ABOUT AMIR
Amir Paiss – Composer & poet, singer-songwriter & producer. Born in Tel- Aviv, Israel.
Currently residing with his wife Nirupa and their son Zohar in Australia.
Co- founder of the Internationally acclaimed Hebrew-Arab world music ensemble SHEVA, with which he recorded 4 albums Including ‘Sheva -Live in Australia’ winner of best live performance -Independent Music Awards 2005.
Musical Producer of MERKAVAH (with Gabriel Meyer Halevy – a Kabbalistic musical ceremony that combines holy and ancient text with tradirtional and modern musical instruments), of which his track ‘Run & Returned’ was nominated as finalist for best World Music track in MusicOZ AWARDS 2006.
Co-producer of Mr. SLEEP & THE FLYING GREEN TOAD with Avishai Barnatan & Maneesh De Moor (World music Children’s album), finalist in the Dolphin Awards for the best kid’s album of 2006.
Co-producer of LAWS OF THE JUNGLE (with Avishai Barnatan), a trance-form-ambient soundtrack based on that titled book by Yossi Ghinsberg, finalist in the Dolphin awards for best album 2008, and winner of best production.
Musical producer of HATEVA-Nature-Skin Of God, The Torah of Deep Ecology, co-created with Gabriel Meyer Halevy, featuring compositions and performances by various artists like Jai Uttal, Gil Ron Shama & Avishai Barnatan from Sheva, Shimshai & many more- in English, Spanish, Hebrew, and a twist of Arabic & Aramaic. Recorded in N.Y.C, California, Crete, Israel, Sinai, Costa Rica & Australia.
Other musical productions include AHAVA ((love) of Shavit Ravnitzky – Original Devotional Jewish music & BIRTHING (Musical journey of Poetry and Affirmations for pregnancy), collaborating with his wife Nirupa Hoffman-Paiss.
A member of ‘Metatron Theatre-Ritual Ensemble’ (‘Who Guards the Trees’- 1999 & ‘Messiah Tree’-1996, both productios performed in the Acco Theatre Festival).
Over the last two decades participates in the creation of meetings between artists & healers from around the world, reconciliation gatherings in Israel, U.S.A & Australia, and facilitated numerous workshops weaving sound, sacred song & healing.
Amir grew up through different and varied musical phases. Attracted to music and its inspiring effects, music always played an essential role in his life. By the age of 6 he performed in the Israeli Children’s Song Festival, (The Magician Song), by the age of 8 he began writing poetry and by the age of 14 he started composing original songs. Most of his teenage years were submerged in performing with the Tel Aviv Scouts Singing Group, touring all over Israel and in Europe, performing hundreds of shows, later continuing to perform with the Nachal Singing group. Exposed from an early age to various styles of music such as Middle Eastern and Arab music, South American music, folk & popular radio music and music sang in the synagogues, this ethnically diverse Israeli musical concoction initiated and educated him to be open for multi-cultural influences and enabled his musical styles and compositions to vary.
Following a year of studying philosophy, cultural theory and metaphysics combined with texts of Kabbalah & Jewish mysticism in the Tel Aviv university, he embarked on many journeys around the world. for a decade he travelled extensively & studied different traditions of philosophy, meditation, natural healing & music throughout Asia, the Americas, Europe & Israel. Music then took the role of a transformative tool, and an enhancer of Healing, Peace, Presence & conscious-awareness.
Meetings with numerous incredible people & musicians from around the world amidst the many voyages, allowed the integration of music, devotion & meditation, and inspired his musical vision & fusion further.
Upon returning from India to Israel in 1996, Amir founded with a circle of friends the band ‘Sheva’. Those friends are Avishai Barnatan, Gil Ron Shama, Ahmed Antar Taher, Mosh Ben Ari, Udi Ben Knaan, Vered Cohen-Efrat & Lior Shulman.
Situated in the Galilee mountains of Northern Israel and seemingly on the fringe of the Israeli music scene, Sheva actually influenced many main stream artists and became a voice of a whole generation. With Sheva he performed many dozens of concerts in Israel, Europe, the U.S, Canada & Australia.
At that time period Amir co envisioned & facilitated the conception of the label and production company Globalev, with his friends Ariel Rom, Roni Hus and Gil Ron Shama, and participated in the creation of many sacred music circles, healing & interfaith gatherings and world music festivals.
Along side his work with Sheva, Amir collaborated with Gabriel Meyer Halevy, (Co-founder of ‘Sulha’),Formed ‘Amen’ with him, performed dozens of shows and facilitated numerous reconciliation & sacred music workshops in the U.S.
In 2004 after Sheva’s second tour in Australia, Amir moved his base to the Byron Bay area, the lush rainbow region of Northern NSW, the east coast of Australia, where he developed the Byron Bay branch of TP events, a Sydney based production company. As a special projects development manager he produced and facilitated reconciliation circles, sacred music workshops and International touring artists concerts such as David Broza, The Idan Raichel project, MC Yogi & Jai Uttal with whom he also performed.
In Australia he co-founded Nomadic Voices, with Avishai Barnatan, his long time friend and colleague from Sheva, an acoustic fusion of contemporary & traditional themes, with which he performed in Perth, Sydney, Melbourne and in the major festival Splendour in the Grass
By the end of 2010 Amir co-founded Ali Baba with Si Mullumby & Matt Goodwin (of Wild Marmalade), Greg Sheehan, Laura Targett, Avishai Barnatan & Si Darrington, a mix of Trance, Celtic & Middle Eastern music. with Ali Baba he co composed and recorded their debut album, and performed in the Island Vibe, Woodford & Mullumbimby Music Festivals, where they won many accolades.
During the last few years Amir produced his debut album in Hebrew- ‘Zeh’ (‘This’), along with Amirel Lachish & Assaf Ayalon. The album includes collaborations with Mosh Ben Ari & Alma Zohar as well as artists from around the world including Jai Uttal, Avishai Barnatan, Gilad Dobrecky, and the Jazzy Japanese-Australian ‘Akimitsu Iwase’ trio. The album features 12 original songs.
The combination of instruments from different cultures, cross-fertilisation between different styles and the relationship between ancient & contemporary are of Amir’s sources of inspiration. The album is an original combination of folk, world music jazz & boss nova.
