Making music for the world: INTERVIEW OLDMANRIVER

had Rein, aka Old Man River, surprised the Japanese music scene when his song "La" stormed the charts in early 2008. Fresh from touring the land of the rising sun, the soulful singer talks to jstyle about life, music and origami.

 

"Oh man, I miss Japan!" It's the first thing Ohad Rein says when he arrives for our interview and well he might. The 28-year-old singer-songwriter from Sydney has had amazing success in Japan - his song "La" soaring to the top of the charts within weeks of its radio debut in December last year.
When we meet, Rein has just returned from a tour of Japan, which included a concert in Harajuku, Tokyo's hub of trendy youth culture. So how did a guy from Sydney become a hit on Japanese airwaves? The answer to that question takes us around the world.
Born here, Rein moved to his parents' homeland of Israel as a baby and spent his formative years growing up in what he calls "the middle of the world". But although he has few memories of his early life in Australia, Rein feels the country of his birth had a lasting influence.

"I think the nature of the country stayed with me," he says. "When I moved to Israel, which is a pretty intense place, I was always the chilled-out dude so everybody still called me 'the Australian'."
Growing up between different cultures shaped Rein's open-minded attitude towards life and also his musical tastes. From listening to his father play Bach on the flute to borrowing his "cool brother's rock-and-roll records", Rein heard it all. The eclectic mix of musical influences resulted in his liking a mish-mash of different genres and artists, with everyone from Bob Dylan to Justin Timberlake on his playlist. And as his interest in music grew, so did his desire to see more of the world.
"I remember being a teenager in my town in Israel and I always felt like I wanted to get out of there and see the world," he says. "I was born with this kind of craving. I think it makes sense too because my family was travelling all the time and we were living in all these different places, so I was just used to this momentum of moving."

After completing three years of compulsory military service he finally seized the chance to travel and set off to New York where he made ends meet by busking in the city streets. And so began Rein's adventures through America and Asia, a journey that would eventually bring him back to Sydney. It was intended to be just another stop on his trip, but five years later, he's still here.
"From the day I arrived here I just started noticing that things were happening," he says. "In life there's always an inner voice that guides you and tells you where to go. So if you get to a crossroad and you can turn left or right, it tells you 'turn left'. It's like your little GPS system inside. I was really in tune with my internal GPS and it said 'stay here' and I did. And I'm still here!"

The decision to stay was a good one. Settling into Sydney's music scene, Rein formed his band, Old Man River, and in March last year released his debut album "Good Morning". His first single "La" proved to have immense international appeal, first soaring up the radio charts in Italy before repeating the success in Japan. The second single from the album, the summer anthem "Sunshine", became Triple J's most-requested song when it was released here in January. Rein says he was surprised by the album's success, particularly in Japan.
"I was always praying to get to Japan with my music somehow, or any other way, because I'm fascinated by Japan and always have been," he says. "But I never saw it coming. This was really surprising. Everything that happened as soon as I released this album, the success in Italy and Japan...I didn't see that coming. And it happened pretty fast as well! A few weeks and we were number one... It sounds like a figure to me. I'm still not really getting it even after being there (in Japan). It feels like a dream."

When it comes to Old Man River's music, people can't seem to agree on what it sounds like, with descriptions ranging from 1960s-influenced to The Beatles to World music to Jack Johnson. It turns out Rein himself doesn't have a definite answer either.
"When people ask me to describe my music, I tend to confuse them," he says laughing. "I go, 'Oh it's hard to describe it but it's a bit of rock, a bit of folk, a bit of psychedelic music...' and then I realise I'm naming every kind of music!"
It's that very sound that is so hard to categorise that has found popularity on three continents, justification enough for Rein to call it "universal music...music for the world".
The Old Man River world keeps expanding and a big part of it is Japan, where Rein toured in February. With his afro hairstyle and laidback attitude, he might look a lot different from the typical J-pop idol. But Rein has won legions of Japanese fans with his unique style of music, full of positive energy.
The catchy "La" was written in a music therapy workshop for children with disabilities, one of Rein's regular volunteer activities. Its joyful sound is infectious and catchy chorus unforgettable. After its debut, 28 FM radio stations across Japan were flooded with requests for "La", many from middle and high-school students and people who don't usually listen to Western music. Rein thinks the secret of its success was the song's simplicity.
"It had to be a simple song in order for those kids that I was working with to connect with it and sing with it," he says. "And I learned a big lesson through it. I thought this song was a bit too simple and I was hesitant to even put it on the album, and I don't think anybody expected it to blow up like that.

"But now I've seen what it did everywhere, I get it. Keep it simple and people are going to connect with it. People don't speak English that well in Italy and Japan, but they still sing along. You don't need to know the language in order to join in; you just 'get it'."
During his tour of Japan, Rein found time outside his busy performance schedule to get involved in local communities, visiting schools to play with young children, make origami (traditional Japanese art of paper-folding) and even holding a music therapy workshop at a cafe operated by workers with disabilities.
"When I went to the cafe with disabled workers I got so lost in [the workshop] that all of a sudden I forgot I was in Japan because it felt exactly like the workshops we do in Sydney," he says. "Exactly the same, the same energy...and even though there was a language barrier we just connected through the music, which is amazing. I realised that there's no difference between people. Once you see through the surface differences, the world is the same."
Rein is refreshingly carefree when it comes to fame, calling it "the game", and modest about his skills and social conscience, describing himself as a channel for music rather than a creator.
"It's not really me that's writing the songs, they just come through me," he says. "I'm lucky because I can hear songs, but they're in the air. Just think about how many radio stations are in the air right now, and as soon as you have an antenna, you can listen to them. They're already here; we just need to pick them up somehow. It's the same thing with songs and music." Then he adds jokingly, "I don't know, maybe it's my hair!"
Although he downplays his skills, Rein remains emphatic about his aim in making music - to make people happy.

"The songs I chose (for the album "Good Morning") came from a positive intention to make people feel good and better while still keeping it real and not making it too cheesy," he says. "That was a challenge I wanted to grab because I think that's where music can be really powerful. There's so much music around, but I really get attracted to songs that make me feel good and change my mood."
The songs on the Old Man River album are said to exude warmth, honesty and vitality. But even after his breakthrough in Japan, the artist questions such descriptions.
"It's funny, the more you progress, the bigger I get with my music, the bigger my doubts are." he says. "But I think there's a place for doubts; they do a very important job in your life. If you keep questioning what you're doing and you keep finding an answer, you become stronger."
When asked about future plans, his answer is simple and unassuming.
"I hope I can just keep doing this for a long time. I really want to just keep creating, making albums, making music...just being open to any possibility that comes."

Today, Sydney is happily his home and he's making the most of the beach.
"I live near Bondi Beach and it's amazing," he says. "The other day we were doing rehearsals and we wanted to have a break for an hour, so we went for a swim in paradise. And then went back to work! It's something I really appreciate now after seeing other places in the world. You don't get that in London, you don't get that in Tokyo, there's something really special about this place."
Japanese and Australian fans alike will undoubtedly agree there's something really special about Rein too.