Israeli group 'The Young Professionals' signs deal with Universal; aims to show the relaxed side of Tel Aviv.
By BENJAMIN SPIER, DAVID BRINNThe Young Professionals(photo credit: Courtesy)
International stardom has come calling for Israeli musicians Ivri Lider and Jonny Goldstein.The two main members of the pop-dance group, The Young Professionals (TYP), recently signed a three album deal with Universal Music. The deal follows the rapidly growing popularity of their two singles, 20 seconds and D.I.S.C.O. The Young Professionals' first single, D.I.S.C.O., has already received 600,000 hits on YouTube since its release last June and it is now a regular on DJs' playlists around Europe.TYP's club-friendly music contains no Hebrew lyrics and some would even argue the music has no relation to Israel.Lider refutes this claim by saying that their music represents the relaxed atmosphere of Tel Aviv, a side of Israel that is unfamiliar to many people.Goldstein and Lider say that in every article written about TYP, nobody forgets to write that the band is Israeli. While the band does not consider itself an ambassador of Israel, Lider says that when performing abroad, he feels it is necessary to speak positively of Israel.
