"Words in the country have become the cheapest thing": Dani Dotan regrets nothing
Dani Dotan, a multidisciplinary artist and leader of the legendary band "HaClick", marks the release of his new book "Don't Light a Candle for Me". In a candid interview, he reflects on the legacy of Israeli punk, the power of protest art, and the longing for his late bandmates.
"I believe that in the time given to us on planet Earth, we have a role," says Dani Dotan. "My role is to give gifts. These aren't always chocolates; sometimes they are nails and thorns, and I try to give them as long as I can."
For decades, Dotan has refused to be confined to a single definition, moving freely between music, cinema, painting, and literature. As one of the most prominent voices of the counterculture, he views creation as a mission to challenge conventions. "I treat my works like weapons," he explains. "Protest is an absolute part of my essence. I always see the ugly, the bad, and the things about to shatter. This doesn't mean I'm an unloving person, but that is my worldview."
12 songs in seven days
The book "Don't Light a Candle for Me" (Sifrei Iton 77) is, in Dotan's words, his "contract with the country." It collects poems, drawings, and sketches created between 1980 and 2020.
"People talk a lot these days, and words have become the cheapest thing," Dotan declares. "But I stand by every word in this book. When I sang 45 years ago, 'Country, I'm tired of being your subject, I wasn't born a soldier,' I still stand by that today."
He notes that the song "Don't Light a Candle for Me," written during the First Lebanon War, is not a protest against defending the country, but against the cult of death. "When you are in the heart of a battlefield, you cannot sing about the beauty of the sunrise. You must address the reality. My words are blunt because I grew up in punk culture, and I am proud of it."
The voice of the deprived
Dotan recalls founding the band "Cult of Dionysus" at age 14 with his childhood friend Eli Abramov. Later, in Tel Aviv, they formed "HaClick." "Eli was a genius with a problematic ear, and that combination allowed him to produce unique music," Dotan recalls. "We wrote 12 songs in seven days. We weren't thinking about the radio; we were creating a concept album about the life path of a failing person."
Today, Dotan notes with sadness that "half of HaClick is gone": Jean-Jacques Goldberg passed away in 2006, and Eli Abramov in 2015.
In recent years, Dotan has focused on documentary filmmaking, which he creates with his partner, Dalia Mavorach. Their films explore Israeli identity, protest, and the lives of those who have been marginalized.
"To me, there is no such thing as 'arts' in the plural — there is one big art," he concludes. "The world of culture is full of garbage. Whoever wants to contribute to that pile, fine. But they should know that at a certain age, they might be ashamed of their work. That has never happened to me. There is nothing in my career that I am ashamed of."
