4. 《 interview 》 Zach Bar： Initiator of Tel Aviv's music scene

"Music was always around me. I still think about music."
His trademarks are a hat and round glasses, and his spine is stiffly straight. Zach Bar, he is the inevitable person behind the interesting music scene in Tel Aviv.

Kissa, a complex centered around music

In the summer of 2010, he and three friends started an experimental online radio space and bar called Teder (Teder means frequency in Hebrew).
Teder has grown bigger since then. It now consists of the 1200
capacity main venue, mini hall, exhibition space, record shop, Caffe, Pizza shop, and a celebrity chef's restaurant "Romano". This "gathering place" centered around music has gradually captured the hearts of Tel Aviv's youth. Teder is now widely known as a cultural complex where you can always find something fan and interesting.

In the summer of 2022, "Kissa", a bar with live jazz performances, newly opened in Teder. Its name quickly spread among people as a new music space in the city. "Kissa" was named after Japanese "jazz kissa." This is a new project by Zach, who was inspired by the culture of jazz kissa while walking around Japan. I spoke to Zach Bar at Kissa.

Interpret what impressed you in your own way

-First of all, I would like to ask why Kissa in Tel Aviv?

I wanted to create a place where you can drink coffee or drinks, listen to quality music, and talk with friends.
Japanese culture is always in our minds. In fact, not only Kissa, but Teder itself is influenced by Japan.
I have been visiting Japan every year since 2008 and visited many jazz kissa. As soon as you open the door of any store, you will be greeted with high quality music and good music. The audio, music selection, and interior layout were all carefully selected, allowing customers to listen to high-quality music.
The influence I received from Japan was the idea that once you start, you should do your best until the end. Attitude and aesthetic sense of pursuing what you love to the fullest with sincerity is a role model for all of us.

-What kind of things from Japan do you want to bring to Israel?

Japan and Israel have different people, culture, and behavior.
Although I love Japanese culture, I'm not trying to bring Japanese culture or do the same things here as I found in Japan.
Whenever I create something, I interpret what impressed me into a thing that can be natural or adjust to here. I believe that is very important.

-What was the important thing for you in the process of producing Kissa?

The emphasis was on jazz. I think that jazz is not just a genre of music, but rather a way of life. I wanted to create a space where you can listen quality music, improvisational live music, and at the same time wine and liquor are available to enjoy.

-Why jazz? Teder has focused on rock and hip-hop so far.

I guess jazz is a way of life. Jazz was born from a specific place, but it's far more expansive, free, elegant, and visual. I think it's important to share the experience of being there with everyone.

-What was the reaction from artists and people around you after Kissa was opened?

Everyone is happy that there are more venues to perform in Tel Aviv. Other owners such as Haezor and Beit Ha'Amdim have also been welcoming. We're not competing with each other, we're all helping each other to grow the music scene. Artists in particular are really happy.

We are still in the early stages

-What kind of music have you been listening to?

I spent my junior high and high school years in the 80s and early 90s, when the Israeli music scene was very creative. I used to listen to a lot of rock and hip-hop on the radio, and then I started going to live shows, and I got interested in funk, reggae, and DJ. Anyway, it was fun to be exposed to different types of music.

-What was the Israeli jazz scene like at that time?

Of course it wasn't that popular. It's not that there wasn't jazz in Israel, but the country itself was still young and didn't have much of a history. In the 1980s and 1990s, Israelis gradually began to go to New York and other countries, and began to show their presence in the local scene.

-That time is said to be a major turning point for Israeli jazz, right?

First of all, what does it mean to be “Israeli-like”?
We are still only in the early stages. My parents' generation immigrated to Israel from various countries in the 1960s and 1970s. If that is the first generation, then we are finally the second and third generation.
I think that our generation, in this small space with a short history, small land area, and small population, is trying to create something that can be called Israeli culture and Israeli-ness. A lot of things are starting to happen, although the scale remains small yet.

-Isn't there an advantage to being small?

Small spaces have both good and bad points. If it goes well, it's fine, but if it doesn't go well, it won't continue. People who can be successful in Berlin or Manhattan are not guaranteed to success in Tel Aviv. Understanding the characteristics and circumstances of Tel Aviv is not easy. Tel Aviv is a difficult place.

Started as a pop-up, even in Harajuku

-What made you decide to start Teder in Tel Aviv?

When I was in junior high and high school, I started having fun playing the records I collected to my friends, and eventually started introducing music from home in various ways. After that, I started planning events to go along with the music.
After completing my military service, I went to New York for a while, and since then I've been involved in music, serving as a band manager and creating a label.
The origin of Teder began in the summer of 2010 as a pop-up at PortSaid (a restaurant and bar in Tel Aviv), hosting art and cultural events centered around internet radio and DJs. The feedbacks was so positive that we held several pop-up events here and there.
In September 2012, we opened "Teder Tel Aviv Tokyo" in Harajuku for one month, acting as a base for disseminating Israeli and Japanese music and art. It ended around the time when people in Tokyo understood what we were trying to do, so I'd like to do it again if I have the chance.
Then, about nine years ago, we found Beit Romano compound(a compound that used to house government offices and small and medium-sized enterprises),and moved our base there. We are here since then.
New facilities such as a radio studio, restaurant Romano, and club venue Rafi have been built, and Teder now has a total of 430 staff members, about 40 of whom are involved in event planning and management.　　　
I never planned for Teder to become a restaurant, record store, event venue, and Kissa-like complex. It was all improvisational, just like jazz, and I got to this point by going with the flow.
All three of the people who started the pop-up together are still here, and with the addition of a friend in charge of management, there are now six people running the business together. Anyway, I'm blessed with my friends and staff. What's most reassuring is that we have friends who can secure the financial resources to realize our ideas.

Breaking conventional wisdom. All events are free.

-Was the idea that all cultural events at Teder would be free from the beginning?

All events at Teder are free. Although this style was not what I was aiming for, I think this model is the best because we can plan everything ourselves and there is no intermediary. I'm sure one of Teder's great strengths is that we were able to break the conventional wisdom that tickets are required for live shows and performances.

- Kissa has also gained a lot of popularity in a short period of time, are you satisfied with it so far?

I'm not satisfied at all. There's a lot to do. Kissa will be even better in the next six months. It's always trial and error, and I'm always concerned about whether the sound is good or not. I would like to improve the audio as well.
I have a lot of ideas, like holding a brunch concert outside when the weather gets warmer. We need to reconsider what are the best business hours and concert times, we need financial resources, and there are many things that can be improved, such as what methods are best and what is best. Fine tuning will continue.

-What are your future prospects?

The ultimate goal is to create a community based on Teder.
We want to create a community where musicians, creators, people with different languages, and the culture of Israel's minority Arab and Bedouin people can come here and experience it.

-What is your biggest challenge going forward?

I guess it's all about being honest and authentic.
It's not about money, it's not about being influenced by capitalism, it's about maintaining what we believe in as authentic. It may sound a little corny, but I think it's very important thing.

After the interview with Zach, I asked him to pick his favorite record from the crowded record shelf, and without hesitation, he picked up this record. “It gets better every time I listen to it. The best album without a doubt” by Zach Bar (January 3, 2023 @Kissa)

                                                                

Zach Bar
Born June 17, 1979
Founder and Owner
Raised in the Israeli town of Kfar Saba. Teder, which he started as an experiment with three friends in 2010, has become popular and is now responsible for the planning and operation of Teder, which is indispensable when talking about culture in Tel Aviv.