Yael Naim

Yael Naim

2007 - Atlantic

Track Listings

2007 sophomore album from the Paris-born and Israel raised singer, songwriter and musician who has also recorded under the name Yael. This album, which features songs sung in French, English and Hebrew, features the worldwide sensation 'New Soul', a track that has gained fame as being the music played during Apple's Macbook Air ad campaign in 2008. . 13 tracks total.

Yael Naim was born in Paris in to Sephardi-Jewish parents. At the age of four, she moved with her family to Ramat HaSharon, Israel, where she spent her childhood and learned how to speak Hebrew. She served in Israel Defence Forces as a soloist in the Israel Air Force Orchestra. She began her singing career with a part in the musical "Les Dix Commandements" and her first solo album, In a Man's Womb, was released in 2001. She also sang the song "You Disappear" by Bruno Coulais for the film Harrison's Flowers directed by Elie Chouraqui. For her early work she was credited simply as Yaël.

Naim joined forces with percussionists David Donatien and Jon Reid, and over a period of two years they arranged and recorded thirteen of Naim's songs in a studio in Naim's apartment in Paris, and these were released as her second album, Yael Naim, in 22 October on the Tôt ou tard label. The songs are in French, English, and Hebrew and received critical acclaim and the album entered the French album chart at No. 11 the week after its release. The style has been described as having a touch of folk and a touch of jazz, with mysterious and evocative words sung with a delicate and intentionally slightly husky voice. In January 2008, her song "New Soul" was featured in the debut commercial for the MacBook Air laptop. The song gained fame from being featured in the ad . Owing to high U.S. digital sales, the song debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 for the chart week of 16 February at #9, becoming Naim's first U.S. top ten single.

When Paris-born, Israeli-raised Yael Naim met David Donatien, a West Indian drummer, the two sat down to share their rich musical experiences. Combining Yael's classical education and love of pop and jazz, this collaboration lead into recording 13 beautifully arranged compositions, mostly sung in Hebrew, with instrumentation of piano, guitar, cello, bass and percussion. While the mood ranges from melancholic to sweeter and hopeful notes, she carries intimate feeling throughout her songs.

Right now, the only way to get a copy of Yael Naim's "New Soul," which is prominently featured in the new Mac Air ad, is to buy it on iTunes. Alternatively, a friend in France could procure you a physical copy of Naim's self-titled album, released there last October by label Tot ou Tard.

But that will all change March 18, when Atlantic releases the album in the United States, two months ahead of schedule. Naim has been signed to Atlantic stateside since 2007.

Like Feist's iPod Nano ad-soundtracking "1234" before it, "New Soul" is racing up the charts and doing big business online. This week, it debuts at No. 9 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No. 2 on Hot Digital Songs after shifting 135,000 copies, according to Nielsen SoundScan.

The success of the ad leaves Naim's team at Atlantic in a happy predicament. "When we signed her, we started off with this pretty much unknown girl who sings in Hebrew half the time and built our campaign around that. Now, we have to suddenly change everything," Atlantic head of international Torsten Luth says.

Luth says that while some components of the marketing campaign will change, many will stay the same. "We are going to release the same record that she released in France, with about half the songs in English and half in Hebrew," he says. "We are also going to use the original video. We want her to be able to be herself.

While still relatively unknown in the States, Naim is not a newcomer to the music business by any stretch. The French-born singer grew up in Israel and spent her mandatory military service as a soloist in the Israel Air Force Orchestra. She released her first album, "In a Man's Womb," via EMI in 2001, but left the label shortly thereafter, because, as she says, "I was young and became very disappointed in the system." Last October, "Yael Naim" debuted at No. 11 on the French charts.

Despite her history, Naim has never toured the States. "I'm excited to play over in America," she says. "When I was making the record, I never expected anything like this would happen."

A March performance on "The Ellen DeGeneres Show" is confirmed, and Naim will showcase at South by Southwest and in New York this spring before embarking on a tour.