From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Rami Fortis
The "Plonter" album cover (1978)
Origin	Tel Aviv, Israel
Years active	1975 - present
Genres	Rock
Labels	CBS Nana Disc Hed Arzi Helicon

Rami Fortis (Hebrew: רמי פורטיס) is an influential Israeli rock singer.

Rami Fortis (normally known just as "Fortis") was born on July 7, 1954 in Tel Aviv, Israel. He is an influential persona and is considered one of the central Rock singers in Israel. He served in the 1973 Yom Kippur war and was highly influenced by his experiences in the front. He began his musical career in 1975 as a lighting-man in the shows of Tamuz band.

His 1978 album “Plonter” is considered a breakthrough in the Israeli music and one of the most influential in the history of Hebrew rock. This album was to become one of the wildest and noisisest albums ever to be recorded in Israel. Plonter was way ahead of its time and was influenced by such artists as Iggy Pop and Ramones and was characterized by topics and style that were unfamiliar and unconventional at the time it was released.

Meanwhile a group of his Tel Aviv friends, guitar player Berry Sakharof (with whom Fortis had played in S.O.B), bass player Malka Spigel (who was Fortis' girlfriend at the time) & singer/ poet Samy Birnbach (who had contributed lyrics to "Plonter") formed Minimal Compact in 1981 in Amsterdam. The band established itself as an Alternative Rock band in Europe, signing to Belgium's Crammed Records, making two albums and adding drummer Max Franken. In 1984 Fortis was asked to join and stayed with them up to the first split in 1988. He was part of the line up which produced the band's two best known albums "Deadly Weapons" produced by Tuxedomoon's Peter Principle and "Raging Souls" produced by Wire's Colin Newman and toured with them extensively in Europe & Japan. Minimal Compact remain notable as the only (mainly) Israeli band to have gained serious credibility outside of the country. They had a song ("When I go") included in Wim Wenders' Wings of Desire movie soundtrack & had covers designed by Neville Brody and Russell Mills.

On his return to Israel in 1988 he recorded his second album “Sipurim Mehakufsa" (“Stories from the Box”), a collaboration with Berry Sakharof which has been described by many music critics the most important rock album ever to come out in Israel. Later albums included a collaboration with Mashina's Shlomi Bracha. Since 2004 the collaboration with Berry Sakharof has been revived with the re-formation of the duo Fortisacharoff.

Fortis resides in Beit Yitzhak, Israel and is married to Naomi director of the Batsheva Dance Company.

• 1978 – Plonter (Knot), (Hebrew: פלונטר)
• 1988 – Sipurim Mehakufsa (Tales from the Box), (Hebrew: סיפורים מהקופסא)
• 1990 – 1900? (Fortisacharoff)
• 1992 – Lehitraot Bechalomotai (See You in My Dreams), (Hebrew: להתראות בחלומותי)
• 1992 – Kshehagitara Menaseret Et Halaila (When the Guitar Saws the Night) (Live, Fortisacharoff)
• 1994 – Shoter Poshea VeHa’anak Halochesh (Cop Crook and the Whispering Giant)
• 1996 – Eifo Hasusim (Where’s the Horses) (Fortis Bros.)
• 1998 – Ratz Al Haketzeh (Running on the Edge) (With Shlomi Bracha)
• 2001 – Hatzi Otomati (Semi Automatic)
• 2006 – Al Hamishmeret (On Guard) (Fortisacharoff)

• Official site (Hebrew)