Noga Erez

It’s not often that an artist starts a Zoom interview apologizing for the scene behind them, but  Noga Erez, who is in the middle of redecorating, does just that. “We’re painting the ceiling,” confesses Erez. “So it’s a mess.” Home improvements aren’t the only thing the Israeli singer-songwriter-producer has been working on during the pandemic. Forced to cancel her 2020 U.S. tour dates, including an appearance at South By Southwest, the extra time allowed Erez and her musical and life partner Rousso to tinker with her second album KIDS (out now via City Slang)—an album that was almost in the can when the shutdown happened. “We thought we were either going to finish mixing the album, send it to master, and release it as we planned,” says Erez. “But then we ended up working on the same album for another year. We got to have a better album in so many different ways.” The results pull from influences including Bjork and PJ Harvey, but also delve into a wider range than from her first album Off the Radar. “It’s more leaning towards stuff like Gorillaz, Cardigans, some 90’s influences and also very, very heavy on hip-hop influences—Kendrick Lamar, Vince Staples, Princess Nokia,” she explains. Erez will finally get a chance to perform her music live for the DMV with an appearance at Sixth & I on Sept. 19, a first for the artist. “I’ve never played D.C. before,” says Erez. “Actually, I’ve played very few shows in the U.S. so we’re going to make this first time a big one.” Noga Erez performs Sept. 19 at 8 p.m. at Sixth & I, 600 I St. NW. sixthandi.org. $25-$30.