ORPHANED
LAND
Orphaned Land is an extremely
interesting and original band and “Mabool” is one of the best releases
I’ve heard lately. I think that we are talking about a band that everyone
should listen, cause I think that both their music and lyrics have a lot
to offer to all of us. Kobi, the band’s main man offered us some extremely
interesting answers through a very pleasant interview. Read and keep your
eyes open for Orphaned Land!
1.FIRST OF ALL CONGRATULATIONS
FOR “MABOOL”! I THINK IT’S BY FAR YOUR BEST, MOST COMPLETE AND COMPLEX
ALBUM!
-
Thank you very much! We think also
the same! Hahahaha!
2.WHY DID IT TAKE YOU 7 YEARS TO RELEASE
A NEW ALBUM? I READ IN THE BIO THAT IT WAS DUE TO THE DIFFICULTIES YOU
FACE IN ISRAEL. WHAT WAS HAPPENING ALL THESE YEARS THAT LED YOU TO THIS
BREAK?
-
First of all we had some problems with
the band members, we signed and released a cd when we were very young,
the first cd of ours “Orphaned Land” was released when we were in the age
of 16 - 18 years old. So, we were like kids and after the second album
it’s very normal for the bands to face some sort of crisis, arguing about
how they should continue with the band. So, we had those kind of problems
and some of the band members had also drug problems and we also had the
very difficult reality of living here in Israel. It’s very hard to make
a living here and it’s very hard to be a band under these circumstances,
so we had to put the band in a third position in our lives instead of being
the first priority to us. So, everything became slower, we never gave up
the band, we never thought of splitting up, but it was out of priority.
We had other things to do and the personal relationship among us wasn’t
that good and today when I look back I think it was very clever of us to
do so, because if it wasn’t for these 7 years it wouldn’t have been possible
to us to bring such a complex album as “Mabool”. I think that eventually
today I can see the good sides of such a thing, even though that during
these years we were frustrated because we signed with a big company and
nothing came out of it because of us. They were very difficult 7 years…
-WELL I THINK IT WORTH IT!
-
Ooohh yeah definitely! Yesterday (26/02/2004)
it was the first day that I held the complete cd in my hands for the first
time!
-REALLY!
-
Yeah! I went to the distribution company
in Israel. They had something like 1000 cds over there and I think that
I kissed all the cds! Hahahahhaha! I gave a personal kiss to every cd!
Hahahaha! It’s like a birth you know. It’s like having children, but it’s
more like the birth of your creation. If it was so hard, it was just in
order to make it even sweeter…
3.IF I ASKED YOU TO PRESENT “MABOOL”
TO THE READERS YOURSELF, WHAT WOULD YOU TELL THEM?
-
Well, I will tell them that this is
a concept album about the flood, which covered and destroyed the dry orphaned
land. This is something like a paradox and we like to do it all the time.
We do it when we use ancient instruments with new instruments or religious
instruments within the metal music, so this is like a flood which covered
and destroyed the orphaned land and it is taking from mythological stories.
Every mythology has some flood stories. I like exploring these stories
and we decided to write a flood story according to orphaned land. We created
some new heroes for our story. The three heroes are also taken from a true
story that happened to three friends of mine. They were dealing with mysticism
and they were all connected with some spirit and she gave them signs and
elements that related them to be like the three sons of seven.
-IS THIS THE LION, THE EAGLE AND THE
SNAKE?
-
Yes! So, this is something like a true
story that happened to three friends of mine in my childhood city.
4.SO, WHAT DOES THE NUMBER 7 STAND
FOR? WHO IS IT?
-
Seven is the creator, it’s like a metaphoric
name for god and it’s a mystical number…
-AND IF I AM NOT MISTAKEN JESUS WAS
THE SEVENTH SON OF A SEVENTH SON, LIKE IRON MAIDEN ALSO SAY…
-
Yes of course and I believe it has
some connection with the seventh son of the seventh son of Iron Maiden,
which is in my opinion and the opinion of the rest of the band members,
the best album that was ever created. We love music, not only metal music.
I listen to a lot of music, almost all kinds of music, but “Seventh Son
Of A Seventh Son” from Iron Maiden is THE BEST ever! So, the album is a
concept story and every song is reflecting another part of this story and
you know from the birth of the three heroes to the revelation and the sins
of mankind. The creator sticks on them and tries to convince people to
abandon their evil way. They fail to do it and they go and build the ark.
-WELL, THIS WHOLE CONCEPT REMINDED
ME A LOT OF THE ARK OF NOAH STORY.
-
Yeah definitely! It is from a lot of
elements and we also took a lot of texts from the Noah and the flood story.
We took a lot of texts out of there, but we created another hero instead
of Noah and his sons. This is almost similar also from the way it begins
and till the end, everything’s inspired from this story. So, the album
is divided into 12 songs, but also it is like one big long song.
5.ALL YOUR ALBUMS AND ESPECIALLY “MABOOL”
CARRY INFLUENCES FROM BOTH EASTERN AND WESTERN MUSIC AND I THINK YOU MANAGE
TO ACHIEVE THE IDEAL BALANCE IN ALL YOUR ALBUMS. HOW DIFFICULT IS THIS
FOR YOU?
-
Well, I can say that if we speak roots
related, it’s very easy for us. My grandparents originally came from the
Balkan countries…
-WHICH ONES?
-
Bulgaria and Greece and a bit of Turkey,
so I used to hearing Turkish music and Greek music and our guitarist is
also playing the Greek bouzouki. So, as it comes to our roots, it was very
easy for us, because this is the music we know at home and we play metal
music, so combining these two elements is something we should know how
to do…
-YES, BUT IT’S NOT EASY ALL THE TIME
TO COMBINE IT IN A BEAUTIFUL WAY…
-
Yeah! We had some difficulties to do
it, but what I want to say is that it is still easier for us to do it for
example than for someone in Europe. On the other hand of course it is very
difficult to try to put a bouzouki where you have all your channels filled
with distorted guitars, well it’s not the natural area for a bouzouki.
It was very difficult and a challenge for us. What was extremely difficult
for us was the studio time, because we are so original and the music is
so rare, that it is very easy for us to get noticed from media people and
fans, because Orphaned Land’s music is different. But when it comes to
the studio, then Orphaned Land’s music is a nightmare!!! Managing all the
instruments and the choirs and the percussion player… this is not just
the band members, it is also some guests we had, more than 30… It’s a nightmare!
Imagine yourself what it is to try finding studio time for 15 female vocalists…
You send the time with people that are your partners for your deepest creation
in life, they are the people that you love the most in the world and in
the other side of the same coin you feel you can kill them! Hahahahaha!
So, this is the way it is… It was a dream come true and a nightmare!
6.WHAT KIND OF PROCEDURE DO YOU FOLLOW
WHILST COMPOSING THE SONGS? DO YOU FIRST WRITE THE MORE METAL RIFFS OR
THE ORIENTAL? WHICH WAY IS IT?
-
We work on a formula that I like to
call it the puzzle formula. It is a kind of formula that all the band members
collect riffs and compose music and then we start to build the structure
of the album according to the story we want to tell, because Orphaned Land
is the perfect band for a concept album, since we have all those styles
in our music. So, we work like this. When we decided that we wanted to
make a story about the flood, we had a meeting and everybody brought his
material and according tot he story, we started building it like a puzzle.
You know we took this from that, because we knew that the first song was
about the birth, so we knew that this one sounds like the birth, this one
sounds like the sins, this sounds like the calm before the flood, this
sounds like the flood, so you know how to pick them up and you do it like
a puzzle and finally you get the whole picture! I think this is an amazing
way of working, because it is absolutely experimental and abstract you
know. This is what makes this album, so interesting, because each song
can begin in one part and can end in the other side of the world.
-YES! IT IS COMPLEX…
-
Yes indeed! This is the secret of the
way we make music…
-AND THAT’S WHAT MAKES YOU SOUND INTERESTING
I THINK…
-
Yes definitely! We also know to listen
to each other, because not all of the time we can agree and everybody is
involved in the creation and this is a total piece of harmony! Some parts
were originally written as oriental parts and we always have to try to
do it only in those parts that sound good and that they fit the best. It’s
a whole process of making a puzzle and our guitarist has a bouzouki, so
some of the compositions he writes, he writes them directly on the bouzouki
and not on his guitar.
-WELL THIS WAY YOU HAVE THE ORIENTAL
ELEMENT IN YOUR MUSIC DIRECTLY…
-
Yes difinetely! Josi is also playing
most of them on the album. He bought the bouzouki and the saz and he is
extremely talented! You bring him an instrument and he knows how he can
play it!
7.YOU HAVE OVER 30 GUEST APPEARANCES
ON THE ALBUM. HOW DID YOU SELECT THE PEOPLE AND WHAT ABOUT THAT RECORDINGS
YOU DO OF MUSICIANS IN THE STREETS OF INDIA?
-
First of all, regarding the musicians
on the album, we selected them according to the quality of them and of
course according to the price they were asking, because we also have a
budget and if it was up to me, I’d take the philharmonic… hahahaha… but
we searched and on every player we chose we also have two more, because
we wanted to have more options to choose the best there was. It wasn’t
very easy but we are very satisfied with the result and the way the people
worked. We had the female choir, we also took the violin and the cello
player and the percussion player, who is one of the best in Israel. He
plays so good! We were amazed by him! It was an amazing experience for
us! As for the recordings in India, I was travelling there 4 years ago
and I have this hobby of mine to go with my deck tape, it’s like a very
good quality tape and I have a small microphone and I was travelling in
the streets of India recordings musicians, I heard in the streets. So,
if you can listen to the album’s intro, this is 2 girls that I recorded
in the desert. I was on my way to a place (note: Sorry, I don’t know the
place) and we had a stop in the desert and these 2 girls just jumped on
us and started singing. I recorded them and it was great to see this, because
the way they sing… They were totally desert kids and the same goes to the
end of the second song, where you can hear a part of an Islamic prayer.
This is a recording of me singing in Taj Mahal! Hahahaha! I got arrested
by the police! It was a big story! Hahahaha! It was a great experience.
Also some of the sound effects you hear on the album, like the thunder,
I was recording them at my home as well. This is a hobby that I have and
I always knew that I wanted to record this stuff in order to put them in
this journey album called “Mabool”. So, this was the first intention on
this 7 years journey. Actually, it was a 7 years journey of bringing this
album to life. You know I was in India 4 years ago and thinking of this
album… It’s unbelievable!
8.YOU HAVE MALE AND FEMALE CLASSIC
AND ORIENTAL CHOIRS. RIGHT?
-WHAT DO THE CLASSIC AND WHAT DO THE
ORIENTAL CHOIRS EXPRESS WITHIN EACH SONG? DO THEY EXPRESS DIFFERENT FEELINGS
AND SITUATIONS?
-
Well, the classical choir of the female
vocalists mostly reflects the songs of the angels and the oriental choirs
mostly reflect the sound of the prayers of people. For example, you can
listen to the oriental choirs in the song “Nora El Nora”, which is like
a song they pray before they enter the ark or on the song number, “Birth
Of The Three”, where you can hear the choir at the end when the 3 are born
and then they sing like it is a big celebration. This is once again the
oriental choir.
9.WHO IS THIS WOMAN THAT SING ON SOME
OF THE SONGS? SHE HAS A WONDERFUL VOICE…
-
This is our female vocalist, she is
absolutely great!
-YES SHE HAS AN AMAZING VOICE!
-
Thank you! I’ll tell her as soon as
I see her! She is also appearing on the acoustic show cd, which is attached
to the limited edition of “Mabool”…
-HEY! YOU ARE ANSWERING ALL MY QUESTIONS
BEFORE I EVEN ASK YOU!!!!
-
Hahahahahaha! I am sorry!!! So, she
sings there too and she also sang with us to a cover version we did to
Paradise Lost’s “Mercy”. She is great! Originally her parents came from
Yemen. It is an African country and the color of her voice and the culture
of her way of thinking is one of the most beautiful!
-YES! I GOT ASTONISHED BY HER VOICE!
-
It is so amazing, that we had to give
her this space to sing on her own without any tools! Without anything!
She has this space at the end of “Kiss Of Babylon” on her own, because
her voice is sooo beautiful!
10.REGARDING THE LYRICAL SECTION WE
SAID THAT “MABOOL” IS A CONCEPT ALBUM AND WE SAID WHO ARE THESE 3 SONS
OF SEVEN… THE REFLECT JUDAISM, CHRISTIANITY AND ISLAM.
–WHY DID YOU END THE STORY WITH THE
FLOOD AND THE FAILURE OF THE MISSION? WHY DIDN’T THESE HEROES MANAGE TO
SAVE AND UNITE THE WORLD AFTER ALL?
-
Well, the album sends two messages.
The album is like a reflection. It’s a story inspired by mythology, but
it is also like a reflection of what is happening today on our region of
the Middle East. What we see in today’s reality is that there is always
this war, whether it is Christianity against Islam or Judaism against Islam
or Christianity against Judaism… To make a long story short, it is all
about religion. It never ends. If we look through history it never ends.
Every hero or leader or prophet that came, still didn’t succeed in ending
this, so it is like the same thing with this story. On the other hand,
the second message of the album, without being a reflection of today’s
reality, is a musical message that says that Orphaned Land contain many
cultures and have many languages and use a lot of female and male choirs
and percussion and drums, etc. Generally we have lots of variety. I read
from the Bible and I also growl like black metal. We use all these elements
and we want everybody to find a piece of himself on our albums. We want
to show the world what is happening when you take all those colliding elements
and after finding the right channel to match them in harmony. Now imagine
if people in this region achieve the harmony in their lives that we make
in our music. Bouzouki and distorted guitars are enemies, they don’t “know”
each other and religion and metal are enemies too. Orphaned Land do it
in a channel which is ok. Our album is a journey filled with colors and
full of art and everybody could identify a piece of himself there. If you
do this in your lives then you will have prosperity. This is what we want
to tell to the people. The end will not be like the end on this album.
The end will be good! This is the musical message we have on this album,
even though the story goes like every story goes…
11.DO YOU HAVE ANY PLANS FOR LIVE SHOWS?
DO YOU THINK THAT “MABOOL” CAN BE PERFORMED LIVE?
-
Yes definitely! Well, of course, we
can not perform everything live, for example I can’t bring all 15 women
of the choir, but definitely we play the bouzouki and some of the percussion
and the saz. I think that our show is a very interesting thing to see and
we definitely hope to come to Greece very soon.
12. BY THE WAY, WHAT DO YOU THINK OF
MEL GIBSON’S MOVIE “THE PASSION OF CHRIST”?
-
I still haven’t seen it! I am really
curious to see it even though the Jewish party was really annoyed…
-YES AND I CAN’T SEE WHY? THEY HAVEN’T
WATCHED THE MOVIE…
-
I don’t know!!! As society defines
me I am Jewish, but I really think that Jesus is my brother! I love Jesus
very much and I don’t have a problem with Jesus! Also one of my favorite
movies is “The Last Temptation Of Christ”(Nikos Kazantzakis is the author)
, which is from a Greek writer and it’s a movie that inspires me a lot.
I have an original copy of the movie. It’s a cult movie for me!
-I CAN’T UNDERSTAND YOU KNOW, WHY I
SHOULD HATE SOMEONE JUST BECAUSE HE HAS A DIFFERENT RELIGION, CULTURE OR
HE COMES FROM ANOTHER RACE? AFTER ALL JESUS WAS A JEW… WE SHOULDN’T FORGET
THAT!
-
Yeah I know! For me it’s just a matter
of politics…
-YES THIS IS WHAT I THINK TOO…IT’S
POWER OVER PEOPLE, POWER TO MANIPULATE PEOPLE, POLITICS, THE CHURCH…
-
Yes! That’s right! That’s right and
I don’t believe in these things. I believe in three brothers who are the
three sons of seven, they are a Muslim, a Christian and a Jew. The three
sons of heaven try to stop what’s going on… “A Call To Awake” is the song
were they try to convince people to abandon their evil ways. They tell
them to awake and at the end of the song, the song changes and becomes
really angry. If you’ll read the lyrics, you will be able to see that the
songs changes upside down to a situation that people want to kill them
because of it…
-THAT’S WHAT HAPPENS ALL THE TIME…
-
I know! Hahaha… Unfortunately yes!
I am just a musician and I hope that my music will manage to turn some
enemies into friends and this is my contribution, because I am very small
and I can only hope that some day it will be changed! I am sick of seeing
people dying.
-AND THEY DIE FOR POLITICS…
-
Yeah! They die for nothing! Life has
no value, it costs less than a dollar to them… They sell man’s soul for
less than a dollar! I can’t accept it!
13.IF YOUR MUSIC WERE AN EMOTION, WHAT
WOULD IT BE?
-
It would be the heat of the heart and
the coldness of the mind!
14.IF IT WERE A PAINTING, WHAT WOULD
IT SHOW?
-
Hm.. It would be abstraction.
15.THANK YOU! HAVE I FORGOTTEN TO ASK
YOU ANYTHING AND YOU’D LIKE TO MENTION?
-
I’d like to say “efcharisto poli!”
(note: it means thank you in Greek) to all our friends in Greece and definitely
I hope to come and meet all of them very soon and I hope you will all like
the “Mabool”. That’s it! I really missed the souvlaki! (note: it’s a Greek
food). Hahaha! Thank you very much for all the support!
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