Musicians can use their talents to send a message and inspire people for a specific cause they support. However, this requires more than just talent and skill but rather sincerity and passion to relay a message. One musician doing this more effectively than most artists is Ifty Kerzner, one of Israel’s most influential writers. Ifty is behind some of the most memorable songs released in Israel over the past few decades.
In his many fruitful years in the music industry, Ifty became an icon in Israel, with two of his songs becoming popular in schools across the country. When he was only 21, he wrote the song entitled “A Million Stars,” performed by Amit Farkash. Ifty wrote the track for a friend who passed away while doing his duty for his country. Since then, the song has become a success and a regular anthem for Memorial Day events.
After almost eight years since releasing “A Million Stars,” Ifty wrote and composed another classic called “In Our Kindergarten.” The song was performed by Israeli singer and actress Shaylee Atary and showed a different angle to his grief in 2006. Like his first major composition, “In Our Kindergarten” enjoyed enormous success and solidified Ifty’s status as a premier Israeli songwriter.
“A Million Stars” and “In Our Kindergarten” were Ifty’s gifts to his home country of Israel. However, his 2007 masterpiece called “The Night Will Pass” became his most commercially successful release. The song was Ifty’s first number 1 single from his debut album released the same year entitled Here It Begins. The album saw the release of his other singles called “Over Again” and “Come to the Sea.”
When the 2010s unfolded, Ifty underwent a significant shift in the kind of music he made. After years of writing songs that inspired his constituents in Israel, he started writing love songs, which was the focus of his second album. For a year, Ifty carried the nickname Shlifty and released his cover of the song “Alors On Danse” by Stromae. In 2012, he released another song called “Learn to Let Go,” his first break-up song.
Ifty focused on his studies in 2014 and successfully graduated from the Academic Center for Law and Science with a bachelor’s degree in law. He wrote “In Our Kindergarten” for Operation Firm Cliff during the Gaza War that same year. Patriotism burned in Ifty during these moments, and writing the song was his way of expressing appreciation for soldiers in the army.
Ifty’s belief in his music was his key to emerging triumphant in the challenging music industry. Millions of people can hear his songs and may have varying opinions about the message he’s trying to send. However, he holds firm in that he writes songs to inspire and not impress. After years of experience, Ifty is confident that he’s used music effectively to express his deepest thoughts and pains on different subjects.
Ifty is the perfect example of an artist who uses his talent to make a difference, something the world needs right now. Ifty co-founded a technology company called Kissterra, where he’s now the president, the reason for his current break from making music. However, he continues to write songs and hopes to make a comeback in the music scene soon.
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