The traffic-choked streets of Tehran and the magnificent mosques of Isfahan, the underground DJs and the Sufi minstrels of Kurdistan, are all reflected in the vibrant musical scene in Iran. When the Islamic Revolution took place in 1979 a great deal of music was banned. However, this didn’t last long and from contemporary rappers to folk legends, from great singing stars to contemporary bands, from regional traditionalists to the trance musicians of Baluchistan, this Rough Guide features a captivating cross-section of contemporary Iranian sounds.
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The Glorious Heritage of Persia,
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This review is from: The Rough Guide to the Music of Iran CD (Rough Guide World Music CDs) (Audio CD)
In recent years, the media has embarked on a campaign to villify Iran as little more than a fanatical Islamic theocracy seeking to "destroy our way of life". Yet there is another side of Iran that few westerners get to see. For thousands of years (before the Roman empire, even before Alexander!), Persia has been a great center of art, literature, poetry, learning, music and culture. Great works like the Shah-Nameh, Hazer Afsaneh (from which the 1001 Nights originated) and the poetry of Rumi, Hafez and Omar Khayyam all came from Iran. Since the Arab invasion of the 7th century, the Persians have worked to assert their own identity, and in the proccess wound up influencing much of the Middle East and South Asia. Many Iranians are quite proud of this heritage (rightly so I might add), and proudly call themselves Persian.
This CD is but a small sampling of the incredible musical diversity in modern day Iran. Such a survey is obviously going to leave out some major artists, but this CD benefits from being very fresh and up to date. As such, it can serve as a cross-cultural window for more westerners to see the REAL Iran. The classical, improvisational music of Persia is well represented by Kayhan Kolhor & Ali Akbar Moradi, the Masters of Persian Music and Hossein Alizadeh & Djivan Gasparyan (their song, "Sari Gailin" mixes Persian, Armenian and even Azeri influences), standing in contrast to the modern pop/rock of groups like Arian Band (named for the ancient Aryans, after whom Iran was named), Barad and O-Hum (who's song "Darde Eshgh" features some awesome vocals and guitar). And yes, even women are represented. Parvin Javdan and Zohreh Bayat from the all-female Rozaneh ensemble perform a wonderful song, quoting from the beloved Sufi poet Hafez. Folk and ethnic music is also represented, showing the traditions of rural Iran (which includes numerous minority groups like the Kurds, Armenians, Qashqai, Turkomen, Azeris, Baluchis, etc). The legendary Kamkar ensemble showcases the irregular metered percussion of Kurdistan on "Dekay Ambar, Dekay Auber". Haj Ghorban Soleimani, a bashkhi or bard from Khorasan, tells a story from Hazer Afsaneh accompanied by the dotar on "Zareni Hossain Yar". Chenghis Medhipour showcases the epic song traditions of the Azeris, and Din Mohammad Zangeshahi shows the folk art of Baluchistan, while another Shahram Nazeri (also Kurdish) leads the Dastan Ensemble in a performance of Sufi music. But one of the great high-lights of this CD comes from the Jahle band (descendant of freed black African slaves, now settled along Iran's coast), who perform a lullaby made popular by being played on BBC. Demmand for this song, which until now was unavailable, proved so great that World Music Network spend a great deal of time working with the BBC to release it. Exclusive to this CD, fans should be glad that we can now get our hands on it. From the first notes of the Arian Band's pop song Afsoongar, to the haunting last echos of the (aptly named) Masters of Persian Music, this CD serves as a wonderful journey across the incredibly varied country of Iran. It is a window into a world few in the west get to see, and it's a tragedy that this CD is not sold in every book and music store across the nation. I STRONGLY recommend that anyone who is interested in seeing the TRUE face or Iran and/or the Middle East purchase this CD. It will greatly expand your mind, showing you the beauty, grandeur and majesty that is Persian culture. Even those who are already familar with Persian music will find this CD an incredibly worthwhile purchase, because of the inclusion of several unique or hard to find tracks (particularly "Lullaby" by the Jahle Band). So do yourself a favor and go out and buy this CD.
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