Under the sun anything can happen. And everything seems out of control. We are still in the middle of 2020 but for some Israelis (and jewish people) 2020 is done; so It couldn't be a question of a bad omen for the turning of the year.
Covid-19, riots all over the world claiming justice for George Floyd and for all of those who have died by police brutality; all of that happens at the same time when the USA approaches presidential elections, the chinese government washes his hands of his responsibilities, Brazil, besides suffering with the rise of the pandemic, also deals with a political crisis, 20 thousand tons of petrol products from the thermoelectric central spread through the Ambarnaya river, from a small and remote russian town In the arctic called Norilsk. Everything seems twisted and like the gravity core has ceased to exist. It Is chaos and If we are not close to the end of the world, we are Indeed close to a new era. A better or worse one, we don't know, but, until then, while the world seems to crumble, may it be to the sound of a worthy soundtrack.
Maybe to the sound of Crossbow, Tamar Aphek's theme, we listen to the beat that resonates through the snare drum like a machine gun evoking bass lines that beat In our chests. Recorded at Daptone Records In New York, the song relates (In ironic fashion) to the actual context, it approaches someone who incentives to act aggressively against other human beings, to the point where they have nowhere to run because there is no safe place under the sun.
 |
| © Rotem Lebel |
Classical music and piano are part of Tamar's childhood, but, during her 2 years military service, she engaged in nightshifts where she played jazz and rock 'n' roll.
Since then, she has been active In Indie bands from Israel such as: ED, Carusella and Shoshana. Her first solo EP Collision was released in 2014 and enabled her to tour Europe and the USA. At the moment, Tamar is working on the record and Daniel Schlett (War on Drugs, DIIV, Yonathan Gat) was responsible for mixing it, the release date is set for the 28th of August of 2020 through the label EXAG.
"Being raised as a child on the stories about baby Moses who was put in a big basket in the Nile river - it was very easy for me and all the other Israeli children in Egypt to relate to the Egyptian mythology. We all called the Nile River ‘yeor’ which is the biblical word for the Nile. But in parallel I became familiar with some popular Egyptian songs and famous singers like Farid Alatrash. This fascination with ancient and modern Egypt reminds me the stories of Brian Eno, especially the one about his ordeal in finding a specific song of Alatrash, because he barely remembered few tunes of the song and a sentence here and there. Eventually, when he strolled in one of the Egyptian markets, he met a young boy who succeeded to find the song for him. In my opinion this story can explain the feeling of belonging to global culture and civilization when you have the opportunity to live in different countries. Being surrounded by different sounds and rhymes makes you a more curious and eager person who wants to learn and absorb more experiences."
Hello Tamar, how have you been in these troubled times? Israel was one of the first countries to get out of confinement but a few days ago the government declared quarantine but this time only for teachers and students. How do you look at this state of Indecision and total uncertainty?
Until recently Israel took pride in its COVID-19 figures of less than 20,000 confirmed infections and about 300 deaths of nine million, low compared to countries in Europe and the Americas. But as Israel eased lockdown measures the numbers climbed...
Until recently Israel took pride in its COVID-19 figures of less than 20,000 confirmed infections and about 300 deaths of nine million, low compared to countries in Europe and the Americas. But as Israel eased lockdown measures the numbers climbed...
According to Health minister Israel is now facing a second wave of coronavirus. I believe that deterioration started with the general state of mind that the pandemic was over. Some guys of my generation didn’t listen to the warnings that the danger was still there. They selfishly went to indoors parties, without wearing masks and keeping the social distances regulations, those who were wearing masks felt like suckers, and above all there was a celebration mood from above and the result is that Israel entered the dubious list of the red countries.
"Equalization for example lies somewhere between the realms of art and engineering. I sculpted the guitar sound myself in so many variations that by the time the mixing sessions with Daniel Schlett began there was no room for “second guessing” which can destroy the creative process sometimes. Eventually this resulted in a lot of editing job I did of the instruments, and by the time I arrived to the mixing sessions, I felt we can’t go wrong."
The sound you make is a fusion of several rhythms, dynamics and melodies. You lived your childhood in Egypt and those memories changed your perception of the world. In what way does that connection – that is geographically south of your country – has changed your cosmovision and influenced the way you create your songs?
Tamar Aphek - Being raised as a child on the stories about baby Moses who was put in a big basket in the Nile river - it was very easy for me and all the other Israeli children in Egypt to relate to the Egyptian mythology. We all called the Nile River ‘yeor’ which is the biblical word for the Nile. But in parallel I became familiar with some popular Egyptian songs and famous singers like Farid Alatrash. This fascination with ancient and modern Egypt reminds me the stories of Brian Eno, especially the one about his ordeal in finding a specific song of Alatrash, because he barely remembered few tunes of the song and a sentence here and there. Eventually, when he strolled in one of the Egyptian markets, he met a young boy who succeeded to find the song for him. In my opinion this story can explain the feeling of belonging to global culture and civilization when you have the opportunity to live in different countries. Being surrounded by different sounds and rhymes makes you a more curious and eager person who wants to learn and absorb more experiences.
Tamar Aphek - Being raised as a child on the stories about baby Moses who was put in a big basket in the Nile river - it was very easy for me and all the other Israeli children in Egypt to relate to the Egyptian mythology. We all called the Nile River ‘yeor’ which is the biblical word for the Nile. But in parallel I became familiar with some popular Egyptian songs and famous singers like Farid Alatrash. This fascination with ancient and modern Egypt reminds me the stories of Brian Eno, especially the one about his ordeal in finding a specific song of Alatrash, because he barely remembered few tunes of the song and a sentence here and there. Eventually, when he strolled in one of the Egyptian markets, he met a young boy who succeeded to find the song for him. In my opinion this story can explain the feeling of belonging to global culture and civilization when you have the opportunity to live in different countries. Being surrounded by different sounds and rhymes makes you a more curious and eager person who wants to learn and absorb more experiences.
I can give 2 examples for this. The first is when I produced the video for my song Maintenance in the desert, which was my first experience to perform in an open-air desert area. It was the first time where I felt that the desert winds were another musical instrument that took part in the whole performance. I remember that it was totally a different feeling than performing in the best fashionable venue in Tel Aviv. And another experience is my musical piece Plaza in which I play the keyboards. In this piece, I integrated few musical elements inspired by some popular Arab songs which I often hear in my Jaffa neighborhood where I live.
The album was recorded in New York, how was that experience? Can you also speak a bit about its concept?
TA - I recorded this single and most of my upcoming album at Daptone Studios in Brooklyn with engineer Wayne Gordon.
After it was recorded there was a long period of time in which I made plenty of rough mixes and overdubs myself. I felt I wanted to investigate and shape the sound design of the album before I enter the official mixing sessions in New York. By the time the official mixing sessions begun, I had a pretty wide perception of what each instrument in each song sounded like after I changed the volume on a specific range of frequencies, and what each song sounded like when the drums for example were much louder than the bass and vice versa. Equalization for example lies somewhere between the realms of art and engineering. I sculpted the guitar sound myself in so many variations that by the time the mixing sessions with Daniel Schlett began there was no room for “second guessing” which can destroy the creative process sometimes. Eventually this resulted in a lot of editing job I did of the instruments, and by the time I arrived to the mixing sessions, I felt we can’t go wrong. The songs were ready for Daniel Schlett to take the lead and follow his taste and interpretation.
Crossbow relates (ironically) to the actual context, it focuses on someone who incentives to act aggressively against other human beings to the point where they have nowhere to run or no safe place under the sun. Is that how you look at the present moment?
TA - Picking the name ‘Crossbow’ meant to reflect the message I wanted to deliver through the visualization of the sound and movement of an automatic machine gun – the kind Al Pacino used in the last scene of ‘Scarface’ – represented by the bass line. But eventually I combined the sound of an old weapon (Crossbow) which was characterized by a raw bass sound, with the rhythm of an automatic weapon.
“Crossbow” is a sarcastic song describing the extremes violence and aggressive behavior can reach if there are no limits, until one has ‘nowhere to run’ or until ‘there is no place under the sun'.
At minute 2:00 the guitar enters the song for the first time and stays alone at 2:37, as a symbol to the “sun” – this is a short pure moment that doesn’t last too long before the killing and destruction return. Although I wrote this song before Corona crisis, I find that the song might be relevant in these days because it expresses the fragility and vulnerability of mankind against the violent virus. Original I was thinking about human cruelty between human beings in general.
You already stepped on big stages like SXSW, DunaJam and Fusion Festival, do you feel any sort of strong responsibility regarding this record, since your past was rooted quite strongly?
TA - Interesting question. I do feel a strong responsibility regarding this record. Not because of the stages I stepped or didn’t step on, but because of the stages of this record, the stages the listeners will go through as the album develops. This album is meant to feel like going on a rollercoaster of emotions, thoughts, ideas. I feel a responsibility of making it a safe ride, as well as a worth taken one. It reminds me of the famous opening of a Dr. Seuss book “Take it slowly, this book is dangerous”. So, I would say: “buckle up, this record is dangerous”.
You have played in Portugal and we might say you have a close connection to the country, you have played in Milhões de Festa, Mucho Flow, Barreiro Rocks and you recorded Collision at the Sá da Bandeira studios. How were those experiences and what memories do you most cherish?
TA - A lot of wine! Recording at Sá da Bandeira was a magical experience. Yonatan Gat who also produced ‘Collision’, Igor Domingues who played drums in the album and I went on a 2 weeks’ tour together with songs I wrote about a week before that tour, and we ended up rehearsing in a deserted mall in Porto for a couple of days before we had our recording sessions. So our preparation for the recordings was mostly to hang out, drink and have fun. And we did have A LOT of fun. We went to parties and bars before, during and after our shows. Each day we spent in Porto, weather it was after a rehearsal or after a recording day we would find ourselves in Café au Lait – such a great bar.
Your songs are part of the soundtrack for One Week and a Day directed by Asaph Polonsky, that won the GAN foundation award at the Cannes film festival, like other awards at the Cinema Festival of Jerusalem. You don’t know the times I’ve listened to the song Star Quality, it captured my attention as soon as it was released. When you listen to a theme in a film it's different from when you play it live on stage. Can you talk a bit how you feel your songs in these different contexts?
TA - Glad to hear you enjoyed it! When Asaf Polonsky showed me the movie for the first time, it included about 10 songs of mine. When I watched the film I felt we should only leave the songs that really felt right, so I reduced the amount of songs and left just the amount that I found really fit the film. So as opposed to creating let’s say a compilation of songs, the work on the film was very different in the sense that the film was the main important thing, and the songs had to support it. The songs which I felt didn’t support the scenes were cut out by me. For example, there was a song of mine which had this “Beatles” like comic opening which was originally supporting one of the scenes, but I felt that the main character Shay Avivi was funny enough and adding another comic layer would hurt that scene. The film moves quickly between very sad mourning scenes to scenes which have a comic effect to them, and I felt the need to be gentle with the use of the instrumental parts of my songs. It reminds me the process of mixing, sometimes a part can be compressed enough that adding another compressor would be too much. In that sense, it was like the film as another instrument in my music, the same way my music has been described as another character in the film.
TA - Glad to hear you enjoyed it! When Asaf Polonsky showed me the movie for the first time, it included about 10 songs of mine. When I watched the film I felt we should only leave the songs that really felt right, so I reduced the amount of songs and left just the amount that I found really fit the film. So as opposed to creating let’s say a compilation of songs, the work on the film was very different in the sense that the film was the main important thing, and the songs had to support it. The songs which I felt didn’t support the scenes were cut out by me. For example, there was a song of mine which had this “Beatles” like comic opening which was originally supporting one of the scenes, but I felt that the main character Shay Avivi was funny enough and adding another comic layer would hurt that scene. The film moves quickly between very sad mourning scenes to scenes which have a comic effect to them, and I felt the need to be gentle with the use of the instrumental parts of my songs. It reminds me the process of mixing, sometimes a part can be compressed enough that adding another compressor would be too much. In that sense, it was like the film as another instrument in my music, the same way my music has been described as another character in the film.
"In my opinion music is an international language which can create a world where people can listen to each other and have a complete picture of a certain dispute without boycotting any side. I remember that after each concert many young people who came to listen to my music approached me and my band with many questions about the political situation between Israel and the Palestinians. After each encounter with the audience I realized how much we all need to talk and explain what is going on instead of shutting all doors and windows of communications."
The song Filling Spaces is a fine example of how a deconstructed theme can also be extremely melodic, have you ever thought about exploring that introspective side?
TA - Yeah definitely, I think ‘Filling spaces’ is a very good example for that. I feel all my songs are pretty introspective, but maybe the musical production feels more introspective in that song. The musical production was based on creating a ‘vibe’ and less about creating ‘energy’. Also, it is technically a quiet song. There are a couple of quiet songs in my upcoming album alongside the others.
The indie, jazz, rock and stoner scenes are quite strong In Israel represented by bands such as The Great Machine, Tiny Fingers and Tatran from the alternative music scene In Israel. Is that community united or more scattered around?
TA - Great bands. I think the Israeli bands are both scattered and united. Since the scene is pretty small, there is nowhere to scatter around too much. But there’s definitely a community that supports each other and influences each other, so I’d say more united than scattered.
 |
| © Tamar Aphek |
It may be a sensitive topic… but I would like to know if you have ever felt any sort of rejection In tour dates on other countries because of the political affairs between Israel and Palestine and BDS?
TA - Well technically I had some shows cancelled in the past because of the BDS. I’m not sure if ‘Rejection’ is the word I would chose to describe my feeling at the time it happened. I was disappointed that people are willing to mix music with politics. In my opinion music is an international language which can create a world where people can listen to each other and have a complete picture of a certain dispute without boycotting any side. I remember that after each concert many young people who came to listen to my music approached me and my band with many questions about the political situation between Israel and the Palestinians. After each encounter with the audience I realized how much we all need to talk and explain what is going on instead of shutting all doors and windows of communications.
Many people have preconceived notions and sometimes quite extreme that are based in not enough Information. The truth is that you live In a very different reality than that of Europe. You have done your military service in a young country that relies on its Internal protection and security to live a "possible" peace. On the other hand, you also live in an environment in which politics are part of the daily lives of the Israeli-arab Inhabitants. Are you concerned about expressing that inherent reality of the country in which you live through your music or are you more detached about it?
TA - I believe that my songs reflect my personal feelings about life in general. I can’t describe my music and songs as political but we are all political creatures by nature, whether we admit it or not, so even if I write about a personal individualistic episode in my life it might include a subconscious agenda I am not necessarily aware of. In all my songs, you can find a certain wish to change life for the better and a quest for a better world, based on equality between people.
We live difficult times, of pure uncertainty, and extremist opinions arise, as well as social, political and even intellectual confusion, do you think music should be - besides its emotional power - an active agent In the awakening of consciousness?
TA - History proves that music is an agent in the awakening of consciousness. If we look at Hip-Hop for example, as a genre that developed in the Bronx with the help of the Zulu Nation collective which sleeked to unite between gangs, through the form of music. Music has a uniting force; it can express what can’t be expressed. It creates a sense of understanding without having to explain. Its abstract quality creates a space for everyone, no matter what your race, gender, or economic situation is.
What are your favorite spots In Israel.
TA - Puaa and Shafa in Jaffa, K bar, Kuli Alma, Teder, Radio EPGB.
What have you been listening, reading and watching?
TA - Lately I’ve been enjoying listening to Muhamad Ramadan, I really enjoy his fusion of Egyptian music into pop, Fela Kuti and Travis Scott. The last thing I watched was ‘Ozark’ and Polanski’s ‘Knife in the water’. I’m reading ‘Fateful Choices’, by Ian Kershaw, which tells the story of 10 decisions that changed the world in 1940-1941.
It's a common question... but would you like to leave a message to the readers?
TA - Heyyy, What’s up?
Text and Interview: Priscilla Fontoura
Interviewee: Tamar Aphek
Translation: Cláudia Zafre
Images: © Tamar Aphek, © Rotem Lebel
Images: © Tamar Aphek, © Rotem Lebel