“This is my life, on Paper and Sound”

This is a story about ambition and love for music. About a band that formed not to be famous or to achieve great wealth, but rather to make beautiful music without the shackles of standard songwriting. 'I knew we had to write songs that could cross the genre and demographic lines,' says singer Ziv. 'That we could say what we meant without masking it with lyrics that were generic clichés.'

ZIV’s debut album, 'Fearless', was a collection of direct, soulful, utterly beautiful songs stripped right back to expose the raw emotion underneath. Showing that you don't always have to conform to be heard, it has sold nearly 15,000 copies independently worldwide, winning ‘Independent Record of the Year’ by Melodic.net. ‘Fearless is what began it all for us…it put us on the map.’

Ziv grew up in Los Angeles, Kenny Johnson in Boulder, Colorado, Bruno in Brazil and Camilo in Columbia. They met in the mid-2007 when Ziv decided to transition from a solo act to a band. Ziv began writing songs when he was 9 and had amassed quite a catalog.  Kenny liked what he heard, and joined in on bass. Camilo was so keen to be part of it that he moved from Columbia to play drums. All four shared a passion for music, and a quiet determination to be as good as they possibly could be. They rehearsed almost every night: 'We played in my mom’s garage, over the phone, however we could get better as a band' laughs Ziv.

'We were determined to do it, from the start,' adds Kenny. 'And from the moment I met Ziv I really did think that we could go all the way. Do something.'

They recorded the second album Paper and Sound, which got them noticed by manager and entrepreneur Ophir Adrian Gottlieb.  Ophir quickly signed them to a management deal and began working on a plan to take ZIV to the next level. ZIV's attitude remains fiercely independent. They like to have control. They produced both of their albums, and are closely involved in everything from videos to artwork (they even did the artwork on the cover of 'Paper and Sound’ themselves).

'It's been all on our own terms,' says Bruno. 'We have 100 per cent control over any aspect of whatever we do, and that's really important to whom we are and the music we make. We take control of the recording, the videos, the artwork. We're not a band that can be pushed around, although we do have some amazing advisors.'

ZIV is now working on their third and highly anticipated album. 'There's a lot more energy on the new record, a lot more honesty, whereas on the first two it was more produced. ‘says Ziv. 'We've grown up a bit, traveled a lot more, met so many people. The last year, we've been like a cultural sponge. We've sucked it all in and now it's coming out on this record. A lot of it is meant to be about ambition and confidence in the face of fear and insecurity.'



ZIV supports many causes and is currently involved with AmericasHeart.org, SOL foundation for Schizophrenia, and many other charities.  ‘Anyone in our position is certainly responsible for the lyrics we write and what feeling we leave people with after they listen to our music,’ explains Ziv.  ‘This is our natural inclination; to help people and to connect…..we want to do it.’

But the lyrics on the album are often personal. 'We are making this new album feeling like every day could be the last, and we just want for this album to make a difference, do everything without boundaries,' say Ziv. 'We might as well make the most of things and live everything utterly with conviction. It's about making the most of life and this great opportunity that we’ve been given, because we can't believe we've been given it. That applies to this band and to our lives in general.