Zikney Tzfat (or “Elders Of Safed” in Hebrew) is a grunge / punk band formed in Tel Aviv, Israel around 1990 by Maor Cohen, Yoni Ben Tovim, Oren Lutenberg and Adiel Portugaly who was later replaced by Rea Mochiach.
[1] In the period of their first album (simply titled Zikney Tzfat) their music was very noisy and influenced by American grunge bands like Killdozer and Butthole Surfers, and their lyrics were often vulgar and childish if not derogatory.
Their early songs often tackled controversial topics such as homosexuality, prostitution, drugs and Israeli politics albeit with vulgar and degrading lyrics.
[citation needed] A notable song on the album title "Shishi Shabbat" (Friday-Sabbath) became a hit single in spite of the fact it only has 4 lines in its lyrics.
In March 2014 after a film that was made about Zikney Tzfat's early years (HaAlbomim, channel 8) brought them all together again, the four band members discovered that the spark and unique musical chemistry between them still exists.