Various Artists – Vampisoul: Rangarang

From the Bandcamp site of the consistently solid record label Vampisoul: “”Rangarang” is a compilation of forgotten jewels from pre-revolutionary Iran. These songs tell the stories of an artisan community that flourished during the 1960s and 1970s before vanishing into oblivion. The pop stars who stayed in Iran were summonsed Continue Reading

Amirhossein Nazemzade , Ehsan Shayanfard – Mourners Project

Here are two new names from the improvisational music scene in Tehran, Iran, worth keeping an eye on – Amirhossein Nazemzade and Ehsan Shayanfard.  From their Bandcamp site: “Winter 2025 On a melancholic evening in a house in central Tehran, we performed an hour and fifteen minutes of improvisation with Continue Reading

Saba Alizadeh – I May Never See You Again

Saba Alizadeh is a sound artist, instrumentalist, and composer based in Tehran. In light of the ongoing bombings there, I pray for his safety and for all those suffering from violence around the world. Saba is a virtuoso on the kamancheh, a traditional Persian spike fiddle. The only person I have had Continue Reading

Bahareh Fayazi & Asareh Shek – Nasim-e Sahar

From the Little Axe Bandcamp site: “Nasim-e Sahar (The Breath of the Dawn) by Asareh Shekarchi (on tombak and āvāz), and Bahareh Fayazi (on tar) is a reinterpretation of works by master Iranian singer Reza-Qoli Mirza Zelli (1906 – 1946). This recording features a variety of modal divisions of Iranian Continue Reading