Good Gordon is Recording M4M Songs in Hebrew—and They’re Very Good
WITH GOOR GORDON
Today Gordon, a queer R&B artist, singing in Hebrew, has made a lane for himself within the genre marked equally by authenticity, spirituality and audacity.
Photography, Ori Taub
Words, Cole Habersham In Conversation with Goor Gordon
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When a young Gur Gordon, better known professionally as Good Gordon, wrote his first song about clouds, he had no way of knowing the simple, private songs of his childhood would develop into life-changing records.
The alternative R&B genre is saturated with songs about love, sex, and breakups. At the top of the charts are songs about cis-hetero love, sex, and breakups. While Gordon’s decision to write from a M4M perspective—and sing in a holy language—was not entirely intentional at first, he now finds he’s breaking new ground and making space for queer people, particularly those that speak Hebrew, to understand what is to be loved in a way that only music can explain.
His club sound is familiar and will be a welcome addition to the after-hours DJ rotation, but just how directly he pulls from his own experience—mixing heartfelt storytelling with production to get you lost in movement—is what will keep him around now that’s arrived.
It’s eight in the evening in Ko Pha Ngan, Thailand, where Gordon is recording his latest project at a friend’s house. His friends have gathered for a birthday celebration, but he joins me outside on ZOOM, lit against black skies and braving Thailand’s evening crawlies to talk about his early beginnings in music, his relationship with religion, and time spent cooking for men that unfortunately come short.
making music alone can be fun. Jamming can be very spiritual. But creating art that isn't helping anyone else, but yourself, doesn’t feel like purpose.
Gordon is dressed in a striped, loose sweater that reveals a tattoo below his collarbone—four Xs. He says the tattoo has no meaning and that’s the meaning of it, a surprising choice from a man who seems to have found meaning in everything else.
THE LOOK
Jadid
CH: So what brought you to Ko Pha Ngan?
GG: I was sick of Tel Aviv being so expensive and I was looking for somewhere else to go for a while. I called a friend who has a place here and asked him if I could just come to reorganize my thoughts and I'm here. You can hear the animals. [laughs]
CH: Well, there's worse places to be stuck, I would imagine.
GG: It's heaven really. I think I’ll be ‘stuck’ here for a while.
CH: And you’re from Tel Aviv originally?
GG: Yes, I was born in Tel Aviv.
CH: How’d you get your start with music?
GG: My mom is a musician; a singer and piano player. For me, music is just like my mother tongue in a way. Early memories involving music are the earliest memories I have. My stepfather was my music teacher so [music] was my whole life.
CH: I love that. Do you know why you were named Gur?
GG: Well, not really. There’s a well known song in Israel - it's a song from a parent to their child. There are actually various meanings for the word ‘Gur’ and in this song they use it, in the meaning of ‘be careful’. I feel my parents just liked the word, liked the sound and wanted something special.
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Shirt, Jadid; Trousers, Outside Society
CH: Tell me about the first song you wrote.
GG: The first song I wrote was something about the clouds and the shape of the clouds, really young. Creating melodies was always something I did even if I didn't record them. I think the first song that I wrote and recorded was 2014 at 18.
CH: Were you working independently at that time?
GG: I had a crew - our label is pretty much the crew that we had at that time, that developed into what it is now. We got to know each other at 18 and since then, we’ve been working on music together almost all the time.
CH: That's amazing. So you've been working with this same group of people pretty much your entire career then.
GG: Yeah. Calling it a career is pretty far in terms of whatever you want to call a career for me. For a long, long time I didn't release anything. And then when I did, which was only the end of 2021, there were three mix tapes that were lying around for a while and I was mixing them again.
CH: What motivated you to release that project in 2021? Why did it feel like it was the right time?
GG: It was very natural. My crew called me to the studio and they were writing in Hebrew. The album that I wrote previously was in English. And so I was a little out of it at first. Writing in Hebrew is like a different mindset. After I came, they were like, okay, let's do something fresh from scratch.
In 15 minutes, there was a track. When I had the verses I wrote in Hebrew, it was like, boom, this needs to be out. It's not me, not my choice. It's not about if I want to. These lyrics - people should hear them.
CH: What did it feel like - difference between writing in Hebrew and writing in English?
GG: I had Hebrew material before, but this was a mix of a few new things for me. First it was, from a male perspective to a male love interest. The fifth word is already from a boy to a boy.
And then the second thing was that it was R&B, which was resisting within myself, like the R&B space. I felt like, who am I to bring something fresh to the R&B game? Like, what the fuck? I'm a fucking white Jew from Israel? And then when it was Hebrew, it felt, within the context of where Israeli music is right now, it felt very precise.
The Hebrew album is a gift to my community, downtown Tel Aviv, the LGBTQ+ club environment.
CH: And so through singing or writing and recording in Hebrew, you almost found the purpose for your music or the reason to be putting it out.
GG: Yeah. It was one sentence for sure that made the whole change and it's, um, *sings in Hebrew*, which means I came early and cooked for you and you weren’t hard.
CH: Well, that’s a line *laughs*
GG: Yeah, when I put it out of my mouth, I was like, whoa, I can actually say that in Hebrew? Like what the fuck - people are gonna listen to the song, knowing more about my actual perspective in life. My actual thoughts and not something that I think is beautiful. That was really fresh for me. Yeah. And your original question was, why did I choose to let go and release all this music now? When I had the first song, it was like, okay, this needs to be an album [titled, כמו ילד, גור לנצח, which translates to ‘like a child, forever baby animal’’ in English]. It took me five months.
CH: Tell me about the vibe in the studio now. Is the music you're working on based on a certain experience, or do you have a certain ambition or story you're trying to tell with this project?
GG: It’s about what has happened for the past couple of months, from the start of 2022. It’s gonna be for the club and a little spiritual.
CH: This might be obvious, but do you consider yourself a spiritual person?
GG: Oh yeah. For a long time, it was really hard for me to meet that. Within the Israeli context of what's Judaism and what's religion, you don't get enough of spirituality in a non-religious context. And then a lot of what I was feeling throughout my life was like, who can I fucking talk with about that, you know? But now I'm in the perfect space for it. I have for the past two months since moving here [to Ko Pha Ngan], I'm like, wow, wow. I'm so fucking deep. Like I, I got to rediscover myself really.
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David Cohen
CH: What’s the difference in meaning between the project you’re working on now and the Hebrew one, like a child forever baby animal?
GG: The Hebrew album is a gift to my community, downtown Tel Aviv, the LGBTQ+ club environment. It’s filled with themes, slang, [name-checking] places, and [references] to stuff from actual daily life within that space. And now I feel like I want to create a gift to anyone I would meet on the way that would want to dance with me. I want it to be a celebration - ceremonial and spiritual. The Hebrew album was also a break-up album.
CH: Oh was it?
GG: It was very much about boys and now I'm like, I, I don't care. I’m very satisfied with my life right now.
CH: I mean, both albums are needed. We need the breakup album for when we're in that space and we also need the album to dance. I should ask you, is there anyone that's inspiring your music right now?
GG: I'm really intrigued by LSDXOXO. I danced to them playing in Berlin in October and the set was really, really good.
CH: What helped you with that self discovery and figuring out who you are and what you believe?
GG: Music, smart and spiritual people, psychedelics, practice. I feel like this is life, you know?
CH: Yes, I've been thinking a lot about, in my personal life, the idea of purpose. Just based on our conversation today, it feels like you've found your purpose through your music and you know exactly what it is you're meant to be doing and saying, and that is to tell an authentic story through your music.
GG: First of all, thank you for saying that. I feel like I don't know if music alone is enough purpose. I’d say if I'd find myself helping people with any of my abilities, that would be like a purposeful act. Making music alone can be fun, jamming can be very spiritual but, creating art that isn't helping anyone else, but yourself, doesn’t feel like purpose.
The Hebrew album that I put out is the only thing I ever did that touched people, where people reached out to me and I sat with them and we became friends. I don’t know about my future with music, you know. I know I'll keep on making it, because it helped me organize my thoughts, but I'll let the universe decide if it’s for other people to enjoy.
THE LOOK
OTOT
CH: Anyone you’re listening to today, as a fan?
GG: I had a really big comeback for Azealia Banks in the past few months.
CH: Her show in New York where she was playing Brooklyn Steele…absolutely insane. Oh my God.
GG: Insane. Insane. I would love to go to her show. It’s just a party, just like a party.
CH: Have you been to New York?
GG: A couple of times. The last time was 2019 for two months. I was staying in a really good friend's apartment next to Columbus Circle. It was so weird.
CH: [turns laptop towards view of Hudson yards] Not too far from here, actually.
GG: Oh wow.
CH: Anything else you’d like to touch on, Gur?
GG: Um, no. There’s actually a party, a birthday party for a friend here. I’ll join them. Thank you so fucking much.
