The Kahn Brothers Melt Fear

The Kahn Brothers are on a crusade to share love through their debut record, Love Melts Fear. It was originally planned as the third album for their former band, Gelbison, but later morphed into a new folk/pop project by the two brothers, whose devotion to Eastern theology influenced the music. A Fine Line sat down with Nadav – the elder of the pair – who appears on the record’s sleeve sporting a t-shirt proclaiming the album’s title and underlying message.

Many Australian fans got their first glimpse of the duo live when they supported Lior earlier this year. In these shows, a faux-campfire was placed on the floor; something they subsequently had to scrap because half the audience didn’t realise what it was. Instead, Nadav hints that future shows may contain a massive pyrotechnics display and inflatable love hearts.

The fire helped achieve a kinship with the crowd, something that also occurs through the music’s beauty. Describing their performances, Nadav says, “(They’re) different every time, but the songs are the key to holding the show together. The songs on ‘Love Melts Fear’ flow effortlessly live and are satisfying to play. I think the live shows bring the ideas behind the songs to life. And hopefully people walk away feeling uplifted and charged up”.

The album was recorded in Sydney and mixed at the legendary Electric Ladyland Studios in New York. It is a city Nadav loves and a studio he believes carries the spirit of the classic music that has been made there and some that is yet to be created.
Reflecting on the process, Nadav describes it as, “Quite a journey, the giveaway is in the title, Love Melts Fear. When you give something a title like that, you literally have to face what you create, which also meant having to face fear in every shape and form, in order to melt it.

“The thing about this album is that we both believe in the songs and their message. So we aimed to make them as clear and as organic as we could”.

Nadav and brother Edo also facilitated musical workshops and performed at orphanages prior to recording, an experience he describes as life altering.
“Both Edo and I have realised that in the same way that music has impacted our lives, music has the capacity to do so for people in any circumstance. Playing for orphans and people with slight or severe special needs and seeing how a simple performance means so much to them, blew me away. I was reminded of how much I have and that I am so blessed. Experiences like this made us want to make a positive record that celebrated music and all its magic.”

The finished record is a bright one and this is epitomised by the first single, Open- a collaborative effort between the siblings and their friend Ian Ball from Gomez. Nadav says the song is about a feeling, “That if you don’t push ahead and take a risk, you’re gonna die. Not necessarily physically, but in your spirit. We all have a need to grow, to expand ourselves, to improve, to test our boundaries and to learn to love more. It’s a terrible feeling to be caged by fear and be unable to move forward. Jumping into the unknown is melting that fear”.

Their boldness eventuated in the production of an eclectic video for the single. They took numerous chances like sneaking into the Hollywood Bowl, pretending to be part of the Annual Christmas Parade and meeting a limo driver. The latter indulged them by driving them around while they donned orange prison suits and Afros, procured from an op-shop only one day prior to the shoot.

The duo’s song writing, like their lives, has a constant theme of love; does Nadav think a song needs this underlying message for it to be considered good?
“I think that when we look deeply enough into everything, we find love. Sometimes love is shrouded by darkness, so we have to dig deeper to find it. So writing about the darkness is also essentially about love and writing angsty tunes is about feeling a lack of love. Take a record like ‘Loveless’ by My Bloody Valentine. It’s so distorted – almost painfully so – and yet so beautiful. All beauty is ultimately, love. You don’t have to intentionally put it there. You just have to be honest”.

The Kahn Brothers future plans include a national tour in October and November plus more writing, recording, travelling and practicing what they preach. With their beautiful message, many people will no doubt aspire to be more like them and Nadav laughs when asked what quintessential items are required to be impersonators of the Kahn Brothers. He notes, “Perhaps split personalities, we’re both Geminis so maybe you’d need four people”.

Love Melts Fear is out now through Shakti Records/Inertia.

Share this article on Facebook