After a year of witnessing the pain that infests our world, Joseph E-Shine and his long list of collaborators are ready to speak up and call to action with the single ‘We Must Bring A Change’.
Last Friday, one of Israel’s most known and admired behind-the-scenes music figures stepped onto the scene once again. Yossi Mizrahi, who goes by the stage name Joseph E-Shine, is a producer and musician with several records and millions of words of praise to his name — he is also the lead producer and principal guitarist to his longtime collaborator and wife, the renown, award-winning and multi-million selling artist, Ninet. Other artists he’s worked with include Pentatonix’s Kirtstin Moldonado and Barns Courtney.
In his new single, We Must Bring A Change, Joseph E-Shine is once again collaborating with a myriad of artists, in what is perhaps the most appropriate song to showcase teamwork and unity through the behind-the-scenes process too.
We Must Bring A Change is, as the name itself announces, is a call for change: one for the better. Conceived during times of hardship and great stress, the single is the culmination of all the events that took the world by storm in the first half of 2020 — especially, May of that very year.
Despite living in Los Angeles for five years, when the world blew up in flames due to the global pandemic and the meteoric rise of the BLM movement after the unjust assassination of civilian George Floyd, Joseph was experiencing the lockdown in Isreal with his family. It was through the power of social media that he, just like millions of non-US citizens, was informed of the tragedy and the uproar it started. At that moment Joseph knew he had to do something.
With the piano riff and the chorus coming to him at an incredible speed, the birth of We Must Bring A Change was starting, but there was still much left to do. What Joseph E-Shine was bent on, most of all, was the inclusion of artists from several ethnic groups in the song, as that would strengthen the message that this was not only his call to action, but one coming from people with different backgrounds from all over the world.
To continue with the songwriting process, E-Shine worked with a star from the R&B and pop world, PXTN; the aforementioned rock-influenced Ninet; and the songwriting couple, made up with The Voice Israel winner Kathleen Reiter and The Shadowboxers‘ lead singer, Scott Schwartz. And just like this part of the making of the track did, the chorus of the song would, too, included their multitude of voices clamoring for action.
Despite the year-long waiting time, We Must Bring A Change had to be completed and released, caused by conflicting opinions from netizens and the release of other BLM-inspired songs by A-list artists, the song still holds up true to the current times. Not only has the racial injustice against black people continued since then, just not on the scale it had back in May 2020, racially motivated crimes against Asian people saw a spike that has not lowered since, and in the Middle East, another war was breaking out while Joseph and his family were on a trip to Tel-Aviv.
Death and suffering have never been limited to a specific location, but it is in recent times that we’re able to see just how many places and people are being attacked at the same time. Though the reason behind these crimes and wars might differ, the common point is how the common people are forced to take the worst of the consequences. As innocent bystanders, our actions might be limited, but without any action taken, how can we expect to see an end to this any-time soon?
Unable to wait any longer, Joseph went back to work on the track. This time, he contacted his father to help with the drums, and asked for help in the completion of the chorus via mass emailing his close musician friends. The result? The addition of two drummers from two sides of the world, a bass player from Liverpool, keyboard players from New York and Colorado, a Cellist from Israel, and a Palestinian singer from L.A. — in the end, fifteen musicians from different countries, genders, races, and life experiences united to send a message with the wish they all shared: the time to change is now, and we must be part of it.
As a true artist who creates music with the belief that this art form is able to influence people, Joseph’s craft holds his own hope of changing people and the world for the better, until the change is so impactful it has an effect on life itself. His pure and honest intentions for a positive change are palpable in his work, and whether it’s the lyrics, the gut wrenching piano tune, the passionate guitar riffs or the desperation and anger felt in the vocals, We Must Bring A Change is brimming with that desire and refusal to give up without first marking people’s hearts.
If you enjoyed Joseph’s E-Shine music and would like to stay updated, be sure to check out and follow his Facebook and Instagram accounts. To listen to his music, you can head over to his Spotify profile, Soundcloud, and Youtube channel, or you can purchase his music at Bandcamp.
You can also support the artist by streaming and sharing his music, which can be found in the following Playlists: Less Than 1,000 Followers, Fresh Singles, Chill – Folk – Acoustic, Alterindie State Of Mind, and 12 New Songs This Week.
P.S. If you enjoy discovering new artists and fresh new music you should subscribe to Less Than 1,000 Followers and follow the Playlist with all the artists we’ve talked about!
This coverage was created via Musosoup #Sustainablecurator https://www.musosoup.com/sustainable-curator