RED AXES
Red Axes, AKA Dori Sadovnik and Niv Arzi, turn non-conformity into an art form. When the pair met as teens, they instantly started making music together. Their early influences were punk, disco and garage rock, and they were neck-deep in Tel Aviv’s anarchist underground when they went on a trip to Amsterdam and submerged themselves in its club scene. They arrived Dori and Niv. They left Red Axes.
The pair launched a club night in Tel Aviv called Break It! and simultaneously started producing, with their 2012 Tour de Chile on I’m a Cliche in 2012 setting a precedent for the sound to come. It was electronic music, but the track structure and production texture still screamed post-punk. Their follow-up EPs Bela on Klasse Recordings and 1970 on I’m A Cliche further cemented their ability to transcend genres, refusing to conform to any kind of dance music formula. Their dazzling productions paired with their kaleidoscopic DJ sets soon seeped into the psyche of Europe, and by 2014 the pair were touring non-stop, thanks in part to their Boiler Room set which sent their following into the stratosphere.
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In 2014 they released their first full-length album, Ballad of the Ice, which included indie dance tracks, acid house productions and guitar-heavy anthems. Red Axes then went on their first worldwide tour, and launched their Garzen Records imprint two years later alongside Garzen festival. In 2017 they released their album The Beach Goths on their own label, and could declare themselves regulars at Glastonbury, Berghain/Panorama Bar, Dekmantel, Sonar, Primavera, Coachella and pretty much every major festival and venue on the planet. Their latest album Red Axes came out on Dark Entries in 2020 and paid homage to rave culture from the 80s and 90s, as well as disco, house, post punk, techno and everything else in between.
Creatively speaking, Red Axes refuse to sit still. They thrive in the unknown, and love doing the opposite of what people expect from them. Their 2022 single “Flawless” with ECHO is a good example – it sits firmly in the pop category, and received peak-time radio play-outs in multiple countries. In 2022 they teamed up with legendary Israeli rocker Rami Fortis to release their single “James Bond vs. Godzilla,” and they have an EP on the way with DJ Tennis as well as another full-length project in the works.
And then there’s the EP series Trips, where the duo visit developing countries and collaborate with local artists and producers to create an EP that represents the region’s sonic soundscapes. So far they’ve hit Ivory Coast, India and Ho Chi Minh, with many more trips in the pipeline.
In 2023 Red Axes continue their “100%” concept tour, where they visit cities across Europe to play a full set of their own tunes all night long. The show gives them the opportunity to dig through their thousand-track archive, all the way back to the 2010s. The pair usually save their live shows for festivals and their DJ sets for the club, but they’re increasingly blending more live elements into their artistry and teaming up with orchestras, vocalists and legendary musicians to perform around the world. And they don’t plan to slow down any time soon. “It’s just a matter of keeping moving, getting new experiences, challenging ourselves to be better and to be fresh,” says Niv.
