• Music

    Bahareh Fayazi & Asareh Shek – Nasim-e Sahar

    March 23, 2024 - By 

    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 music with poetry that speaks of both earthly and mystical love stories. Sparse and powerful, Nasim-e Sahar showcases the technical virtuosity and improvisational mastery of these two artists. By reinterpreting the masterpieces of a male singer, Bahareh and Asareh, two young women, promise the dawn of a new age in…

  • Music

    MOREGO – Fascination

    April 5, 2023 - By 

    Despite being in a very tough neighborhood, Iran’s new music scene is as healthy as ever, and thanks to Bandcamp, Soundcloud and social media in general, the wider world is finding out about what kind of talent is residing in the country.  Take our friend MOREGO, who produce an IDM-inflected psybient music.  There are gentle beats, floating interludes, and the album maintains a cinematic atmosphere throughout.  Great to chill out to.

  • Music

    Hadi Bastani and Maryam Sirvan – trans​.​placed

    March 28, 2023 - By 

    It’s wonderful to hear one of my favorite sound designers, Maryam Sirvan come up with new material.  She is paired with fellow expatriate Hadi Bastani in this 20-minute mini-LP of electroacoustics and field recordings.  From the release’s Bandcamp site: “Stretching from Berlin to Tbilisi, trans.placed starts with the simple act of opening a door. This everyday gesture forms the fabric of this dense, meticulous and profound work which obsesses over the dramatic sonic transitions which occur when we move from outside to indoors. What sounds come with us as we make this transition? What new soundscapes do we encounter? And…

  • Music

    Badieh – Badieh

    March 6, 2023 - By 

    This is quite a pairing.  Badieh consist of Spaniard Michel Gasco, who plays oud and rebab, pairs with Iranian musician Mohammed Miragharzadeh on tar and setar. From Badieh’s Bandcamp site: “Worlds Within Worlds is proud to announce the release of Badieh’s self-titled debut album – a collection of mystifying folk pieces from the Greater Khorasan region of Iran and Afghanistan. A collaboration between two masters of their craft, Badieh is the project of Michel Gasco and Mohammad Miraghazadeh. A step past Gasco’s previous Orontes project, these delicate reinterpretations of traditional Khorasani folk track takes his instrumentation to new heights. Each…

  • Music

    Various Artists – Ten Songs from Houshang Ebtehaj

    November 10, 2022 - By 

    Iranian poet and balladeer Hushang Ebtehaj passed away on August 10, 2022, but left an incredibly rich body of work.  This compilation, released by Tehran-based record label Khosousi, brings together Ebtehaj’s best interpreters, such as Mohammad Reza Sharjarian and his son Homayoun,as well as Alireza Eftekhari, Hossein Ghavami, Mohammad Motamedi and Alireza Ghorbani.  Each is a legend in his own right, and they do justice to the poetry of a bona fide maestro.

  • Music

    Siavash Amini & Eugene Thacker – Songs for Sad Poets

    September 26, 2022 - By 

    Siavash Amini, an Iranian sound artist and composer, collaborates on this album with author and poet Eugene Thacker on Songs for Sad Poets, though I hear no vocals on this disc.  What is on offer, however, are incredibly bleak soundscapes that range from engaging dark ambient music which settles well in headphones to abrasive post-Industrial music which tears at the eardrums in a most pleasant way.  From the pair’s Bandcamp site for this release: The collection of eight pieces draws its inspiration from the legacy of the so-called cursed poets (»poètes maudits«) as well as the German-language tradition of song…

  • Music - Spotify

    [Podcast] JazzBuzz 16: Jazz In Europe

    August 16, 2022 - By 

    Our friends at Parasounder Magazine out of Tehran offer a great introduction to jazz in Europe and Iran through their podcast, JazzBuzz.  In this episode, you will hear some fine music, an interview with guitarist Ali Lotfi and more jazz notes, all in Farsi.  I’m proud to support my friends and their music explorations.

  • Music

    Liraz – Azizam

    June 22, 2022 - By 

    Persian-Israeli pop singer Liraz will have a brand new album called Roya in October, but she’s seen fit to release an early single which is in parts psych-ish and sensual.  Definitely for fans of Israeli pop and even Googoosh fans!