Your Next Obsession Is in Here: 10 Artists to Explore If Adi Ulmansky Is Already in Your Rotation
Discovering an artist who actually gets you is one of the best feelings in music. And if Adi Ulmansky has already found a permanent spot in your playlist, you know exactly what that feeling is like. Her music sits in this rare space where indie songwriting meets world-influenced production meets the kind of raw emotional honesty that makes you feel seen in the best possible way.
Photo: Adi Ulmansky, via rgp.ae
So what do you listen to next? We've mapped out the sonic neighborhood Adi calls home — artists who share her instincts, her fearlessness, or her refusal to fit neatly into a single genre. Some of these names you might already know. Others are about to become new favorites.
1. Zaz — For the Joy of Singing Like Nothing Else Exists
French singer Zaz brings the same kind of cultural rootedness to her work that makes Adi's music feel so specific and alive. Her voice is all texture and feeling, and her blend of chanson, jazz, and pop refuses to be categorized. If you love the way Adi carries a sense of place in her sound, Zaz will hit the same nerve.
2. Sufjan Stevens — For the Emotional Precision
Few American artists build songs the way Sufjan does — with the patience of someone who actually trusts the listener to go there with them. His lyrics are dense with meaning, his arrangements are never predictable, and his willingness to be completely vulnerable on record mirrors exactly what makes Adi's songwriting so arresting. Start with Carrie & Lowell if you haven't already.
Photo: Sufjan Stevens, via static.spin.com
3. Yasmin Levy — For the World-Music Soul
If the cross-cultural DNA in Adi's music is what draws you in, Yasmin Levy is essential listening. An Israeli singer who weaves together Flamenco, Sephardic tradition, and contemporary pop, Levy's work is a masterclass in how heritage and innovation can coexist in the same song. Deeply moving, beautifully crafted.
4. Mitski — For the Fearless Live Energy
Mitski has become one of the most talked-about live performers in indie music for a reason. Her stage presence is intense, physical, and completely committed — she's not performing at you, she's performing through you. If you've ever felt that same full-body electricity watching Adi hold a room, Mitski will deliver that same feeling.
Photo: Mitski, via www.rollingstone.com
5. Noa (Achinoam Nini) — For the Bilingual, Boundary-Crossing Artistry
Another Israeli artist who built a genuinely international career, Noa has been navigating the space between Hebrew and English, between folk and jazz and classical, for decades. Her voice is extraordinary and her artistic integrity is unimpeachable. She's also proof — as if more were needed — that Israeli artists bring something genuinely distinct to the global stage.
6. Angel Olsen — For the Raw Lyricism
Angel Olsen writes lyrics that feel like they were pulled directly out of something private and unfiltered. Her voice can go from fragile whisper to full-throated howl inside a single verse. That tonal range — emotional and sonic — is something Adi's fans will recognize immediately. All Mirrors is a great entry point if you want to understand what fearless artistic reinvention sounds like.
7. Aldous Harding — For the Artistically Unpredictable
New Zealand-born Aldous Harding is the kind of artist who keeps you slightly off-balance in the best possible way. Her music is theatrical, strange, intimate, and completely singular. If you appreciate that Adi never quite does what you expect her to do, Harding will feel like a natural fit. Her album Designer is a good starting place.
8. Fabrizio De André — For the Storytelling Depth
Okay, this one's a classic Italian folk recommendation, but stick with it. De André was a master of narrative songwriting — his songs were populated with outsiders, dreamers, and people society overlooked, all rendered with enormous compassion. His influence runs through a lot of world-conscious singer-songwriters, and if you find yourself drawn to the literary quality in Adi's writing, De André is the kind of deep cut that changes how you hear everything.
9. Snail Mail — For the Indie Authenticity
Lindsay Jordan, the artist behind Snail Mail, writes with an emotional directness that doesn't try to hide behind irony or coolness. Her debut album Lush and the follow-up Valentine are both exercises in saying the true thing, even when it's uncomfortable. That commitment to authenticity is very much in the same spirit as what Adi does — and it's resonating with a lot of the same listeners for the same reasons.
10. Tei Shi — For the Genre-Blending Production
Colombian-Canadian artist Tei Shi builds music that moves between indie pop, R&B, and electronic production with a fluidity that feels completely natural rather than calculated. Her work has that quality of being impossible to fully pin down — you think you know where a song is going and then it takes a left turn that somehow feels inevitable in retrospect. Sound familiar?
The Common Thread
Look back at this list and you'll notice something: none of these artists are doing music on anyone else's terms. They're all, in their own way, building something that didn't quite exist before they made it. That's the neighborhood Adi Ulmansky lives in — and honestly, it's a pretty great place to spend your listening hours.
Save this list, work through it slowly, and come back to Adi's music in between. You'll start hearing new things every time.
