Awesome Friend Spotlight - Artur Katz

As promised, here's the first of my spotlight series about my insanely talented friends here.  This guy has co-starred in the majority of my adventures since I became an Israeli, and I am happy and lucky enough to call him my BFF.  So, without further ado, I give you, Artur Katz!

Artur (attention:  not ArtHur!) is off-the-charts talented, a singer, pianist, and soon to be, one hell of a music producer.  He's currently studying in one of the most prestigious music schools here in Israel called Rimon.  Seriously, guys, he's going to be famous.

This is us New Year's Eve.  He KILLED his NYE performance!  All in a Santa hat (okay, he'll kill me.  It's actually Grandfather Frost's hat...Santa's Russian 2nd cousin, I'm guessing).

 

How about a sampling of his glorious voice?  He's been singing since he was a youngin', and he even traveled to the United States (among other international locations) to perform WHEN HE WAS 14.  That good, friends.  Here he is singing his version of Britney Spear's "Womanizer":

 



 

Artur is fluent in many languages, and he sings in all of them PLUS more.  Spanish, Russian, English, Italian, Portuguese, Hebrew, etc..  As mentioned earlier, he's also working on his production techniques.  Check out his retro mix of Beyonce's "Deja Vu" here.

 

We both share an enormous love and respect for Justin Timberlake.  One of my current assignments (of MANY) from Artur is to teach him how to dance like JT.  I'm not sure that he realizes that I can't even dance like JT, but it'll be fun trying.  :)  And you better believe that when Justin comes to Europe on tour, we'll be there!  We even like to joke that Artur will one day be the Israeli Justin Timberlake.  Watch this video of a "Lovestoned/Billie Jean" mashup where Artur was featured with a local band called the Safranim, and see if you think he can be the JT of the Middle East...

 

Also, here is another SUPER impressive video that combines his beautiful voice and his outstanding production skills.  He took Depeche Mode's "Shake the Disease" and turned it into something much different and very special.  I'm personally addicted to his version, and it's a regular on my iTunes playlist.  Listen for yourself, and then compare to the original:

 

 

Anndddddd if you liked what you heard, please go here and vote for his song to win in an Israeli Depeche Mode competition.  Just scroll down the page (I realize it is in Hebrew), find his video (the one from above - and it's clearly marked in English, thankfully), and vote (by clicking the Facebook "like" button to the left of the video)!  Voting is open for a few days.  Let's get him to the top!

 

I could go on and on about Artur, but let's suffice it to say that he is one of the most genuine, hardworking, intelligent, caring, diligent, and talented people I know.  His understanding and love for music is unmatched, and his brain is constantly working to make new, amazing things.  His mission is to bring true, energetic pop music to the Israeli scene, and he'll be releasing his first album very soon.  Also, if you're in Be'er Sheva (or even in Israel and want to come to BS!), he and another super-amazing-talented friend, Meirav, perform at the local restaurant called The Sifria every Tuesday night, 10-11pm - it's songs by request and always a fun time! 

 

I'm proud to call Artur my friend and even prouder of what he's doing.  Subscribe to his YouTube channel and let's show him some true international support!  Loves you, Arturo!