Aharit HaYamim is an Israeli reggae, dub and ska sensation whose groove and sensibility is rooted in a Messianic longing and a love of Zion they share with their Rastafarian brethren. With a post-Carlebach Jewish folk flavor, they proclain their love for “Yerushalayim” and “Holy Mount Zion” with tight four-part harmonies, layered over thumping basslines, lush arrangements and extended play instrumentals.

Their brand of world-beat reggae focuses on messiah and redemption, “but it’s a redemption with everybody else; it’s about bringing the nation of Israel together.” Famed perfomer Matisyahu, hearing their music as he walked by a Jerusalem cafe performance, jumped onstage and performed an impropmtu set. Aharit HaYamim (Hebrew for End of Days) is far more than a band “it is a full-fledged grassroots movement” made up of disillusioned children of Oslo looking for an out, post-Carlebach jam band fans, Phisheads and the Haredi/Hippie Hilltop youth.

How does one join this movement? “You don’t need to,” says Leuchter. “Everyone is already a member. Aharit Hayamim is just here to wake you up and spread the message of unity, love and Israel.” Wearing brightly colored, home-sewn, hemp clothing, replete with tzitzit, ritual fringes, Aharit HaYamim delivers a heady musical mix perfect for party people or spiritual seekers. Their hope is that during their concert- these become one in the same as they hasten and celebrate the coming of Moshiach.

Ein Yeosh
Kum Lach Adam
Aharit Hayamim
Areyut Yehuda
Yerushalayim
Lo Lefached


Lions of Zion, thriving in the studio By BEN JACOBSON

The mainstream hit machine focuses on selling three-minute singles and glamour-shot imagery, an approach that doesn’t have much to do with traditional jam bands. With rare exceptions like the Grateful Dead, the songs are too long and the faces too homely, with improvised concerts considered much more important than albums. Record labels don’t have a clue how to market such acts, but the best jam bands have always found their own ways to build communities of fans. Probably the closest thing Israel has to a proper hippie jam band, Aharit Hayamim rocks on its own terms. In the band’s four years of existence, the world-groove collective has played hundreds of shows, also hosting eight incarnations of its own Gush Etzion-based Aharit Hayamim Festival and selling thousands of copies of its self-published demo EP.

The band spent over two years creating this eponymous studio debut, which was first sold at the Aharit Hayamim Festival this past fall.

The title track introduces the band with a vengeance, hinting at Aharit Hayamim’s capabilities in its live performances. The disc’s lead-off reggae-flavored single, “Ein Ye’ush,” is concise and funked-up. With its “Oh yeah!” refrain, “Bnei Tzion” is an upbeat, straightforward rock piece, while “Min Hametzar” sports some driving percussion work. “Lo Lefahed” is a rare new ballad making use of Rebbe Nahman’s famous “The world is a very narrow bridge” parable, shifting gears part way through to become an Afro-beat chant mixed with breezy jazz parts. The closer, “Yerushalayim,” builds on messianic prophecies to paint a reggae-infused picture of the Jerusalem to come, complete with an orchestra of shofar blasts.

As with all studio projects from bands that live on the stage, this album’s energy is a mere hint of Aharit Hayamim’s live power. But the collection still proves these guys know how to energize their listeners – even when the band is confined to a format that by definition repels spontaneity.


October – November 2007 US Tour Dates TBA

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