Meital Dohan is quite the renaissance woman, acting in theater, movie and tv productions (she is probably best known for the role of Yael Hoffman on Weeds.) Venturing into the music world, she is working on her debut album, tentatively titled “I’m in Hate With Love.” Based on the first two singles, “Yummy” and “On Ya,” Meital is definitely quite playful and loves her beats. Interviewing her at the Promo Only Summer Sessions in Atlantic City, I quickly realized that the quirkiness and fun you experience in her music and videos is a true reflection of her personality.
DJ Ron Slomowicz: You are working with Rami Afuni from LMFAO, how did the two of you meet up?
Meital: We were introduced by George Robertson who also works with LMFAO, he came up with ?Im Sexy And I Know It.? We had been co-writing together so he introduced me to Rami and he basically did the official track of ?Yummy? which actually started out as ?Yummy Boyz.?
RS: Does he give you and track and you write to it or how do you collaborate.
Meital: In the case of ?Yummy? we did two songs together with Rami Afuni. There was one track called ?I Bet You Want To Fuck Me? that George Robertson and Rami wrote together. I came on board and we finished writing it together. With ?Yummy? it was based on ?Yummy Boyz? but Rami Alfuni did a remix that we took as the main version.
RS: Working with Rami, should we expect another ?Party Rock Anthem? out of you?
Meital: Sure why not.
RS: The first video for ?Yummy Boyz? was kind of funny with the guys in it.
Meital: It was ridiculous wasn?t it? Most of the videos are a combination of my ideas and my teams. I have a great team and we all work together. I have been really lucky with that.
RS: Were there any historical figures that you wanted in there that didn?t make the cut?
Meital: Yeah, we wanted Clinton to be there.
RS: The second video had you walking around naked.
Meital: We call it running.
RS: Were you comfortable, how did you get the confidence to do that?
Meital: I was very comfortable. I have always an attitude that I will do what I do and everyone else will figure it out. It was fun.
RS: I saw online that you also do fitness videos.
Meital: Did you see it?
RS: I didn?t watch it, is it a serious or a comedy video?
Meital: It is a fun video.
RS: The new single has you with Sean Kingston, how did you meet up with him?
Meital: I work with Cudda Love who was responsible for Nelly and Mase. We had been working together and he also worked with Sean so he introduced us.
RS: Did you two write the song together?
Meital: Yes, with George Robertson as well.
RS: I love the Redant mix, what is your favorite mix of it?
Meital: I love all of the mixes, I love the Steven Redant mix for dancing and I like the DJ Skee and Reflex mix as well. It is very hard to say.
RS: Do you go clubbing yourself?
Meital: Sometimes, it depends on if I have time and if the clubs are still open.
RS: Who are some of your favorite DJ?s?
Meital: I was at a party in San Francisco for a DJ promo tour and we hung out with Eric Delau he was pretty cool. I like Reflex but he is my friend, of course I like him. I also like Skrillex, David Guetta, Deadmau5, and Steve Aoki, there are so many different DJ?s
RS: You are on TV, have theater background, and create music, what else is in your trick bag?
Meital: I don?t know, I think I want to study to be a makeup artist so I can do my own makeup, I just don?t have the time.
RS: What kind of reaction are you getting from your fans of your TV work to your music?
Meital: I think that the transition was very smooth and welcoming. I am so grateful for the music world, it has been so much fun after all the years of acting to just do music and meet all of the crazy people from the music industry. I love it and the fans have been pretty cool about it. Before I made the transition I was worried that people, especially in Israel, would talk badly about me becoming a singer, but everyone was very positive about it.
RS: From what I gather the big sound in Israel is still Trance and Tribal, is that still true?
Meital: Well there are a lot of different types of music in Israel; there is traditional Israeli music that is like rock with guitars, kind of old school music with instruments. Trance really started to become popular in the 90?s. While the US became big on the electro music scene over the last 5 years or so, it was already popping in the late 90?s in Israel. There is also the Arabic music that is Middle Eastern. There are so many different types of music.
RS: When I think if Israel and electronic music, I think of Flash Brothers, Yinon Yahel, Filo & Peri, Offer Nissim, and Dana International, is there anyone that I missed?
Meital: There are new people all the time, there is Borgore that has gotten really big and is in to the dubstep scene. There are so many people in the electronic scene, especially Offer Nissim and Dana. As for mainstream or Arabic music there are a whole ton of other musicians.
RS: We have talked about Rami and Sean Kingston, who else are you collaborating with for your album?
Meital: I have been collaborating with a few people like Brass Knuckles for this new “On Ya” single. I have been working on a new track with Reflex and another DJ called Ghosty. At the beginning of my album I did work with Che Pop , Raina Zenna and a lot of different people.
RS: Speaking of “On Ya,” I love the video.
Meital: I love it too. It was directed by Ray Kay who directed great videos like ?Till The World Ends? for Britney Spears and ?Poker Face? for Gaga, and ?Baby? for Justin Bieber. It has been fun and as you saw, Sean is in the video too.
RS: What would you like to say to all of your dance music fans?
Meital: I think that we should celebrate the life that we live, that is what my music and art is about, to love yourself and be free ?with your plusses and with your flaws and celebrate life, it is not easy.