Lola Marsh

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Lola Marsh:The Album “Someday Tomorrow Maybe” came out on January 24th via Verve (Universal) / Barclay / Anova.

Interview Conducted on May 22, 2020

Lola Marsh, aka vocalist Yael Shoshana Cohen and multi-instrumentalist Gil Landau, creates music that combines clever lyrics with deep warm harmonies.

At the start of 2016, the young duo self-released “You’re Mine,” an impressive debut EP that cemented Lola Marsh as collaborators of magnetic, thoughtful indie-pop. Their distinctive sound resulted in a quick rise, first online and then in person, with performances bringing the 5-piece band to Europe and North America.

Dan Locke: What were your musical up brings?

Gil: as a child I grew up on Pink Floyd, the moody blues, Elvis, Arik Einstein (a legendary Israeli singer), and more.
Yael: I grew up on Edith Piaf, Elvis, Nina Simon, Julie Andrews, musicals, soundtracks, Disney, and more.

How did you discover each other?

Yael: It was on Gil’s birthday party, we played a few songs together and felt a strong connection. Gil then asked me if I want to do something together, like a band, and I said yes. it took us time to meet each other and it was a bit awkward in the beginning.

How was your first performance together?

Gil: It was in a little bar in Tel Aviv, 40 people came, half of them were family and friends of ours. we didn’t have enough songs, only 5 or six, so we played a few covers. It was one of our best memories and we were so excited to finally be on stage together as a duo.

You are from Tel Aviv. Tell me about the live music scene there?

Yael: The music scene in Tel Aviv is very diverse and colorful, you basically have everything. Rock, pop, hip hop, indie, Electronic, and more. You also have here a cool mix between the Middle East vibes and the western vibes.

Yael- You spend a great deal of time moving at an early age. From Singapore to Kenya and finally settling down in Israel. Can you tell me about your world traveling?

Yael; from a really young age I was lucky to live abroad because of my dad’s work.
My first memories are very tall buildings and the butterflies park in Singapore and the wild animals and English schools in Kenya.
It was very important to my parents for us to travel a lot, be open-minded, and see the world.

Gil the idea of a band happens on your birthday. Tell me about that?

Gil: Yeah, the minute I heard Yaeli’s voice I was blown away, I knew we had to do something together, I asked her if she would like to write music together, it just felt right, although we barely knew each other.

How did you get the band’s name?

Yael: So we had our first show and had to write something in the event, so we sat with a bunch of friends and throw up names to the air. someone said Lola marsh and we felt it was right and liked the sound of it, so we just went for it.

Gil- how did you get your first guitar and do you still have it?

Gil: I got my first guitar from my dad. A guitar he bought at the age of 18, which means she is 54 years old.
This guitar stayed with me until recently, when my dad decided he wanted to go back to play a bit.

Gil- What is your favorite guitar that you own now?

Gil: I really like my Gretsch duo jet. A guitar I bought over ten years ago, it was laying in the closet for 8 years, there was no connection between us. Then one day I just tried to play it again and never left it.
Besides, I have a Gibson j50 from 73’, this guitar is very old and broken but full of magic and inspiration.

Yael- Tell me about your time on The Voice Israel?

Yael: After one and a half years in the band, I got a phone call from the “the voice”, they wanted me to audition to the first season, I was too scared and didn’t know if it’s for me. After I saw the first season and talked with musician friends that went there, I got another call, and this time I said yes and went to audition for the second season. It was a cool adventure, I did it with a really good friend of mine, Maya, and basically, it was fun and we didn’t take it too seriously.

You were in a relationship early in your career, but you broke up in 2016. How were you still able to work together?

Yael: So we started as band members and after almost 2 years in the band we became a couple. After we broke up, it wasn’t easy and of course we struggled to keep the band together. We didn’t wanna give up on our music and songs, it felt like our kids, so we worked on it. It took us time to become friends again, but we can proudly say that today we are over it, and got back to be good friends and band members.

How was it to play SXSW?

Gil: Wow, SXSW is a crazy festival! We had so many showcases there, big shows and small shows, we were 10 days in the festival with 9 shows, so it was pretty crazy! We met lots of new bands and became friends with them, it was such a fun experience and we hope to do it again.

Tell me about your appears on the television show C a Vous? What did the chef cook for you during the episode?

Yaeli: Haha, C a Vous was cool! It was one of the first TV shows we did in Paris, we don’t really remember what he cooked, but whatever it was, it was delicious!

I am going to name some bands from Tel Aviv/ Israel. I would like for you to say something about each if you can.

Ofra Haza – what a voice!
Noa – I just met her on our last tour at the airport, a very cool woman and an amazing artist.
Ester Rada – she’s a friend. So talented and a beautiful human.
Boom Pam – so fun and cool!
Yael Naim – love her!

How does it feel to be one of Israel’s biggest bands?

Ha! We don’t know if that’s true 🙂
Our music is in English and usually we play outside of the country, but it’s very important for us to have a successful career in our country as well.

How do you see yourself in 5 years?