuff. >> Yeah, and also I I as I mentioned in the video, I like the idea how um I felt like this was like a callback to the first albums. Nothing against the later albums. Every album is amazing. But the idea is that like every album kind of had that themes, right? And and especially with the Cool and the Gang had a a lot more songs where he's really songs, and it was different genres playing with different types of things. And I but I kind of felt in this song that it really took me back to like the first what I really what what I would feel when I was younger when I heard the first albums. >> How old were you when that first album came out? Do you mind sharing? >> Tamu? Tamu 2008, I was >> 2009. >> 2008, 2009, I was uh 5, 6 years old. Yeah, I remember listening to that album when my mother had the first not the first, but the the iPods before they got into the iPod like classic, so before that. And she would play she would stick it in when it used to be that you could get a speaker that could plug into your iPod straight. And I remember like like it always playing Tamu and and and that whole album and then the album after that. I'm forgetting that one, but it's the it's the one where you're in front of 770. >> Niggun 11 is Mikacha. >> Yes, exactly. Niggun 11 is Mikacha. And we grew up with also Yesh Tikva, obviously, that album. And then we also grew up with the Ohel concert. Uh the music that we love. If you remember that concert. Which by the way, that's what what you did with Shlomi Gertner Gertner or Gertner. Uh that mashup is one of the classic mashups, I I think. It's like that was a really good concert for me. Thank you for watching. And if there's any songs you want me to react to or talked about on this channel, please comment below. And join us every Sunday for every reaction. And join us every Tuesday for a live stream. And every Wednesday shop is a new episode of the Pinyos Podcast. See you next time. Thank you for joining. That is it for today. Have a good day.