Yoav’s debut album, Charmed and Strange (2008), had an extraordinary effect on people around the world. Since its release, he has been on a journey of sold-out headline shows in Canada, the U.S., and Europe. A North American tour with Tori Amos saw Yoav sell almost 9,000 discs off stage in just 3 months. He’s been an iTunes Canada ‘Single Of The Week’ feature artist. He’s had a #1 song in Russia, where he also received a special RAMP award (Rock Alternative Music Prize) in recognition of his achievements. After only one radio session in Denmark, within 24 hours Charmed and Strange climbed to # 1 on their iTunes album chart.
Born in Israel and raised in Cape Town, South Africa, Yoav’s parents favored classical and traditional music, encouraging their son towards those genres. Nevertheless, at the age of nine, Yoav began sneaking off to the neighbors to soak up the hits of British radio acts. By twelve, while his family slept, he was in the backyard practicing quietly on a battered guitar his older brother had given him.
Yoav is not an easy artist to pigeonhole. His progressive, acoustic, singer/songwriter style is fused with an electronic aesthetic, giving a mindful nod to DJ culture, and escapes conventional definition. “Wherever I’ve been, I’ve always been outside of things. And the people I’ve connected with have always been that way, too. It makes you lonely but, at the same time, I wouldn’t change it. I’m really glad I’m living the life I’m living. Different cultures, different art, different mindsets. I want more.”
Moving from the U.K. to New York further expanded Yoav’s musical mindset. A percussive style eventually took hold in his guitar playing, and inventive live sets followed. Beats are pounded out on his guitar’s body, loop stations add layers of sound and voice, and everything is artfully conducted by his dexterous hands and feet. “If you look at a guitar, there is a standard way you play it,” remarks Yoav. “You either pick or play chords.” But why stop there? “I’m very into hip-hop and electronic music, and some other sounds you wouldn’t necessarily associate with the acoustic guitar, looping and processing them. Melodically and rhythmically, everything changes when you move away from picking and strumming.”
Yoav’s songs have been featured on the popular TV shows One Tree Hill, So You Think You Can Dance, and The Mentalist. He also performed on the immensely popular UK music show, Later with Jools Holland and on MTV Live.
Experimentation with sound from his acoustic guitar is an area in which Yoav thrives, and a direction he is intent on continuing to explore. With his second album, A Foolproof Escape Plan, he further pushes the sounds of pop music and instrumentation. True to his reputation as global citizen, Yoav spent 2009 writing songs in London, South Africa, and Venice Beach, California, collaborating with a mélange of musicians and artists from around the world to add to the richness of his sound. Joey Waronker—the outstanding American music producer and drummer who has worked with Thom Yorke, Beck, Smashing Pumpkins, and R.E.M.—took the producer’s chair.
Like Charmed and Strange, most of the sounds on Yoav’s sophomore album, A Foolproof Escape Plan, were created solely with his acoustic guitar. Except for a few piano and cello parts, all the drum, bass, keyboard and piano sounds were beaten and dragged out of his trusty Lowden acoustic.
The songs on A Foolproof Escape Plan further reflect Yoav’s experiences and his connection to current global issues, but this is also a highly personal record that is both honest and introspective. The debut single Yellowbrite Smile uses the iconic cliché of a smiley face to reflect the passive acceptance of our increasingly absurd and fast-paced existence, the selling of distraction, and the commercialization of happiness. In Easy Chair, Yoav reminisces about childhood, his signature guitar beats pulsating throughout. Many of the songs on A Foolproof Escape Plan explore his experience of the spiraling chaos of the world around him: Changing relationships. A world unbalanced. The constantly transforming face of music. In his own way, Yoav is embracing the answers he uncovers, and calming the chaos with loops, beats, voice and guitar in hand.
Where Is My Mind
Yoav Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Try this trick, spin it, yeah
Your head will collapse but there's nothing in it
And you'll ask yourself
Where is my mind?
Where is my mind?
Where is my mind?
I was swimmin' in the Caribbean
Animals were hiding behind the rocks
Except the little fish
And he told me, he was tryin' to talk to me, talk to me
Where is my mind?
Where is my mind?
Where is my mind?
Way out in the water
See it swimmin'
Where is my mind?
Way out in the water
See it swimmin'
Where is my mind?
Where is my mind?
Where is my mind?
With your feet in the air and your head on the ground
Try this trick, spin it, yeah
The lyrics of the song Where is My Mind? by Yoav address themes of disorientation and confusion, and explores the idea of being disconnected from oneself and one's surroundings. The opening lines describe a physical position that creates a sense of instability, with the suggestion that one's mind may collapse as a result. The chorus poses the question "Where is my mind?" which suggests a search for clarity and understanding.
The second verse tells a story of the singer swimming in the Caribbean and encountering some animal life, leading to a conversation with a little fish that tries to talk to them. This surreal and dreamlike imagery reinforces the sense of disconnection and confusion that the song explores. The repetition of the chorus adds to the disorienting effect of the lyrics, as the question is repeated but not necessarily answered.
The song has been interpreted in many ways, with some suggesting that it is about drug use or the difficulty of finding one's place in the world. Ultimately, however, the song remains open to interpretation, inviting listeners to reflect on their own experiences of disorientation and search for meaning.
Line by Line Meaning
With your feet in the air and your head on the ground
In a state of confusion and your thoughts are scrambled
Try this trick, spin it, yeah
Attempt to make sense of your chaotic thoughts
Your head will collapse but there's nothing in it
Your mind will break under the weight of your jumbled thoughts, and you won't find any clarity
And you'll ask yourself Where is my mind?
In the midst of the confusion, you'll question the state of your mental well-being
I was swimmin' in the Caribbean
Escaping reality and trying to find clarity in a different world
Animals were hiding behind the rocks
Symbolizing the things in your life that you can't see or understand
Except the little fish
A lone voice trying to reach out to you
And he told me, he was tryin' to talk to me, talk to me
The voice is reaching out to help you, but you can't understand it
Way out in the water See it swimmin'
Your thoughts are far away and out of reach
Where is my mind?
Continuing to question your mental state
With your feet in the air and your head on the ground
Emphasizes the feeling of disorientation and chaos
Try this trick, spin it, yeah
To find clarity, you must try to make sense of the chaos
Where is my mind?
Questioning your mental state once again
Way out in the water See it swimmin'
Your thoughts and mental state are still far away and out of reach
Where is my mind?
Asking the same question again, still searching for clarity
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: Charles Thompson
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind