Yuval Havkin: "I have a way of hearing colors"
Musician Yuval Havkin, known by his stage name Rejoicer, possesses a rare ability—synesthesia, which allows him to "hear" colors in music. Ahead of his Sonic Blue show, he discusses his creative process, the influence of the sea, and his father's personal journey.
"Music translates into color in my head," says Yuval Havkin, known by his stage name Rejoicer. His musical language is rich and sensitive, partly thanks to synesthesia—a neurological phenomenon where the senses mix. While some people see letters in colors or taste words, for Havkin, sounds turn into shades. "I hear sounds and say, 'This feels yellow to me, I should have green next to it.' I have a way of hearing colors."
On Thursday, he will present the show Sonic Blue at the Israel Festival at the Jerusalem Theatre, which brings together musicians and players he has worked with in the past: Gal Toren, Shai Tsabari, Riff Cohen, and Alex Moshe (Folly Tree). Blue is the central axis of the evening. "Often the music that comes out of me is in light blue-green shades, turquoise and purple. I think it's not for nothing—something in my personality is calm, and it's probably related to that too."
For Havkin, blue is not just a color that accompanies the sounds. It is also the color of the sea, the most beloved place of his father, Igal, who finds comfort and quiet in sailing. Footage from the voyages, which Yuval filmed when he accompanied his father, was edited for the video art that accompanies the show. "I sail with him a lot; I just returned from a whole week on the boat."
Havkin's father was taken prisoner in Syria during the Yom Kippur War and was released after eight months of captivity. "As a child, I didn't fully understand what happened; only in the last ten years have I received a lot of information that I was missing. Over the years, it became easier for him to relate to it and take care of himself, and we are very close friends. In the last two years, I have filmed him a lot in preparation for a documentary film I want to make about him. In his story, there is a lot of hope and love; it is actually a story about freedom."
Havkin (40) grew up in a musical home. His great-grandmother was the cellist Thelma Yellin, and his mother is the former dancer Michal Havkin. "I studied at Thelma Yellin, but in film, because I didn't want to study jazz and classical. My parents love music very much, and unfortunately, they will not be in the country when the show goes up."
He started playing piano and guitars as a child, and in eighth grade, he was already creating hip-hop and electronic music on the computer. 17 years ago, he founded the label Raw Tapes and worked with dozens of artists, including Asaf and Eyal Talmudi, Maya Dunietz, Echo, and trumpeter Avishai Cohen. In 2016, he signed with Stones Throw, the prestigious Los Angeles label. "It's a childhood dream come true. My albums are in a genre called experimental electronic, but not clubby. I have been doing yoga for many years, my mother is a yoga teacher, I meditate, so there is something meditative in the music."
Havkin worked with actor Alon Aboutboul on his album Footprints on Water, which was released four months after his death. "Alon and I were good friends. We finished the album, and the night before he passed away, he received the cover and approved it. It took me time to process the death."
Today, he divides his time between Spain, Los Angeles, and Israel. The war, according to him, has affected the pace of performances in the world. "There is a slowdown and less desire to invite Israeli artists. There are countries in Scandinavia where I used to play twice a year, and since the war, not. On some level, it feels hypocritical to me, but I can also understand it. International artists are not willing to come to the country. In June 2023, we held a big event to celebrate 15 years of the label in Tel Aviv, with 3,000 people attending. The continuation of the celebrations was scheduled for October 7—and that, of course, did not happen."
