Arian Band is the first ever band consisting of both men and women singers and players in Iran and the first music group to represent Iranian pop music. Their debut album, "Gole Aftabgardoon" (The Sunflower) was released in 2000. The album had huge success in Iran. The band was recently nominated for the BBC World Music Award.
The Band will take Iran's pop melodies to Europe and North America for a joint summer performance. The band is to perform 9 concerts this September in U.S., Canada and Europe and then finish off with a final concert in the United Arab Emirates. (Payvand News)
Thanks to Brother Tim's suggestion: Here's a sample called Immortal Iran.
35 comments:
Zir Zamin in Persian
soundclips?
Hey Naj--
Nice sound. I downloaded the clip from Arian, Immortal Iran, very good music. I especially liked the fiddle (violin) stuff. Too bad I couldn't understand the words, but the feeling came through anyway --- a sign of good music.
Iran's undergroud music ... yes I have been planning to post on that as a part of my Iranian Experience Series ... that lebanon war got me distracted. Will get to it later.
Nunya, thanls to brother tim I have a sample now.
Brother tim, yeah the music gets adrenaline going, no? Lyrics are nice and upbeat and love-ful too.
I like Iranian Pop only in the car, and only if I can drive FAST :)
But, Benyamin (many posts ago) and Mohsen Namjoo remain my best finds to date, the former because of his cute look, later for his courageous and wired music :)
As an experiment this music is probably acceptable. It probably is not too bad for young people. But as an Art Form it is ugly.
The Classical Music of Iran and some of the Folk Musical forms such as gharee-bee are superior to this.
It is a shame, in a way, that with such a rch musical (and indeed artistic tradition) Iranians cannot produce anything that is yet beautiful.
Yes, the violin was nice but that was based on the work of a man who live 80 years ago and had devoted his entire life to re-tuning of the violin so it could become a Persian instrument.
Frankly, I wish this music would stay underground - it is a failed experiment in ugliness.
pen Name
I wonder which cities in the U.S. the band will play? The Payvand article didn't say.
Thanks, it seems pretty light and fun. Catchy.
Pen Name,
I am sure people who enjoy this music find your "superior" Gharibi music ugly as well.
I am no fan of this music myself, but If a band becomes popular, it means a large number of humans have connected to it and enjoyed it. Also, if a music can transcent culture and language, AGAIN, it is worth consideration. I will be cautious to stamp everyone invalid by what "I" call beautiful!
And I TOTALLY disagree with your statement about "nothing beautiful" having come out of Iranian music.
But I guess music is not one of Quoran's fortes, is it?!
David, dunno where they tour. May be in their site.
Nunya, your welcome.
Parts of the Quran, like parts of th Torah, and the Pslams of David has its own music.
The popularity does not make it any less ugly. This is an Iranian imitation of a rather banal & boring Western genre of Music.
Unfortunatey, in Iran, we do not have people who can write excellent new music - we do not have the creative people.
pen Name
Pen Name,
I don't argue about the banality of this particular one, I tend to agree with you.
But I DISAGREE with absence of CREATIVE music writers. Give Mohsen Namjoo a try.
And I will be also happy to know what you mean by creative music, maybe you can tell me what your "standard" of creativity in music is.
Piazolla, Shajarian (A Life of Song), Inti Illamani, Shostakovich, Mozart, Beethoven, Elahey-e Naz (Banan), Mahler (2-nd Symphony), Tomatito (Aguadulce), Gypsy Kings, Verdi (La Traviate), Puccini (Tosca), Theodorakis (Canto General), Charlie 'Bird' Parker...
pen Name
Not Rachmaninof?
Not Alizadeh?
Not Philippe Glass?
Not Arvo Prat?
Not David Bowie?
Not Damian Rice?
Not Mahler's 5th?
Not Kate Bush or Tori Amos?
And not the wonderfully experimental stuff that the post-revolutionary Iranian University graduates are producing these days? (Just stating some of my likings that popped to my head now.)
Music in Iran suffered at least 8 years of SUFFOCATION! Until Khomeini changed his mind about it! We'll rebound! And soon we'll forget the 6/8 stupidity coming out of LA and some of Iran's current pop!
Naj,
I must admit, you got me beat when it comes to variety in your musical tastes.
:)
My limited classical tastes include Vivaldi, Tchaikovsky, and Pachelbel's canon.
Naj, do you like Sarah McLachlan? I bought her album last year after my friend Pantea recommended it. I think her music is wonderful! :)
Oops, I forgot to mention the album's name. Its called Afterglow. Sarah's song Train Wreck is my favorite. From her lyrics, I suspect that her life has been a real roller coster! ;)
Naj did you think this will be a problem with Iran Pop?
"90 percent of the population are living under the poverty line and only ten percent of the people have access to social services provided by the government", Mohammad Abbaspour said in an interview with a hardline state-run news agency.
I heard this story from some where when Mahmoud Ahmadinejad came to power that story said he was during Khomeini time and after serving Mullah in their privates and singing basically "joyful servant" to Mullah, I don know how true that story is?
BTW, be brave not a "chicken" publish my comment don’t block it.
interesting.
enjoyed the link :)
to Grumpy anonymous:
You blundered again, sweety? Where do you get your information from? Iran has a large and growing middle class ...
What's that CRAP about 90% of population living under poverty line? You write from Mars?
You are so ill informed that I am not even going to bother arguing with you.
GOOGLE UP, honey!
Naj,
I am laughing. I just told Amre "Google is your friend."
More music?
Art?
nunya,
L O L!
I have a feeling this anonymous suffers similar personality traits, if not exactly overlapping ones ;)
I'll be posting more of both Art/music, right now on a conference! Don't want people who look over my shoulder see I have an alter-life ;)
In the meantime, my linking queen, maybe you can dig up stuff on Mohsen Namjoo. I'd be hard pressed if many Iranians (other than the young and postmodern) will enjoy his work, but I am curious how hos work travels across language and musical memory.
I absolutely loved his collage of the traditional and the the hard rock. But I think it really was the "postmorednist" effect; so interested in someone else's take on it.
Mystic Rose
======================
Glad you liked them.
You are so ill informed that I am not even going to bother arguing with you.
I don't darling, but you are living like Deaf and Blind in this Mullah world!!!
Keep with you Music madam who cares about poverty in Iran as soon your welfare paid weekly in your bank account exactly as those in Iran!!!!!
Did you bother to take a tour around fare from those big cities and saw those very poor families and boys on the streets?
Or you just looking to those "Very Flashy Mullah" and you think Iran its Modern and Middle class up, yes Middle class up because there is more that 30,000 Mullah and those servants behind them, BTW, don’t forgot those a troop of "Temporary Marriages Wives" and those fatherless babies "came by accident"
In Regards to what quote before Please asked your lover "Mohammad Abbaspour" Mullah Spokesman he is from Mars as you think.
Naj,
No queens in this country, but lots of unemployed worker bees.
Here are a few Mohsen Namjoo links---
Mohsen Namjoo
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Aghayede Nue Kanti mp3
Mohsen Namjoo
Actor/Composer (Music Score)
Denotes a New York Times Critic's Pick
Mohsen Namjoo Gees
Mohsen Namjoo Torang
(I like the music for this one)
Most of it is lost on me, because I don't speak the language.
I gave your guy a chance, now how about mine? He soothes the savage beast (in me).
:)
Michael Franks -- Eggplant
The Best of Michael Franks mp3 samples
Hi, brothers and sisters, just for the music, the beauty, tender and loving associations, the precious moments of reflection, the lookin and seeing beyond borders, I'd like to share with you this wonderful song: Beneath a phrygian sky
http://youtube.com/watch?v=siXe7bKt1q0&mode=related&search
Enjoy! And kind egards to all of you
Pen,
You spoke for all of us again?
Last time I checked, I hadn't put your name on my ballot.
I agree with your Mullah classification though.
naj:
I speak of the Iran that I know.
pen Name
Naj i have question for pen Nameh. It is aserious on.
I'm a direct descendant of Ima Hussien throug the mother side and I'm a member of the Arab sadat ashraf sendicate. Does this give me any privilge in Iran?
I realy want to know what Pen namah has got to say about this.
regards
Amre
Amre el-Bayad:
Being a Husseni Seyyed will be helpful to you in certan circles; the common religious people, the mullahs (specially if you are a mullah yourself), in the government. If you are Musavi Seyyed it can be helpful in navigating the government jobs and positions.
In certain other circles, like the professional people, the shopkeepers, etc. being a Seyyed does not carry much weight.
Most Iranians have a tendency to respect the Seyyed but that does not mean that they automatically treat the Seyyed better.
Nice to have but not significant.
pen Name
Naj, I think that you will really appreciate this post by my Iraqi friend Baghdad Treasure. He talks about how Iraqi women are being forced to conform to Islamic dress codes. His own aunt was threatened with death! I am sure that he would like to read your perspective on this subject. Here is a link:
http://baghdadtreasure.blogspot.com/2007/06/iron-mask-or-seclusion.html
.
Iran's Military Pop
hey Naj,
lighter posts these days? :)
what is that violin like instrument?
:) hi Aris, I gues syou missed my barrage of macabre later posts ;)
Violin-like instrument? Where?
OOps, Iris! Soorry :)
macabre in later posts...??
I guess that depends on the direction in which time flows :)
violin like instruments in the immortal iran video (sorry, i forgot that that was not the only subject in the post :), hence the lack of context )
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