Today, in a moving op-ed for SPIN Magazine, the indie-pop artist HAPPIE, who doubles as the cantorial soloist for one of the largest congregations of Reform Judaism in the U.S., reflected on her Jewish heritage, her experience performing at Auschwitz-Birkenau in the past, and the recent wave of antisemitism that has riddled the country and music industry. “While I might not be on a physical platform like I was at Auschwitz, I have the responsibility to say that this is not ok. It’s not normal,” she writes. “I am grateful for the support of my non-Jewish friends and leaders who have spoken out and have stood up for a loving humanity. It’s on each of us to continue to call it out and continue to build a community where hate is not only not accepted, but is rooted out.”
The op-ed comes just before the release of HAPPIE’s debut EP ‘Heartbreak Season’ on Friday, November 18th. Mixing warmly organic instrumentation with sleek electro-ambience, storyteller narratives, sultry grooves, and seductive sentimentality, the album has received critical acclaim over the past few months, with SPIN calling it “a stunning debut,” Under The Radar Magazine describing it as “sleek and seductive,” and The Big Takeover writing: “HAPPIE is a revelation.” Last month HAPPIE stunned audiences on the main stage of the Austin City Limits Festival, just after leading Yom Kippur services at Temple Israel in Memphis.
HAPPIE recently shared “Heartbreak Season,” the title track of her new EP. Written in the middle of a New York winter, Happie describes the song as a “soulful and sultry expression of a moment in time.” The release followed the EP’s first single “All I Needed,” a sultry and honest offering that exudes a sensual longing, featuring a mix by David Block of The Human Experience, whom HAPPIE met while performing in Antarctica.
HAPPIE’s fans have long said that her voice helps them access their emotions. For that calling, she’s traveled the globe delivering soulful catharsis in song as a full-time musician. Today, HAPPIE’s musical mission is a personal one. ‘Heartbreak Season’ is an emotive 5-song collection that marks a radical reinvention, born from the end of romantic and professional relationships and an artistic rebirth.
“These are the most vulnerable songs I’ve ever released, and I definitely shed tears writing them,” HAPPIE reveals. “’Heartbreak Season’ is about what we have to go through to find real love. It doesn’t have to represent sadness, but rather bravery, empowerment, growth, truth, excitement, and knowing that anything is possible – that the love I’m seeking is seeking me.”
Conceptually, ‘Heartbreak Season’ is a snapshot of dating, relationships, and the quest for deep romantic connections. The EP was written with HAPPIE’S dear friend, the pop-rock artist iRO Music, aka Ori Rakib—a talented songwriter who has worked with Macklemore, Shane McAnally, and won NBC’s Songland songwriting television competition. It also features the soul/electronic/folk production and multi-instrumentalist skills of Gene Evaro Jr.
Previously, HAPPIE toured the world as one half of indie folk duo Eric & Happie, with Eric Hunker. The duo specialized in modern indie-folk versions of traditional Jewish music and new originals, and took their vibrant musicality around the world, including powerful performances in Poland, Russia, and Moldova, at festivals like SXSW and the Sundance Film Festival Israel, and for the UN.
