LAIBACH : ALAMUT : FEDAYEEN (The Axe Is Sharpened)

FEDAYEEN (The Axe Is Sharpened) is the 3rd Movement from Laibach’s original symphonic poem in nine movements, as filmed and performed live in Križanke Outdoor Theatre in the Monastery of the Holy Cross, Ljubljana, 6th September 2022. Featuring Laibach, RTV Slovenia Symphony Orchestra, Human Voice Ensemble, Gallina Vocal Group, AccordiOna Disharmonic Cohort. Conducted by Navid Gohari. In 2023 you can catch Laibach’s ALAMUT concerts here: October 14th: Ljubljana, Cankarjev dom, SI October 15th: Trieste, Politeama Rossetti, IT October 19th: Frankfurt, Jahrhunderthalle, DE October 22nd: Zagreb, Vatroslav Lisinski Hall, HR Video edited by Solsticij Visuals and compositing by komposter Presented by a/political 2022 Alamut is an original symphonic and multimedia spectacle by Laibach based on a famous story from eleventh-century Persia, as told by the Slovene writer Vladimir Bartol (1903 – 1967), born in Trieste, in his 1938 novel of the same title. The central character is Hassan-i Sabbāh, the charismatic religious and political leader of the Nizari Ismailis and the founder of a mysterious military formation known as the Assassins, whose name is still feared and respected today. Hassan-i Sabbāh is a self-proclaimed prophet who leads a holy war against the Seljuk Empire from his eyrie – the castle of Alamut. Alamut examined the mechanisms of propaganda at the time when Bartol, a member of Slovenian minority in Trieste, where he lived, was witnessing the rise of fascism in Italy. The motto “Nothing is true, everything is permitted“ as the supreme principle of the Ismailis and the central idea of the novel, which, in the spirit of European Machiavellianism and the rise of fascism (the novel was published in 1938 and sarcastically dedicated to Benito Mussolini), is based on the denial of all doctrines and traditions, and expresses the most radical philosophical scepticism, nihilism, and cynicism. The motto is explicitly repeated several times in the novel, and is also used by Bartol as the maxim of the book. In the light of the chaotic values, the flood of contradictory information that rules the world and the destructive wars of aggression that are strangling our time, this motto has perhaps never been more relevant than today. In Laibach’s Alamut, the ideas of radical nihilism interweave with the classical Persian poetry of Omar Khayyam, the sensual verses of Mahsati Ganjavi blend with minimalist orchestral colours derived from Iranian tradition. Hassan-i Sabbāh’s propaganda mechanism are echoed in the industrial principle of the workings of the orchestra and Laibach’s unique sound. Laibach created the project with the help of the English non-profit organisation a/political and in collaboration with Iranian composers and musicians. Individual parts of the composition were contributed by Luka Jamnik in collaboration with Idin Samimi Mofakham and Nima Atrkar Rowshan. The historic symphony had its world premiere on 5 and 6 September 2022 in the Križanke Auditorium at the Ljubljana Festival.