EXCLUSIVE PREMIERE: Moran Magal’s “Under Your Bed” – Of luggage and monsters

Bands that started off in metal and shape-shifted a bit towards singer-songwriter, indie or folkish rock later are plenty today. But what would happen if a gifted, dedicated and poetic singer-songwriter and indie pianist turned her head towards metal? The answer is here: MORAN MAGAL is happening right now, and an ambitious feat of an album will see the light very soon.

Now before this thoughtful Israeli woman got positioned to go out all guns blazing, she went on an intense spiritual journey into the realm of metal, constantly testing her own artistic fidelity as her own transformation progresses and more and more of her romantic streak becomes a beautiful gift for the seething, archaic elemental force that is (dark) metal. Her 2016 travel log Shades Of Metal (Private Collection) shows all that, as Moran’s continuous drive towards artistic exploration, her backpack full of skills and the deep respect for the rock and metal heroes of her own music collection all made this selection of mesmerizing interpretations stand out as a treasure island in the ancient sea of cover albums: unfortunately hidden, mysterious and very rewarding once discovered.

And with great journeys there’s always great company to be found – particularly for the open-minded: No wonder fellow countryman Kobi Farhi (Orphaned Land) and Moran crossed paths and paused for a moment to have a closer look at Orphaned Land’s From Broken Vessels, resulting in a more than successful attempt to re-imagine this already brilliant song. Kobi’s fans reacted with nothing but love and blessing for the magic duet on Youtube. Moran’s interpretation of Black Sabbath’s Solitude featuring dearly missed, iconic metal singer Warrel Dane (Sanctuary, Nevermore), came to life as a tribute to the most influential dark band of all times and can best be described as a warm, haunting memorial for a great man.

Today, Moran Magal lives in Berlin and can already proudly look back at many performances as composer, singer and pianist on great recordings both their own and for like-minded artists (Stimmgewalt, Nina Jiers, Orphaned Land) as well as a plethora of successful shows on acclaimed festivals across Europe, such as Carte Blanche Festival 2018 (BE), WGT Leipzig (GER), FemMe (NL), and as opening act for Daniel Cavanagh (Anathema), just to name a few.

For 2019, she and her band are looking forward to having a blast at Trolls & Légendes festival (BE) and to presenting their brand new album — Under Your Bed — in early summer. Under Your Bed is a perfect culmination of aforementioned journey and progression that benefits greatly from Moran’s infallible sense for the perfect song, a big heart beating the drum for a warm, welcoming soul and a curious, open mind. Be prepared for a musical kaleidoscope that’s hallmarked by a dark, powerful singer-songwriter drive with a slight edge of pumping gothic/doom metal when the extra pummeling oomph is appropriate for the song. From haunting, melancholic adagio to engaging, boppy stomp — Moran herself carefully directed the instrumental arrangements during recording and production to keep her enticing vision intact.

Meandering between Marcos Feminella’s and Ishay Sommer’s strong, punchy drum/bass section — which is often lead by her own powerful piano bass notes — and a wonderfully concerted, vibrantly shimmering dialog between Frederico Truzzi’s chequered guitar magic, Shir-Ran Yinon’s yearning violin patterns and her own, highly dynamic piano play and superb vocal range, Moran takes the listener’s hand and pulls them into a vivid world created to get hooked on in a snap.

In order to bridge the gap until romantic natures can finally dig in and enjoy Under Your Bed, Moran and her talented lot have prepared a music video for its title track. It’s not exactly an easy song and here is why, in Moran Magal’s very own words:

This song is about the classic childhoods fears that almost every child has, like a monster hiding under your bed, of dolls that wake up in the middle of the night and want to kill you (my personal childhood fear), but when you grow up, you understand that sadly sometimes the monsters are real people and have no horns or red eyes. This song I wrote is about a case of a father that murdered his daughter and lied to the press for a few days that he couldn’t find her. It was a horrible story and unfortunately such things happen all around the world. This song is against child abuse.

To deliver this important message carefully, Leah Striker, who successfully worked on award winning movies such as Wolfskinder (The German Cinema Award For Peace) or Quentin Tarantino’s Inglourious Basterds, filmed and directed the video.

If you like what you hear, please mind that you can help Moran speed all things Under Your Bed up by having a look at her Indiegogo and maybe grab one of the — partially very rare and personal — perks.

Moran Magal online:
https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/under-your-bed-moran-magal#/
https://www.moranmagal.com/
https://www.facebook.com/moran.magal/
https://www.instagram.com/moran_magal_official/
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCKvbptRSEDEaRZs1s4VO8_Q