Tal Arditi — Nothing is Real

"Nothing is Real", released on 29 September 2023, is the second EP from 25-year old Tal Arditi. It documents Tal’s transformation from “important new voice in European guitar Jazz” (London Jazz News) to singer-songwriter-producer.

The EP is the second instalment of recordings immediately signed by Mouthwatering Records, which also led to an invitation to join Black Sea Dahu on their upcoming autumn tour in Germany.

"Nothing is Real" is a lush and tender sonic dream, landing somewhere between folk music, acoustic and electronic music. Influences can be heard from James Blake, Patrick Watson, Beck, Nick Drake, Woodkid, and Jose Gonzales.

By the time the first Covid lockdown arrived in Europe, Tal had already been performing for years, captivating the European jazz press as a teenager. All this was taken away when the pandemic forced people indoors. Tal responded by recording guitars and blending them with electronic samples, writing lyrics and singing over his musical landscapes.

On the EP's debut single "Can't Get Enough of You", Tal sings about obsessive love over a frenetic rhythmic arpeggio that is part Jose Gonzales, part Jimmy Page.

The second single, "I'm Living Again", is a tender acoustic track written the day after Tal played his first live show during the lockdown. This was a live stream show with a digital audience and only one other person in the room - the cameraman. For Tal, the intimacy of the setting was cathartic and reinvigorating:

"I realised this is what I love doing, and this is the only thing I want to do."

"On Left the Sky", a UK Drum & Bass echoes in the background while Tal sings about his fear of humiliation, stemming from his anxieties about his new musical direction.

"I Don't Want You to Leave" is a musical love letter to the Berlin electronic/techno scene, intertwined with Tal’s guitar-first sound. Tal sings about wanting the moment to last forever, while a French female voice is heard making up excuses about leaving.

"Nothing is Real", the EP's title track, blends Tal's love of Ryan Adams and Bach, and builds to an orchestral climax. It was written during a difficult period of Tal’s life:

"I was surrounded with people, I felt extremely lonely....I felt like I was living in a sort of weird limbo, where the only thing that made sense was music and everything else was a weird blend of faces and sounds.”

"The Nothing is Real" EP follows on from Tal’s first release with Mouthwatering - "Cross Country".

Both EP’s are deeply personal and mark Tal’s first forays into songwriting after already experiencing success as a teen jazz virtuoso. They offer a glimpse into the mind of a young musician exposing his thoughts and feelings, inviting others to join his journey of self-discovery.