Today, New York City-based alternative singer/songwriter, Jeryko, releases his new single, “Friends”.
“It’s hard to find real friends today and it’s also hard to be one”, explains Jeryko. “This song is about meeting someone where they are at with all their baggage and learning to be there for them.” “Friends” is drawn from Jeryko’s forthcoming EP, Human, due out on October 11th. In support, he will be playing an EP release show on October 10th at Mercury Lounge. For more information, please visit: https://www.facebook.com/jerykomusic/.
Co-produced by Jeryko (née Yaniv Hoffman) with Grammy-nominated Taylor Larson (Asking Alexandria, From First To Last, I See Stars) and multi-instrumentalist Thavius Beck (Saul Williams, Mars Volta, Nas), Human is a powerful collection of songs written through a lens of faith and mission. Much of the lyrical content is inspired by Hoffman’s experience working on himself, his unexpected path to neo-Hassidism, searching for his other half and ultimately finding this love in a widowed woman with three children.
The underlying themes of the EP deal with pushing past boundaries and facing uncomfortable realities for the sake of love, truth and life. Hoffman elaborates: “There is a saying in Jewish texts ‘When you save one person, you save the world’ and that’s how I approach my music and this EP in particular. If one person hears a song and gives them inspiration, or the strength to carry on through a struggle, I did my job.”
The spirituality that manifests in Hoffman’s songs largely stems from his time serving in the Israeli Defense Force. Raised in a Conservative Jewish family with Israeli and Bukharian heritage, Hoffman left New York University, where he studied Music Business, in 2012 to serve his country
and find purpose. This period of self-sacrifice inspired his 2017 single “Fighting For” and put him on a path of continued search for purpose.
Today, he continues this search in a number of ways: Not only does he run a modern and innovative Jewish community for young people in New York City and host a Shabbat dinner for about 150 people every Friday, but he also studies and teaches Kabbalah—mysticism, the philosophy and its practical applications.
“Friends”, the latest single from Jeryko’s forthcoming EP Human, is available now on all digital platforms.
