A Chat with Dorine Levy (06.04.25)
Known for her powerful vocals, poetic lyricism, and moving melodies, singer-songwriter Dorine Levy quickly enchants audiences with complete ease. This is our introduction to the Tel Aviv-based musician, so we’re thrilled to speak with the artist herself. Come with us as we chat about her new album, Stand As A Rock, what music means to her, future plans and more.
OSR: Cliché, but what drew you to music? What made you decide to begin making music?
Levy: Simply the love for it. At a very young age, I would listen to tons of music and go to concerts nonstop. I relocated to Israel from Montreal at 13 years old, and I had no friends but many cousins who became my best friends. They were older than me, already writing songs and playing with bands, so naturally being with them, I started to write my first songs on the guitar, and then a few years later I wrote a song called ‘L’amour’ with the producer Roy Sela that became viral before social media, and this gave me the push to continue in this direction.
OSR: What does music mean to you?
Levy: It means the world to me; as a kid, it was my place to flee to, but then when I started to release music, it gave me a point of connection with the outer world.
OSR: You were born and raised in Canada but are now in Tel Aviv. Do you think the different cultures have influenced your work, and if yes, how so?
Levy: But of course, first of all, my main language is French, so when we moved here and I started to write music, I wrote it in English because I didn’t know Hebrew very well. During those years, the main music that was popular here was rock and grunge, so this surely has an influence on my songwriting and sound. I have to have a guitar in my songs.
OSR: You recently released your LP, Stand As A Rock. What can you tell us about the LP? Is there a particular backstory or theme?
Levy: Stand As A Rock, I wrote it in a month. It was a turning point musically for me. It’s an album that is more inner in a sense. I took a new approach there, just letting my voice and hands on the piano go wherever they want and it wrote itself that way.
I was going through things at that time that seemed familiar from the past, but this time, I stood in front of them and let them be. I wasn’t going to let these things shake my faith. That this will all pass and that this is all for the best. Life brings you situations, and you can stand in front of them and yourself and grow from it all.
OSR: The LP has several genres – why diversify so instead of sticking to a particular, distinctive sound or style?
Levy: When I started to produce the album, I used samplings; the only rule I had was to go with what I like and feel that goes with the song. I am a versatile songwriter and also a producer. My debut album was also like that, a song like ‘There for Me’, which is very abstract and beat-oriented, and a song like ‘Levyrose’, which is more ethereal and rock.
The same here. I like that kind of freedom.
OSR: What do you hope people take from Stand As A Rock?
Levy: I hope they can feel closer to themselves and give to themselves; that’s the state I was creating it.
OSR: Which is more challenging for you – the music or the lyrics?
Levy: I actually have never written a song for myself. Lyrics or music aside, they come together.
OSR: What does music mean to you?
Levy: Music is what I love the most in life, alongside my family, a form of expressing and communication that can be a channel for healing and joyful moments. Music speaks to my heart and soul mostly. From a young age, at 6 years old, I went to see concerts; the first was George Michael, and it opened all of my chakras for sure.
OSR: If you had to recommend a single track off Stand As A Rock to someone who has just discovered your music, which track would you choose and why that one?
Levy: Great question! I think it might be ‘Fire on Fire’. This song is a reality check, like we go through things in life; sometimes we go down, we can feel lost and indifferent, but the important thing is to know the direction it leads to, and it’s love at the end. It’s all about love.
OSR: What can we expect from you in the future? Any tours or upcoming material?
Levy: I’ve been recording music in Hebrew for the first time, and I’m also working on an EP in English, so I’ll be releasing music soon. In the meantime, I am playing live solo piano shows, so where all this will take me.
OSR: Do you have a message for our readers?
Levy: Listen to my album Stand As A Rock, there are many messages there.
Many thanks to Dorine Levy for speaking with us. Find out more about Dorine Levy on her Facebook, Instagram and Spotify.
This artist was discovered via Musosoup #sustainablecurator
