Born in Israel, raised in Massachusetts, and educated at Berklee College of Music, NILI BROSH has performed with Steve Vai, Paul Gilbert, Tony MacAlpine, Andy Timmons, Guthrie Govan/The Aristocrats, Stu Hamm, Jennifer Batten, Gretchen Menn, DragonForce, Jeff Loomis, Alphonso Johnson, and The Iron Maidens. NILI has also released three solo albums (“Through The Looking Glass”, 2010, “A Matter of Perception”, 2014, and “Spectrum”, 2019), the material from which she performs and gives clinics on.
Additionally, NILI has written a lesson column for Premier Guitar magazine, released several courses with JTC Guitar, and recorded guitars on Danny Elfman’s 2021 and 2022 releases “Big Mess”, “Bigger. Messier.”
Ever an advocate for melody – regardless of instrumentation – NILI BROSH proves no different with her recent two new singles, “Song for Hope” and “Lavender Mountains,” which are out now on all digital outlets. Perhaps even more significant when speaking about instrumental music, melodies have always been at the forefront of BROSH’s priorities.
“I’ve always been a sucker for hooks, though when I was younger, I was mostly familiar with vocal ones. Since I’m no singer, I knew there must be a way to translate memorable melodies to the guitar. I feel like my first few albums were a journey in finding my melodic voice on the instrument, and hooks that ended up on my 2019 album, SPECTRUM, such as on ‘Primal Feels’ or ‘Andalusian Fantasy’ were a sort of culmination of that early journey.”
BROSH’s new songs are meant to be listened to back-to-back. “Song for Hope,” written during the pandemic, represents the quiet optimism for better days, and is thus made to transition into the uplifting intro of “Lavender Mountains.” Dark days spent quietly pondering a lighter future are replaced by uplifting emotions. Feelings full of life return, and the desire to make up for lost time is passionate and strong.
Sonic Perspectives correspondent Scott Medina chatted with BROSCH about the inspiration for both singles, guitar approaches, her collaboration with a myriad of musicians, and several other topics. Join them for this 20 minute chat, and make sure to follow Sonic Perspectives on Facebook, Flipboard and Twitter and subscribe to our YouTube channel to be notified about new interviews and contents we publish on a daily basis.
“Song for Hope” and “Lavender Mountains” add to BROSH’s catalog of memorable songs-without-words. As both her current and older work suggests, it certainly seems that her collaborations only contribute to this outlook and feed the overall result. Whether it’s playing the iconic theme from “The Simpsons” with Danny Elfman, a timeless hit such as “Beat It” for “Michael Jackson ONE by Cirque du Soleil” at Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino in Las Vegas, or creative fast metal riffs with Dethklok, it’s clear that her side work continues to pour inspiration back into her writing.
The video for “Lavender Mountains,” is BROSH’s “aural representation of the mountains that surround me,” as she explains. “I’ve long been inspired by the desert. Since the ‘Michael Jackson ONE by Cirque du Soleil’ gig moved me out to Vegas in 2017, I’ve often mistaken it for my natural habitat. It mirrored the desert environment and feeling I remembered as a kid in Israel. It’s a feeling I could never properly articulate or explain, but it luckily started coming out in my music.”
Having been endorsed by Ibanez Guitars for over a decade, BROSH can be seen playing her LA Custom Shop Ibanez RG770 guitar, which she’s also used for performances with Danny Elfman, Dethklok, as well as her solo concerts.
In touring news, in addition to her own performances as part of “Michael Jackson ONE by Cirque du Soleil” in her current hometown of Las Vegas, NILI BROSH will be performing with Danny Elfman on August 3 in San Diego, CA and on August 5 in Irvine, CA. She’ll also perform with Dethklok as part of their massive summer tour, “The Babyklok Tour,” with Babymetal which is set to kick off August 30 in Houston, TX. Ticket info can be found on the tour’s official website.
