Aviv Geffen

Aviv Geffen (אביב גפן, born 10 May 1973) is an Israeli rock musician, singer, and songwriter.

In addition to his solo career, Geffen is a founding member of the band Blackfield, he was also the global music director for WeWork.

Geffen's first public performance was in 1984, in the Israeli youth program "Shminiyot Ba'Avir" ["somersaults"] on the Israeli Channel 1, in which he sang the song "You're Only 40 Years Old" for which his sister wrote the lyrics and he composed the melody.

In 1987 Geffen participated in the amateur film "Ha'mitpahat" (The Handkerchief), for which he wrote and sang the song "Ima" ["Mom"].

Although a great-nephew (via his grandmother Aviva) of the legendary Israeli General and former Defense Minister, Moshe Dayan, Geffen refused enlistment in the mandatory Israeli military service, claiming conscientious objector status.

He had previously advocated that Israeli youth should likewise refuse military service and criticized Israel for being "a paranoid country where people think they always have to be strong."

Geffen was and is extremely popular among Israeli youth who were known during the 1990s as the "Moonlight Children" (ילדי אור הירח).

Politically, he associates with the Israeli left.

His music deals with subjects such as love, peace, death, suicide, politics, and the army (in particular, the IDF).

He is often criticized for singing about the IDF while not having served, though he was discharged for medical reasons.

Aviv Geffen was born in Ramat Gan and raised in Beit Yitzhak.

He is the son of the author and poet Yehonatan Geffen and actress Nurit Gefen.

His sister is actress Shira Geffen.

He was named after his late grandmother, Aviva Geffen.

In 1990, Geffen recorded his first song, "Friend" ["chaver"], together with the band "Cats in the Piping".

In 1992, he released his first album, "Ze Rak Or Hayareach" [It's Only the Moonlight], all of whose tracks were written and the music composed by Geffen himself.

Also in 1992, he played a part in the teenage television series A Matter of Time.

That year, he also wrote a song for the Israeli movie The Beach Boys.

Geffen performed in clubs with his band HaTauyót ["The Mistakes"] (the Hebrew name is purposefully misspelled in two places).

In 1993, Geffen released his second album, Achshav Me'unan [It's Cloudy Now], which went gold in the same year and expressed his generation's dissatisfaction with the Israeli government.

It was produced by Moshe Levi and Ofer Meiri, who created the typical Geffen sound.

The title track "It's Cloudy Now" was followed by the question that many Israeli teenagers asked with Geffen – "Do you want change?"

In 1994, Geffen released his third album, Aviv Geffen III, a concept album about negative effects on someone who was forced to join the army, the album did not mark a change in Geffen's sound.

The production was handled by Geffen and Lior Tevet.

The album featured the major hit "Ha'im Lehiot Bach Mehohav?"

["Should I Be In Love With You?"], which was promoted by a video and followed the success of Achshav Me'unan.

In his next album, Shumakom [Nowhere], Geffen took charge of the production, albeit with help from Reuven Shapira (as sound engineer), and producer Moshe Levi.

Geffen again wrote all the lyrics and music.

As a political activist, Geffen also expressed the hope for peace with Israel's neighbors.

On 4 November 1995, the Israeli peace political parties organized a rally to support the peace process.

Geffen was invited to perform, and surprisingly decided to perform Livkot Lekha ["Cry for You"], which he wrote and gave to Israeli singer Arik Einstein.

Only later was it discovered that the lyrics prophesied the tragic assassination of Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin later that night.

"Cry for You" became a kind of anthem, and was the song that symbolized the Candle Children who mourned Rabin's death visually with memorial candles.

Mèred HaDmaót [The Tears Rebellion] was written after Rabin's murder in 1995.

In 1996 Geffen married Israeli actress Ilana Berkowitz.

In 1996, Geffen released HaMikhtav [The Letter].

The couple divorced in 1998.

In 2005 Geffen married Shani Friedan after a seven-year relationship.

The couple's first son was born in 2007.

Geffen is an atheist.