There’s exultant and exuberant mysticism in Middle Eastern sounds. Rhythm guitar, funky bass and keyboards bounce off the walls, illuminated by complex electronic layers pealing out over acoustic percussion and crisp instrumentation. For Israel’s boutique record label Fortuna Records, their goal is the sound, their hearts firmly fixed in harnessing it.
Above all else, the four founders of Fortuna are record-loving obsessives, music aficionados who champion the forgotten artists of Israel by bringing them into the 21st century.
The local industry is an overflowing, endless well of talent that the label and DJ crew use to champion obscure sounds by releasing a string of vinyl reissues while simultaneously also throwing wildly wicked parties.
For those otherwise unfamiliar with the notorious Fortuna Records, it’s comprised of booking agent Zack Bar, distribution manager Yoav Magriso, graphic designer Maor Anava and copy-writer and sound engineer Ariel Tagar. They let us in on the benefits of working in a team and the magic behind obscure Middle Eastern grooves.
© Ariel Efron
When you first founded Fortuna Records, what was missing in the industry at the time - what gap did you want to fill?
Zack Bar: There wasn’t exactly a gap we had to fill, but something that was important to spotlight as part of our history. A lot of great music was recorded throughout the years, a magical blend of culture, we are privileged.
Yoav Magriso: We’re all diggers and music freaks before anything else. We wanted to re-release the special unheard music we really loved and thought people in Israel and around the world should hear. We didn’t get into this thinking about the music industry, but I can say that with time, we evolved to be the ambassadors of the Middle Eastern sound.
What is it like working in a team, and harnessing that sense of community?
Maor Anava: On one side, it can get complicated and also a bit annoying. But we are so happy with this decision because we manage to deliver the music we release, and we wouldn’t be able to do that if it was just one of us. Because we come as a group, we have a bigger impact. We each have our own section that we manage and lead for the label.
How do independent record labels in Israel benefit the artist, more so than big commercial record labels?
Zack Bar: Like others, we license tracks or albums in order to re-issue them. A boutique record label like us can’t really promise anything to the artist besides trying to revive their music, and give it the attention it didn’t receive back when it was initially released. We’re looking for obscure sounds; most of our releases are by unknown artists. Luckily, Fortuna Records has a lot of reach. Our records are distributed worldwide and played by renowned DJs.
Yoav Magriso: We aren’t built as a traditional label that represents the artists; we’re representing a sound and a mindset. Fortuna benefits the artists who are usually “forgotten” or artists that were never really popular. Some of these artists are very old, so we managed to bring attention to the music they recorded 20-30+ years ago, but somehow never took off. We do this via film, commercial synchronizations, radio plays, TV interviews etc. Think of us as some kind of bonus for these artists.
Tell me about the Boiler Room sessions? How focused are you on the live, party experience like the iconic Teder.fm parties in Tel Aviv?
Zack Bar: The four of us are first and foremost record collectors. We’re heavily into this and have been for years. As a crew we play mainly special events, and in Israel our HQ is Teder, where we try to host unique events at least four times a year. In Jerusalem, we have the newcomers like Zenobia who throw amazing parties, and internationally we carefully choose our gigs because of our busy schedules. It’s super difficult to get us all together! We also have a monthly radio show at NTS and, naturally, we play on Teder.fm, too.
Fortuna Records (fortuna-records.com)