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Hayehudim Give New Life

Wednesday, 30 May 2007

After a turbulent year filled with sadness, HaYehudim finally have lots of good things coming their way. This includes a new album that will be released soon!
A year and a half ago, the family of a 17-year old girl approached the band "HaYehudim" (The Jews), whilst they were working on their new album. They told the band members that their daughter, who used to be a huge fan of the group, was in a coma after trying to commit suicide.

The mother and sister of the young girl asked band-members (and married couple) Tom Petrobar and Orit Shakaf if they would agree to visit the unconscious teenager in the hospital. They were hoping that the visit would help their daughter/sister recover the coma.

"From the first visit to the hospital we fell in love with the young girl and her family, and Orit sang her the song Your Time" says Tom. "On the way back home from the visit, we got an urgent and excited phone call from the family. They told us that the young girl had opened her eyes. We were on the verge of tears. For a moment there was hope. Unfortunately she didn’t survive, and after being in a coma for a year, she died. We were totally shattered. After that terrible experience we wrote a song about her, a song that will appear on our upcoming album. That song is called: Until It Passes and its about the sanctity of life”.

Hayehudim’s fourth studio album was created with the sad background of the death of this teenage fan, but also during the more optimistic and happy background of Orit’s pregnancy. She is currently in her 9th month, and she and Tom are awaiting the birth of their first baby boy, due any day now.

The band’s first single is also currently being released to radio stations. The song is called: You Don’t Have A Place. The album that will follow will be released in 2 months time, coming 5 years after their previous album: Death Fear.

The new album, named Forte, will include 15 songs, 4 of which are in English. Most of the tracks were completed a few months ago while their vocalist Orit was in the early stages of her pregnancy.

Tom Petrobar the leader of the band adds: "This is a very intense and emotionally turbulent period for us. At the end of December our beloved dog Motzart, whom we had for over 17 years, died. He was always with us at recording sessions and he also would sometimes come with us on-stage. We feel now that after touching death, we will be giving life, giving birth to two children: A first born son and our fourth album. It’s really exciting".

Since the previous album "Hayehudim" have added 2 new band members; guitar players Daniel Bercher and Guy Baier. Their keyboard player Eran Mitelman left them last year after 13 years in the band and is currently involved in the top Israeli show: A Star Is Born.

Q: Tom, Orit, you two the only original members left in the band?
A: The entire concept of our band is that we do everything together. This band isn’t just Tom and Orit. On the new album the entire band participated in the writing, composing and producing.

Q: Why did you leave your big music label company Hed Artzi and sign with a smaller company The 8th Note?
A: We preferred to do the production by ourselves. We noticed that it makes much more financial sense and we also have more control over the entire production process.

Q: Tell me, how do you feel about Synergia, the group that’s become more popular and successful than Hayehudim?
A: We wish them lots of luck, because we think that Israel lacks rock bands. The comparisons between our 2 bands isn’t new, we hear it everywhere. About a year and a half ago we were also compared to Beit HaBubot, especially in the sense that the radio stations ignore their music just like they used to ignore ours. But again, if we talk about Synergia, we really don’t care at all about the comparisons. What occupies us is that we stay loyal to ourselves and to our music.

Q: Your recent hit: Take Me, was recently played during the trailer ads and preludes of “A Star Is Born 5” and also in the blog corner of the popular TV Show ‘A Wonderful Country’. Have you become a mainstream band?
A: People say we have become mainstream but our new album isn’t mainstream at all. Maybe the mainstream has moved toward us, towards the edge, but we have surely not moved to the center toward the mainstream.

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