{"id":645999,"date":"2024-12-05T09:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-12-05T06:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/boy-band-meets-middle-east-conflict-on-paramount-docuseries\/"},"modified":"2024-12-05T09:00:00","modified_gmt":"2024-12-05T06:00:00","slug":"boy-band-meets-middle-east-conflict-on-paramount-docuseries","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/boy-band-meets-middle-east-conflict-on-paramount-docuseries\/","title":{"rendered":"#Boy Band Meets Middle East Conflict on Paramount+ Docuseries"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\n\tOn Oct. 6, 2023, the six members of the newly formed first ever Israeli-Palestinian boy band As1one (stylized as as1one) arrived in Los Angeles as so many groups had done before: wide-eyed, eager and committed to launching a career in music.<\/p>\n

\n\tWithin hours of landing, reality set in \u2014 their homeland had been invaded.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe morning of Oct. 7, Hamas terrorists penetrated the southern border between Israel and Gaza and launched a surprise attack on nearby villages and attendees of the Nova Music Festival, resulting in the death of 1,195 Israelis and foreign nationals, and the kidnapp<\/a>ing of 251 people. An immedia<\/a>te declaration of war led to an escalation by Israel\u2019s military and a counterattack. There remains no resolution to the conflict today, and there are still nearly 100 hostages. <\/p>\n

\n\tBarely settling into their Hollywood Hills rental, and about to hit the studio to work on material with the likes of hit songwriters Justin Tranter (Chappell Roan\u2019s \u201cPink Pony Club\u201d), Stephen Kirk and Jenna Andrews (BTS\u2019 \u201cButter\u201d) \u2014 having already stopped over at London\u2019s famed Abbey Road to record debut song \u201cAll Eyes on Us\u201d with Nile Rodgers \u2014 the guys were flooded with calls and text messages from back home.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cHow is it possible for us to be able to create music with all that noise? There\u2019s so much turmoil, so much inner conflict\u201d, says Neta Rozenblat, who also grew up in California and New Jersey. \u201cWe landed with stars in our eyes, thinking how this is the most important thing that has happened to us. And then the next day October 7 happens. We\u2019re losing friends, we\u2019re seeing what\u2019s going on in Gaza and Israel and it\u2019s breaking our hearts.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tRozenblat, like nearly every Israeli, knows someone who knows someone who was directly impacted by the attack. \u201cWhen we were recording our song, \u201cStop the World,\u201d I\u2019m scrolling through my [phone] and I see that one of my friends was killed at the Nova festival. And then I have to go in and record a take. So, you transfer that emotion directly into the song. That\u2019s our outlet and that\u2019s what it\u2019s supposed to be, to express yourself\u201d.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cNeta and I lost very close friends two days after we moved here, everything was so overwhelming,\u201d adds Niv Lin. \u201cThe music is what healed us, singing and being together.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tOffers Sadik Dogosh: \u201cIf we lose our hope and our faith, what else do we have? This is the only thing we have to live for. Even during the hardest time, we have to continue living, there\u2019s no other way. And music is something we can give other people, even if they don\u2019t fully understand what we\u2019re trying to do with our music. They\u2019re going to feel the lyrics, the melody, the different tones and cultures. And that\u2019s what can change people\u2019s minds for the better. This is our hope\u201d.<\/p>\n

\n\tAs1one is the culmination of a two-year search for Israeli and Palestinian young male talent, spearheaded by veteran music executives James Diener and Ken Levitan, who developed Maroon 5 and Kings Of Leon, respectively, and a vision of defying politics with music in the form of a united crossover pop group.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe ambitious project was filmed as the four-part docuseries<\/a> As1one: The Israeli-Palestinian Pop Music Journey,<\/em> released today on Paramount+. The first episode follows the audition process and the bootcamp that took place in cooperate bi-national village Neve Shalom (Oasis of Peace, in Hebrew), located in central Israel and priding itself as a community in which Israelis and Arabs live together since 1969. One of the creative consultants during that early stage is Palestinian-Israeli musician and activist Mira Awad, who represented Israel in the 2009 Eurovision Song Contest, alongside Israeli singer Achinoam Nini, performing the duet \u201cThere Must Be Another Way\u201d in Hebrew, Arabic and English.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cI was one of the people who was a little worried, asking the team, \u2018What are we going to do here? What is the plan? What are we representing? Are we an Israeli band or a Palestinian band?\u2019 And Mira Awad was one of the people who answered me that, \u2018At the end, you guys choose what you want to say, to represent and to do,\u201d explains Aseel Farah. \u201cThis is where I felt that what matters is actually what happens when the six of us sit together and look each other in the eyes, say what we\u2019re feeling and what we want to represent. And here we are. Representing music first. And even though we come from different places, we are humans and we want to communicate and coexist. We want to have a better future, and make music\u201d.<\/p>\n

\n\tFarah, the rapper of the group, also confesses to living in the comment section. \u201cI\u2019m always that guy\u201d, he laughs, \u201cThings are happening in the world, we\u2019ve received supportive messages but also very outrageous ones, like, \u2018What are you guys doing? You\u2019re tone-deaf\u2019. We know the truth of As1one and what we want to show. As a Palestinian, I know what I want to ignore and what I don\u2019t want to be whitewashed for us the Palestinians. But how I communicate that to the world is kind of tough. And this is where I\u2019m relying on myself and the people who comment and how they receive that. I don\u2019t look at statistics and how many people comment on what. I look at the good points. Some comments can give a new way to communicate with people who didn\u2019t get it before. And I think, how can I do better next time? Most of them are untrue, opinionated people that don\u2019t care what the band stands for. But others will be more about how to represent who we are and those help and I want that guidance in some way\u201d.<\/p>\n

\n\tOnline backlash is not unfamiliar for music acts upon announcing a tour stop in Israel. Yet despite calls for boycott, the lively concert scene remained resilient before the war, with such artists as Imagine Dragons, One Republic and Jennifer Lopez performing in Tel Aviv at the top of the decade. In fact, on Oct. 7, 2023, Bruno Mars was scheduled to play in Israel.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cFor me, it\u2019s difficult to watch because we do see a lot of people abandon Israel or Palestine and won\u2019t go there, we see the effect, and it makes me sad\u201d, says Nadav Philips. \u201cWhen we will get the chance to perform, everywhere will be welcomed. We\u2019re performing for people, not governments. Music is our truth, the one language we can all relate to. We really hope that everyone, regardless of what they believe in, they can still love our music. And this is something we really want to promote\u201d.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe band members cite diverse influences, including R&B, folk-pop, reggae and Bedouin Sheilat music.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cWhat\u2019s special about us is that you\u2019ll hear six completely different answers to that question, and that makes our music unique, everyone has a different color and tone\u201d, said Ohad Attia. \u201cPeople think Israelis living with Palestinians is impossible. But we\u2019re here together and we are not different. We have different opinions which we talk about. But it\u2019s fine as long as you accept and listen. We don\u2019t think it will solve the wars around the world, but we just hope that this will change even a few people\u2019s minds\u201d.<\/p>\n

\n\tAnd, what\u2019s the dream?<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cThe dream is to be the biggest pop group in the world\u201d, proclaims Rozenblat, \u201cOf course, we are Israelis and Palestinians who represent something that is bigger than just us as individuals, and our altruistic wish is for that to somehow represent the future within reach. People watch the news<\/a> and make their assumptions about where we\u2019re from and choose their side. And they\u2019ll forget that there are people behind these headlines and videos. They\u2019ll go out and protest. For us, it\u2019s our families and friends, what we experience on our flesh. It\u2019s important for us to bring humanity back.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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