There are many bands in metal that rely heavily on a whole range of gimmicks in order to get noticed, but there are only a few who genuinely have something to say. Orphaned Land is one of those bands. With their message of unity, hope and transcending religious and political differences, they have earned a substantial fan base in the Middle East that goes beyond any political, ethnic and religious boundaries. Frontman and singer Kobi Farhi shares with Ghost Cult his considerable insights on the band’s latest album, the source of the ongoing Israeli-Arabic conflict that tears his homeland apart and his fiery wish for more common sense and humanity in the Middle East.
Compared to your previous work, the songs on All Is One are shorter and much more stripped down. How come?
Orphaned Land has been around for 22 years and we still sing and write about the same topics as when we began with the band. Nothing has really changed over the years, besides the fact that we’ve gained a strong following from Arab countries which is a rare but beautiful thing, but musically speaking it was time for a change. I felt it was time to make our music a little more direct and accessible, so people will sooner close our music in their hearts, after seeing the artwork, hearing the music and reading our lyrics. We’ve already we can do complex music with our previous album, so we wanted to do something more streamlined. I wouldn’t say easylistening, but more accessible. You can find it in everything. The lyrics are more direct, the songs are shorter and on 99% of the song material I use my clean vocals exclusively. It was all part of the plan to make our message clearer and more focused.
So is the album a concious effort to bring the band’s message of hope and unity to a wider audience?
Yes, definitely. We didn’t write the album to be radio friendly or to be more commercial, but we really want to reach a wider audience with our message. If people like our more complex stuff, they can always listen to our old albums. That being said, I think there’s a certain complexity to ‘All Is One’, despite its shorter and more direct nature. It doesn’t matter what kind of music we write, it will always be very layered. We worked with Jens Bogren on the album. One of the songs he had to work on 162 different channels while mixing the album. He thought he would be working on a mellower and easier album, haha. It’s the way it is. Our music will always be layered and full of details. This is what we are.
What are the songs about?
The cover and album title represent a sort of utopian idea of unity of all the different religions being in harmony with each other. It’s a really euphoric picture in a way. The thing that is going on in the songs and the lyrics is the complete opposite of that utopian idea. If the front cover is a sort of dream, some wishfull thinking if you like, the songs reflect the tragic reality we live in. It’s a big contradiction. Some people think when they see the cover that Orphaned Land is pro-religion and that we preach that people should go to church on Sunday or that we sing about peace and love. That’s not really the case. It’s very important for me to stress that from the beginning. ‘Brother’ is a very special song. It’s probably the greatest ballad we’ve ever written. It’s mainly dealing with the ongoing Isareli – Arab conflict. When you go back to the source it’s probably originated from the sons of Abraham in the Bible. He had two sons, namely Ishmael and Isaac. In the Middle East all Arabs consider themselves the sons of Ishmael and all the Jews consider themselves the sons of Isaac. It’s considered a fact and all Arab and Jewish living is based on that. Once you understand that you’ll notice that Jews and Arabs have forgotten that they’re actually historically brothers. The conflict began in the story that Ishmael and Isaac are brothers from another mother and that their mothers started to fight about it. That’s probably the source of the conflict. Without taking into consideration who’s guilty because of the conflict still exists I’ve decided to write a song from the perspective of an older son of Isaac to all my Arab brothers, the sons of Ishmael, to come first and say sorry and to ask for forgiveness. It’s very touching ballad. It’s what I think about Arabs. We are historically brothers. We’re so much alike, our languages come from the same source, and we share the same names, although they have different pronounciations, but we are brothers in all means possible. When you put politics and religion aside, we are brothers. That’s what the song is about, a message from Isaac to Ishmael.
You mentionted earlier that All Is One is mixed by Jens Bogren. The previous album is mixed by Steven Wilson (Porcupine Tree). What are the biggest differences in the way they approached Orphaned Land’s music?
It’s a very tough question, because as a band we produce ourselves mostly. We really know what we want along the way and we have a very strong opinion on how we want things to be. Both Jens and Steven took our cues and mixed the respective albums in the way they thought it would sound best. Both are geniuses in their own way. Jens is more a studio magician knowing how to get the perfect sound, while Steven knows how to get the best results, but he’s more of a musician than a producer. Steven would have come up with a brilliant musical idea and Jens would come up with the perfect sound. On the next album it would be best to work with them both, haha.
Some of your fans nominated Orphaned Land for the Noble Peace Prize. How did that make you feel?
It was a rather flattering and embarrassing experience for us to be honest. It’s flattering to see that our fans appreciate what we do, reward you and want the world to acknowledge your efforts and deeds. It’s heartening to know that your fans are there for you and care about you. It’s also a little embarrassing, because I don’t see myself on the same list as Al Gore or Barack Obama or any other politician in general. We are musicians and I think music is above politics. We’re not making music because we want to earn prizes. If we would receive a prize I wouldn’t refuse to go, but I would rather replace the money and the fame for more common sense and humanity in the Middle East. I would switch it right away. All the honor, respect and dignity that comes along with such a prize doesn’t make for a better country or a better region to back to, so I could write less tragic songs and write more happy party songs. Peace, humanity and more common sense is what I really want for for our country and region. If I would get the Nobel Prize would that change anything in the region? I don’t know. I prefer change in the Middle East above anything else.
You manage to unite fans regardless of any religious, ethnic or political background. What’s your secret?
I think it’s a combination of a few things. It’s a combination of great and unique music together with very pure and sincere lyrics that come straight from the heart. Add to that we use motives from all the cultures in the Middle East. We’re using motives not just from Judaism, but also from Arabic religions and Christianity and we use that with metal music, which is the complete opposite to religion or anything else. That combination and the fact that we don’t take any sides, despite the political content in nearly all our songs, enables us to stand at a very central point where we can bring people in from all sides. A right-wing guy from the Israeli settlements can be a fan of Orphaned Land and a very radical Muslim guy from Iran can be a fan of the band as well. They’re the complete opposite from each other politically speaking, but they can still enjoy our music. I think that’s the great achievement of Orphaned Land.
Raymond Westland