FD: The idea to combine metal and oriental music in this project goes back a long way and even pre-dates the time when I joined The Old Dead Tree. I have always wanted to combine my cultural origins with the music I am most fond of.

Except for a small number of bands, oriental music was not represented in the European Metal scene. I thought this project might bring a new breath in trying to mix two very different styles: oriental music including chaabi which is the musical style the most popular in Maghreb and a powerful metal with growls and hard riffs.

At the time, I didn’t manage to meet the right people for this unusual project. It is difficult to find good musicians to form a metal band but it’s even more difficult to find great musicians playing both metal and North African music. My inclusion in The Old Dead Tree helped me to build my experience in a professional band and create a social network in this scene.

In 2005, Mus and Samir, former members of an Algerian death metal band named Worth, and Florent, a former member of Whisper-X, joined me with the same desire to try something new.

AD: Within your compositions, you mix Death Metal, Arabic music and a lot more. I imagine it must be very difficult to reconcile the styles. When you write a piece of work, which comes first: the Metal or the Arabic sounds?

FD: It's true that at first glance we could think that it's difficult to reconcile Death Metal and Oriental Music, but when you investigate the matter more closely, you realize that in reality these two musical styles can be blended. First, the Phrygian mode well suits the dynamics of Metal. Moreover, Chaabi and Charqui, our two main oriental influences, are melancholic types of music. They can be combined really well with the dark moods of Metal.

Concerning the way we compose, we do not really pre-established patterns. In a first step, we especially focus on the dynamic of each song. Rhythmic intensity is often determined first. We therefore identify in a composition the parts which will have to be melodic, mid-tempo, acoustic, heavy or speed. Once this structure is defined, we begin to work on the details of each riff. Vocals are composed last of all and lead sometimes to changes in order to add more percussive or melancholic feelings.

AD: The Death Metal you play is violent, but pure and melodic. Have you thought about having a rougher edge to your sound?

FD: We never thought about the musical direction of our next album in terms of “violence” or “melody”. We started with the premise of "Burning Flesh" then "Hilal", and "Salam" is the logical next step. Our only goal was to incorporate in a more pronounced way our oriental influences. "Salam" continues the direction initiated by "Hilal". Salam is therefore more melodic and a more prominent part was given to oriental moods and harmonies. Arkan never intended to do two identical albums / EP. The compositions of our releases are different but follow the same connecting thread.

Before everything else, we play the music we like. In Arkan, we all appreciate quite violent bands like Behemoth, Nile and Septic Flesh. It is logical that such musical violence is exploited in "Salam". However, it is true that with age, we want to explore more melodic music ways.

AD: On “Hilal” in particular, I sense anger. Is this because you are expressing anger, or is it an artistic reflection of the album’s theme?

FD: Yes, violence and hatred are feelings still present in "Salam" as they are transcribing the content of the lyrics. We have decided once again to talk about a sensitive topic explaining the “clash of civilizations” notion. This theme arouses strong passions all over the world and often leads to conflicts.

More precisely, for this album, we were inspired by events around us, the geopolitical conflicts and misunderstanding between peoples who are yet supposed to be brothers. So, Salam relates timeless and universal fears and the resentment of two peoples with two different religions which coexist in the same area. Everyone feels that hatred has been gradually rising inside them and that the point of no return has been crossed. Because of intellectual manipulation and propaganda, both peoples decide to make war but, exhausted by it, people are increasingly distancing themselves from their instincts of hatred. Having committed all these massacres, and cohabitation seeming the only possible way, they decided to turn their eyes towards the others.

AD: I understand that “Salam” means “Peace”. There are many calm moments, but musically it’s far from being dominated by “peace”. What was the vision behind “Salam”?

FD: Our music is a mixture of aggression and wholeness, contradictory feelings which exist in every human being and create an uncertain balance while we must continue to keep our feet on the ground.

In the same way as "Hilal", our first album, we wanted to use a short, punchy and meaningful title. Considering the theme of the lyrics developed throughout the album, the use of "Salam” as title, meaning peace, seemed obvious. It's important to understand that Peace has a sense only in front of War symbolized in our album by the aggressive parts.

In these times of geopolitical tensions, Salam is a term which is universal more than ever: its equivalent in Hebrew is "Shalom" and "Salem". This universal message is fundamental for the band which gives more importance to common values which bind peoples than all differences leading to isolationism.

Our tour with Orphaned Land has reinforced our conviction that peace between different peoples is not a utopia.

Creating a tour where an Israeli band, a French band with North African members and a German band share a new stage each day shows that music can overcome geopolitical tensions and lead to greater solidarity among peoples through dialogue and sharing. But obviously, we must not forget that we make music first to transmit happiness to people and have fun on stage. The political dimension of a band should be relegated to the background.

AD: Why did you choose to include a “secret” track within “Amaloun Jadid II” on the “Salam” album?

FD: It's important for us to show that "Salam" takes part in the artistic process initiated by "Hilal". So, we wanted to insert a sequel of “Amaloun Jadid” at the end of our last album in naming its last song “Amaloun Jadid II”. More generally, we are very attached to symbols in our creations. It's not a coincidence that every title of our albums have 5 letters and that "Salam", with its ghost track, has 1 hour of listening.

AD: “Salam” has a dream-like, melancholic element, in part thanks to the introduction of Sarah Layssac. How did this collaboration come about?

FD: Arkan met Sarah on the occasion of our various gigs. At the time, she was the singer of a metal band called The Outburst. A friendship has grown between us and her vocal qualities as well as her mastery of the Arabic language have persuaded us to work with her on Hilal. She immediately agreed to cooperate with us. Having Algerian origins, the idea of using its North African roots in her way of singing was of immediate interest to her. She adapts quite easily to all kinds of voices from rock to Oriental ones. We very much wanted to work with her and we are extremely pleased with the art we have created together.

After recording her voice on "Hilal", we decided to invite her to our tours with Septic Flesh and Orphaned Land to go further in this adventure and collaboration. Everyone who participated in Arkan's projects have an important place in the band’s history. They helped to build it and Sarah is among them.

For practical reasons, she could not record in Sweden, but we confirm indeed her participation in "Salam".

AD: You recorded both “Hilal” and “Salam” in the Studio Fredman in Sweden? What objectives did you set for the producer Fredrik Nordström and what has he brought to your music?

FD: Working with Studio Fredman was our own will. The sound of an album is as important as what it comprises. We greatly appreciate Fredman's work including their performance with such bands as In Flames or Opeth. For the Metal parts of Hilal, we wanted sound perfection. And for us, there was a person able to produce this desired sound and his name is Fredrik Nordström.

When I contacted Fredrik with two pre-produced pieces of Hilal, he listened to them and said: “I like that kebab boogie music!” We immediately liked each other. For us he is a legend and we wanted to work with him, but that seemed like something inaccessible. After we got in touch with him he was very much and quickly interested in our album. When we arrived at the studio, some recordings were done in Algeria, but we brought traditional instruments with us that we wanted to record there. When he saw my percussions, he said: "What do you want to do with your funny toms?” I struggled to convince him to use my percussions on the recording, which was something new for him. In the end, he trusted us and the result was quite amazing. He is and remains the absolute master of his art.

Having been fully satisfied with the Fredrik Nordström's work on Hilal, our choice was logically focused on him for the recording of Salam. However, we wanted a slightly different sound from the first album and Fredrik has understood the artistic direction we wanted to take. The sound conforms exactly to our expectations in terms of power and precision. Concerning mixing and mastering, we had confidence in Fredrik and Henrik Udd, his assistant, the pair not having to demonstrate their ability for this kind of work!

AD: Kobi Farhi (Orphaned Land) takes part on “Deus Vult”. How did you get him involved in the creation of “Salam”? What visions do you share with him?

FD: In May 2010, we toured in France with "Orphaned Land". This tour was a fantastic experience for us and for all the musicians who took part to this project. Orphaned Land is an extraordinary band. Having a very different history, we spent time talking to them in order to know each other better and learn more about our respective cultures to quickly realize that we are not really different. A real musical as well human complicity has been developed between us. We really wanted to realize this complicity through a guest appearance on "Salam".

These moments promoted the idea of inviting Kobi Farhi (Orphaned Land's singer) to sing on one of our title.

When the song “Deus Vult” was composed, I proposed to the band that we should include different voices of Kobi in the composition process. Symbolically, Deus Vult means "God willing". In Arabic the term is particularly strong (“Inshallah”) and I found it interesting to begin the piece with the Hebrew.

So I contacted Kobi inviting his input into the creation of this album, which is so symbolically rich and whose title "Salam" means "Peace". He was immediately excited. There was contact by telephone and without the slightest hesitation, he replied "yes."

We then recorded the layout of the track in August, and I sent him it. The arrangements were not even completed on this track. He made his part of the recording in Tel Aviv. When we got the result, we knew that the album should at least be on the same high quality level of work that Kobi had provided for us.

And to be honest, even today this song moves me and I will not deny that our collaboration will not end on such a good note!

AD: Looking to the future, do you plan to diversify still further with your musical style?

FD: Musically speaking, I think I can easily say that all members of Arkan are very open-minded. We listen to a lot of music including Metal as many as non-Metal bands.

We're also partially influenced by North African music, rock, jazz and French music when we compose.

The only guideline that can be fixed is to mix oriental music with Metal. After that, if other musical influences are affixed on this frame, we will take it.

It is too early to say with certainty that influences outside Metal and Oriental music will be more present on our next album, but it will surely be the case.

AD: Do you have any plans to tour and promote “Salam”?

FD: Now that the hardest part is behind us, we can focus on the rest. We are currently working on upcoming gigs, and the next one will be the most symbolic because it will take place in Casablanca (Morocco), on May 14th. Symbolic in so far as it is the country where my parents are from. And Metal has a special place there. There was a time when young people playing Black Metal were kept locked up there. Fortunately things have changed...

We are also working on a video clip that we want to achieve for the release of the album.

Moreover, we're booking a European tour which is scheduled for the last quarter of 2011 and planning has begun for several dates following the release of Salam.

AD: What has the Season of Mist label done for you since you joined them?

FD: This is a long story. When we went to Sweden in 2008, we didn’t have a label yet. We were already friends with the staff of Season of Mist, because of my past in The Old Dead Tree, but we didn’t contact any label at that time. We thought we would release this album via auto-production in the event of a lack of label. The decision was only taken during the mixing. We sent two mixed titles to Season Of Mist and from the first listen, the label gave us a commercial proposal. So, first, it's a sudden impulse.

Now, we are very happy to work with Season of Mist. The distribution department of this label allowed us to publish "Hilal" in Europe and in the United States.

Until now, our collaboration with Season of Mist has been very productive. They had a preference right on “Salam” and decided to exercise their option for our second one. I think the commercial and marketing plans for this album will allow us to cross a new threshold.

AD: Do you have any other musical projects in mind?

FD: Arkan is for us a full-time project. Managing a professional band is difficult and needs a large investment of time.

Outside the scope of our musical life, all the members of Arkan are fully occupied in their private lives.

It is not always easy to combine everyone’s schedules but the passion is stronger than anything.

When I'm working on a project I put a lot of myself into it. This is why I decided to leave The Old Dead Tree. I would have liked to organize Metal events if I had this opportunity. It is a musical style which isn't mediated enough but it deserves more investment like several associations throughout France. I sincerely hope to do it someday.

So, as you understand, our schedules do not leave us time to get involved in another musical project.

AD: What was the reaction of French audiences when they first heard your music, particularly given that you have covered sensitive subjects such as suicide-bombing?

FD: I think a lot of fans know that the message we spread in our lyrics is very tolerant. Arkan wants to encourage people to think for themselves and does not try to impose its vision.

Hilal has been chronicled by numerous webzines around the world, especially in France, and the feedback has all been very good. It's always nice to see that a lot of people with diverse backgrounds like our music despite the distinctive and unique style of our compositions.

Moreover, at every venue during our various gigs, we received a very warm welcome from an open-minded public which was very receptive to our music.

I think listeners need now more originality in music and want cultural innovation. The mixing of cultures in the Western societies promotes openness. Metal fans are more and more curious and are looking for, especially via the Internet, new musical experiences. Arkan is just trying to respond to this need by proposing an original musical mix.

AD: I recently reviewed an album by another Paris-based band Acyl, with whom Arkan has associations. Their music had a strong ethnic Metal feel. I’m aware that there is a strong North African community in Paris. Has this manifested itself in a Heavy Metal movement?

FD: We know very well all the members of Acyl because they are very good friends. Reda, one of the two guitarists of this band, is an ex-former member of Arkan.

Generally speaking, France shared a part of its history with the Maghreb countries. These countries have experienced a very close relationship but also periods of violent clashes. The French society, because of its colonial past, created a multicultural society where everyone can find its place whatever their origins or culture. Multiculturalism in France is a strength, not a weakness contrary to what some politicians want us to believe. Philosophical and cultural exchange has beneficial effects and help us to be open to the world.

It is true that for socio-cultural reasons, the French people with Arab origins listen more easily rap and R & B than metal music. However, in Maghreb countries and, in particular, in Algeria, this music style attracts more and more people.

AD: Have you picked up a North African following?

FD: I think music transcends ethnicity. During our gigs, we see completely different kind of fans. Some of them are pure extreme metal fan, others are fan of melodic metal, rock or oriental music. We regularly receive messages of support from all around the world (from Europe of course but also from the United States, Turkey, Algeria, Syria or Thailand!).

AD: I’ve known bands who play other styles than Metal within their work pick up non Metal fans of all ages. Has this happened to you?

FD: Yes, we are fortunate to have fans from different backgrounds. Although they listen to metal, oriental music or rock, they are sensitive to our artistic process of creating a rather unusual musical mixture. Our openness seems to touch people's sensibilities in a time when more and more people are trying to discover new musical styles. The more Arkan's albums are opened to external musical influences, the more our music will become attractive for non-metal listeners.

AD: What other bands do you listen to?

FD: All members of the band are musically very open. We therefore listen to very different bands which have no connection with Metal. It is important for us not to be locked into a particular style without trying to add external elements tap into the different musical styles we listen. Moreover, when your band has the prominent place that it has for us in our life, sometimes you want to “clear” our minds by listening softer and less violent bands. For my part, I listen as much Metal as French music (Brassens, Juliette) and jazz (Eric Truffaz).

AD: What or who are the main influences in your life?

FD: Because of our very busy lives, we must streamline our time. So we're very organized people and we usually work fast. I think this attitude is what has allowed us to go up through the ranks very quickly.

Furthermore, this time optimization allows us to enjoy every moment. You will notice that Florent has tattooed on his arms the Latin adage “Utere praesenti, memor ultimae” which means "Enjoy the present and do not forget the final hour".

AD: And finally, is there anything you’d like to say to readers of www.metalteamuk.net ?

FD : Thanks for this interview. You can learn more about our news by visiting our official website www.arkan.fr, our MySpace www.myspace.com/arkanband and Facebook page. Stay tuned!

AD: Thanks very much for the interview and for two great albums. Best of luck, and I look forward to having the opportunity to seeing you play live soon.

For more on the band check out http://www.myspace.com/arkanband

Interviewed by Andrew Doherty

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