| ragazzi: |
"How and when came the band together? What are the musical influences of you, the musicians in it?" |
| Udi: |
"It's a simple story really. We all met during a fish farming conference in the Hebrides. We then proceeded to study the extensive and dizzying
techniques of flaying a fish (or "FaF" as we ocean sea folk call it), but we couldn't help but to notice that Yehuda had some problems catching on the art of "FaF" as his view was obstructed by the 10 gallon bucket of cocoa ™ he was busy (and rather contently) sipping. On the other hand Ishay was persistently asking for the tabs of the "FaF" so he could practice at home. Furthermore, Roy was already inverting and transposing the "FaF" into "GbG", while Dave was emphatically claiming that fish in general, and "FaF" in particular were, in fact, dead. Udi S. was working out how to take the "FaF" and convert it to 11/7 time while keeping the drums diametrically opposed polyrhythmically ™ in 653/23 and still keep it catchy, and finally
Udi K. was too busy to take notice as he had an appointment with the man with the hat ™. So the inevitable conclusion was reached - we must abandon our aquatic pursuits and become a rock band. So there you are. Influences I here you ask? Why not I say: The collective influences are as
wide as music is itself, varying from diverse and distinct genre couplings such as death metal to minimalism, new-wave to musique concrete, baroque to serialism, and of course Prog in all it's various incarnations from symphonic to RIO. The influences among newer musical groups that are worthy of note are Hamster Theater, Alamailman Vasarat, Sleepytime Gorrila Museum, Charming Hostess, Mr. Bungle, Koenji Hyakkei, Miriodor, and of course (sorry Dave) 5uu's, Present, Thinking Plague." |
| Roy: |
 "Ishay and I met at the Israeli progressive rock forum. He was looking for musicians to form a prog rock band, and I was into it. Ishay was deeply influenced by Metal and Prog metal music. I loved the 70's prog rock music and also electronic and alternative music. I remember the first jam was pure metal music, and I believed it would be our last jam. But then we talked and agreed to play 70's prog music. Then we searched for a guitar player and Yehuda Kotton, also from the same forum, joined in. Yehuda was and is a big avant-rock music fan, and it influenced the band's musical
direction. Than, like any good prog rock band, we looked for a flute player. Yehuda told us of a friend called Udi Susser who can play the flute. So he got in as a flute player. We didn't know then than he can actually play every other instrument in the band as well. Udi was also a
big avant-rock-RIO fan with a love for modern classical music and crappy 80's new wave pop music. The music then became more complicated and more avant oriented. That's when Dave Kerman arrived to Israel and heard of an Israeli band that plays avant-rock like music. He joined in and the
direction moved toward more complex, modern, avant music, as can be heard in the CD. Finally we recorded the album with Udi Koomran who had worked with other avant-rock bands before like 5UU's and present. Udi K. contributed the unique Ahvak sound production." |
| ragazzi: |
"What part plays Dave Kerman besides drumming? How deep are his influences (and the bands he was in)?" |
| Udi: |
"The importance of Dave within the context of the group cannot be overstated. Firstly, having a musician of such a caliber among us forced us
to, well, get off our lazy bums and start composing seriously. As such, there was a shift from "playing for fun" towards "playing for art" (dear God I sound so pretentious I should be shot and fed to the Piranhas). Secondly, we could now write insanely difficult drum parts knowing that
Dave would play them right of the bat and make us all look bad (which he repeatedly did). Thirdly, he reminded us that we are all in fact dead, and that we need to prove otherwise (we try). Fourthly, he produced the CD with Udi K. which brought a whole new depth into the mix, and finally, he has cool blond hair that we Israeli folk are sorely lacking." |
| Roy: |
"First of all, Dave has set higher and professional standards for music writing and playing. He encouraged us to compose more complex and
challenging music, and practice very hard, for several months. In addition he gave us tips in arranging our music, and pay attention to every little detail. When we felt we were ready to record, Dave immediately directed us to Udi Koomeran, to fulfill his vision of modern computer production and composing. He always said music in this century must fulfill high standards
of writing, playing and using new productions techniques. I guess that without his vision, Ahvak would have sounded completely different, and would be still called Verdun. So although Dave didn't write music for Ahvak, I can clearly say his influence on us is huge." |
| ragazzi: |
"What is the musical background behind the Band members, do you work in other bands beside Ahvak?" |
| Udi und Roy: |
 "Dave Kerman needs no introduction (though he could use a foot massager). Udi Koomran is also well known for his works with 5UUs, Present and the Israeli band the Tractor Revenge. Ishay played bass in a local Death Metal band called "Dalmerots kingdom" while Yehuda was peacefully drinking Cocoa and composing guitar music with his computer. Udi Susser studied music in England and in the Jerusalem conservatory, and later recorded several home made tapes in his (limited) spare time during med school. Roy studied at a local conservatory, and later on at the Rimon School of Jazz and modern music, and finally took an electronic music course which led him to publish an all electronic music CD when Ahvak was already formed. These days Udi Koomran is working with a new Israeli prog band called Sympozion while still juggling many other projects. Dave has currently relocated to Denver and is busy with his new record company - RER USA. Yehuda is still drinking cocoa and hopefully writing new music for Ahvak and developing certain
websites. Udi Susser is currently (very) busy with his residency as a psychiatrist at the Sha'ar Menashe center for mental health but is still composing new pieces for Ahvak, albeit for the time being in his head. Ishay and Roy are involved in some new projects, the first of which is a CD
called Thin Lips which came out soon after Ahvak, that contains a mix of Poetry reading combined with electronic music and prog. Thin Lips have a live show in Israel. Some new projects Roy and Ishay (otherwise known as the inseparable dynamic duo) are an avant rock CD with Jewlia Eisenberg and a CD with a local Israeli famous female singer. Currently Roy is working with Avi Belleli form the Tractor Revenge on producing music for a new Israeli film. And also composing music for the next Ahvak project. And why knit. Because that's how sweaters are born." |
| ragazzi: |
"Your form of composing is very personal. How do you compose your music? Could you be something on the creative process?" |
| Udi: |
 "Each composer has his own methods and styles: I usually have a previous idea that slowly simmers in my mind (sometimes
for many, many months) until it is ready to be written out. At that point I layout the complete structure of the composition and only then I fill in all the missing bits, drawing from a wide gamut of musical techniques (mainly but not exclusively 20th century ones) that I dare not list here at the risk of sounding, yet again, unbearably pretentious and academic - and we wouldn't want that, would we. In addition, I cannot overemphasize the importance of using cats, coughing, air conditioners, and card playing." |
| Roy: |
"My method is mostly intuitive. I know when I have an idea to start a composition. I never know how it will end. I start writing music in Cubase
and let the inspiration of the moment lead the way. I also like at the beginning of the composition process to technically apply different series to the main motif (retrogrades, inversions, matrices), so I can use them freely later on the composition. I don't care for classical structures, harmonic progression rules, or contrapuntal rules. I trust my ears and
experience. It is usually a quick process. On the next day I listen to what I have done
and applying changes where needed and continue this process until I feel the composition is a complete unit and no more changes need to be done." |
| ragazzi: |
"Is there more material you have composed/played in this way?" |
| Roy: |
"Well, I avoided using classical techniques in all other projects I was involved. Writing series of notes is dedicated to Ahvak composition. In the
electronic CD and Thin Lips, the focus was on the creative use of the sampler, improvisations, and computer production (such as automations, strange plug ins, audio preccing etc). I am planning on Ahvak's new album to apply all those techniques with the more classical one used on the first CD to create something I haven't created yet." |
| Udi: |
"If the question is are there more CD's that sound like Ahvak that we are hiding under the sofa, then no. There are previous things I have done on
home made tapes and within the current band before Dave came along but these can all be seen as evolutionary steps. Still, Udi K. has promised that some of these will eventually surface on the forthcoming anthology - "Ahvak - the Early Years (when fish were men)". As Roy has stated, in the future the direction will be more inclusive of the computer as a compositional tool. This isn't to say that we will abandon note composing per se (at least I won't) but we will try to bend
and break the rules further because if we didn't this whole thing would be a rather pointless endeavor." |
| ragazzi: |
"Where do the ideas for the music come from? How do you arrange the songs?" |
| Udi: |
"Ideas come. Usually uninvited, and usually in primal form. When tamed, I arrange them (as explained previously) into fully formed pieces which are
written out as a score on my computer (I use Sonar) that is given to the band members. Dave learns his part in 3 seconds, the rest take a little longer, and generally at this point members would start complaining about all sorts of petty things - "the Bass can't get this low", "the Piano isn't big enough", etc. You know, kids…. We give and we give… Now where did I put
the college fund?" |
| Roy: |
"It can be a tune running in my head for no reason. It can be while playing a jam or just improvising when I feel I accidentally played a very strong line (Like I felt for the first motive in Yawners), it can be a sample I have sampled, played with and liked the different combinations of using it. I can play those motives for days later and get more ideas for a new one connected with it, or even examine different series of the motives and stick with one. Then when I start recording it with Cubase and my sampler, I go where the music leads me and new music comes out. At that point I already arrange the music, for in Ahvak it is being composed for a live band of Drums, Bass, Guitar, Piano/synth, and flute/synth." |
| ragazzi: |
"Could you give me a profile of each one of the topics of the album?" |
| Udi: |
"There is a vague lyrical thread throughout the CD regarding "communication" and the lack thereof, and the music tries to convey this to a certain extent. But by the very nature of the music it is open to interpretation and subjective coloring by the listener, and it is only when the music
combines with the listener that the full composition is formed. As such, dictating a rigid general idea would castrate the music into being a half-baked manifestual mutant that none of us would like to meet on a dimly lit closed alleyway. Unless of course this half-baked manifestual mutant was one of the (ex) Spice Girls, in which case we would dress her up and take her home for tea and biscuits, and dinner with Mom. A few anecdotes regarding the pieces: "Vivisection" is not about animal experiments, even if it _does_ have creepy sounds in the middle, "Bertha" is not a woman, "Moments" refers to a compositional technique that we will not give away as not to sound pretentious, "Dust" is 16 minute long, "Cement" has something to do with the Beverly Hillbillies, "Yawners" got its name from the lyrics which were written for it but were ultimately dropped, and "Ironworks" has something to do with Fibonacci." |
| ragazzi: |
"Are you satisfied with the result of this work? Will you carry out more discs of this type in the future?" |
| Udi: |
"This CD is a worthless piece of junk I wouldn't give to scruffy scrap metal dealers if they begged me and offered me there first born. That is, unless their first-born was one of the (ex) Spice Girls, in which case I'd dress her up… etc." |
| Roy: |
"I am more than satisfied with the result. The combination of more traditional compositions with modern computer production came out beyond my expectations. It has a strong statement I think which is also quite unique. I am also happy with the sound quality of the final CD. I'm sure we will carry more discs of this type in the future, but will try to examine again what "this type" means." |
| ragazzi: |
"What is what you try to express through your music?" |
| Roy: |
"Myself I think that sense of humor, mood changes, the gentle and the angry, emotions, ones past and future, your hopes and fears (BTW one of my favorite albums...), your dreams and the way one acts or feels on each and every day should be expressed through music. If not, there is no point of writing music or dealing with art at all. I believe that's true about all other Ahvak's members as well, but, while I am a happy guy, most of Ahvak's other members are generally more depressed and pessimistic, and as such, Ahvak music reflects that too, more than it is funny and bright..." |
| Udi: |
"As a psychiatrist I can firmly state that Roy's "happiness" is only a defense mechanism for a deeply disturbed and troubled soul…. Just look at that smile on the CD cover - now you _know_ he is hiding something… Actually, Roy really wants to work in a sheep abattoir but is afraid that society will shun him. Now, the truth is that it is actually _my_ pieces that are the most uplifting and optimistic… Must… iron… Stimpy's…. underwear…" |
| ragazzi: |
"Then, which would the philosophical concept be behind Ahvak?" |
| Udi: |
"Philosophical concepts… Hmm... The concept is an amalgamation of disparate and conflicting objectives - to look forward while having the deepest respect for all that has past, to "bend" the rules of composition and yet leave them in recognizable semblance, to use computer and electronics as additional compositional tools and not as noise-making-loop-repeating-eq-playing-twiddles, and ultimately not to lose the paramount objective, that the music would sound (albeit subjectively) "right" and that it would have an emotional impact as well as an intellectual one. Indeed, music devoid of emotional power is like a hamster without a foot massager." |
| Roy: |
"Progress to the future, without abandoning the past. Using what the past has to offer, and what the present has to offer, while looking to the future." |
| ragazzi: |
"How was it the recording process, and the later edition and distribution of the disk?" |
| Udi: |
"The recording process was a long and arduous process - recording an out of tune Baglama in the bathroom, trying to sing atonal lines, tuning that low E on the piano time and time again, having the cat urinate on us from time to time… those were the days. It took many months. The distribution was done by the Cuneiform label, without whom we would probably have sold three and a half CD's to our parents." |
| ragazzi: |
"How so important it is the technique and the domain of the instrument in your opinion?" |
| Roy: |
"The technique is important, but not the most important thing. I always adored creativity and inspiration much more than technical skills. So the
technique for me is not a goal but just a means to achieve it." |
| Udi: |
"Here here." |
| ragazzi: |
"Do you believe you have found your own musical personality?" |
| Roy: |
"I believe we all came much more close to it then we were before Ahvak. But this is a debut album, I assume as we will produce more music, our own
musical personality will be more and more clear. But I don't know if it can be ever really found. The search for this personality is what drives people to create." |
| Udi: |
"Yes. At least I think I saw it slip by me last week, only it was a little hazy, though I can swear it had a third eye and was wearing a red shawl.
Now if it was an (ex) Spice Girl…" |
| ragazzi: |
"How do you define your music?" |
| Roy: |
"My goal is that our music will be an undefined one." |
| Udi: |
"Roy has good goals." |
| ragazzi: |
"How do you see the future of the rock? Is Israel having a Prog Rock scene? How would you describe the current Israel scene as for shows, bands, etc?" |
| Udi: |
 "There actually has been a bit of a progressive boom in the last few years following the start of the Israel Progressive Forum on the net a few years back (which is also where this band got together). Apart for us there are
quite a few new bands covering everything from RIO to folk to neo to symphonic including Sympozion, Hot Fur, Ashqelon Quilt, Trespass, Sanhedrin, Mr. Toad, Sussita and Eggroll to name a few, some of which have released CD's to some acclaim. There is even an Israeli progressive label
now - MIO. This is not to say that Israel is now a bursting cauldron of everything progressive as this is still a decidedly fringe movement, but it is a movement nonetheless, which will hopefully sustain itself." |
| Roy: |
"I have no idea about the future of the rock, or the future in general. The current Israeli scene contains many bands, most are young and are just
starting the game. I believe that once in a while a new mature Israeli album will be released and Israel will be sort of known for it's growing prog scene." |
| ragazzi: |
"Which music/bands/albums do you hear/like these days?" |
| Roy: |
"Charming hostess, Tortoise, Avi Belleli, Lindsay Cooper, Blonde Redhead, 5UUs, Daniel Zamir." |
| Udi: |
"Hamster Theater, Alamailman Vasarat, Sleepytime Gorrila Museum, Mr. Bungle, Phantomas, Koenji Hyakkei, Miriodor, 5uu's, Present, Thinking Plague, Art Zoyd." |
| ragazzi: |
"Which are the future plans of Ahvak?" |
| Roy und Udi: |
"Performing in Israel, performing outside Israel, writing new music, recording a new album, gathering groupies and bringing them home for tea." |
| ragazzi: |
"What do you make beside the band?" |
| Roy und Udi: |
"Yehuda - Drinks cocoa.
Ishay - Security manager in a Hi tech company.
Udi S. - A Psychiatrist.
Udi K. - Sound engineer and producer.
Dave - RER USA.
Roy - Internet programming at the Open University of Israel, a happy father to a one year old boy and an enthusiastic Badminton player." |
| ragazzi: |
"Is there any chance to see you live in concert in Europe, maybe Germany?" |
| Roy und Udi: |
"We certainly hope so but don't know anything yet." |
| ragazzi: |
"Is having the German Nazi past a place in your life? How do you see Germany today?" |
| Roy: |
"My father was a child in a concentration camp. He recently wrote a book about this terrible period in his life. His family died there. I know he will never forgive Germany for it. But for me it's a far history, I just can't see the connection to Germany today. I'm sure if we will perform in Germany my father would hate this, but for me it will be like going any other European country." |
| Udi: |
"I won't pretend to understand and analyze the impact of the German Nazi history on Israelis today as it an extremely complex relationship much of
which is subliminal, not withstanding that we are now a third generation removed. As for me, my entire family from my mother's side was killed in the Holocaust. Obviously I can't pretend it never happened, but pointing the finger at Germany and dismissing the atrocities as a "German" thing would be counter productive. The true blame lies within the environment that legitimized racism and anti Semitism, and in understanding that weak men will follow strong leaders blindly. This can happen anywhere. Blaming modern Germany for it's past is like blaming a son for his fathers' sins. It is not only futile, but also immoral and only perpetuates the hate. Moreover, by blaming Germany one can conveniently overlook other places in the world (including our own country to an extent) where racism and delegitimization of populations go on. And then we would have learned nothing." |
| ragazzi: |
"Thank you, Friends. Would you like to add something more?" |
| Roy und Udi: |
"Thank you for your interest and for giving us the opportunity to share some of our thoughts. We thank any fans in Germany who enjoy our music, and hope to perform over there sometime."
VM |
"FaF" as we ocean sea folk call it