We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Ran Livneh a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Ran, thanks for joining us today. What’s been the most meaningful project you’ve worked on?

Being a musician, you learn and focus on the main craft of your instrument. For a bass player it’s to accompany and support the music. After moving to NY I started playing gigs anywhere I could, mostly jazz. but I didn’t feel satisfaction. It took me few years to learn how to shift the energy to other projects that meant something to me. One thing that was helpful is collaboration with other open minded musicians. Suddenly, along with improvisation session I started having conversations about what we are looking for. At this point when I started playing music that was directed to have a meaning, the meaning it self came. And I felt that all I need to do it to keep the role of the bass – support. And to be there. to make people feel something.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I’m not sure in which point music became a my career. I’ve been playing bass – performing, teaching, recording and collaborating for over 15 years. I always was in a kind of band and playing gigs, but only when I moved to NY I started thinking on the meaning for what I play. There are many musicians all over the world who can do everything in the highest level. For me, I’m trying to focus on what I can bring to a situation – playing solid bass line, making the other people in the band sound good, and maybe here and there being a little abstract. This approach felt good to me. And once it started feel good to me, I notice that other are happy too. That’s when you get a call to work not because you play a certain instrument and you’re available on that certain date, but because it’s YOU.

Are there any books, videos or other content that you feel have meaningfully impacted your thinking?

In my second year in NY I came across the book Letters To a Young Poet by Rilke. This was during a very confusing times. I was searching for new music, new directions, going to see shows every night of people I’ve never heard of before, venues that non of my friends went to. Within the flow of this search Rilke’s book gave me hope in my actions – “Be patient toward all that is unsolved in your heart and try to love the questions themselves, like locked rooms and like books that are now written in a very foreign tongue. Do not now seek the answers, which cannot be given you because you would not be able to live them. And the point is, to live everything. Live the questions now. Perhaps you will then gradually, without noticing it, live along some distant day into the answer.”

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

For the most rewarding aspect of being an artist is to make people feel something. When people come to me after a show and thank for the music, asking questions, it feels special because you gave them something and you were a part of their experience. Few times I got feedback from people that I inspired them to play, or listen to kind of music, or take a walk in the park.

Contact Info:

• Website: http://www.livnehran.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ran_livneh/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOHPDy6IEIBM8KWV_VVt77Q