[lbo-talk] Iran's Dylan

Yoshie Furuhashi critical.montages at gmail.com
Sat Sep 1 17:31:19 PDT 2007


On 9/1/07, Doug Henwood <dhenwood at panix.com> wrote:
> New York Times - August 31, 2007
>
> Iran's Dylan on the Lute, With Songs of Sly Protest
> By Nazila Fathi
<snip>
> His music sounds Persian, but the melodies take away
> the melancholy that often suffuses classical
> Persian music.

I rather suspect that the singer likes melancholy. Mohsen Namjoo published an essay titled "In Praise of the Minor Key, A -- The Third Note" (TehranAvenue, March 2006, <http://www.tehranavenue.com/article.php?id=528>):

I have been fascinated, for many years now, and after repeated

encounters, by the magical hold that the minor key -- more

specifically, the third degree (or note) of this scale -- has over

everyone's ears*. Many composers use it, consciously or

instinctively. The history of the utilization of this musical tool is a

fascinating aspect of any culture's artistic heritage. In fact, where

this position is most effective is when it forms an interval of minor

third, in relation to the tonic (the first note of the scale), ascending,

from one to three, or descending, from three to one, with the

former being the most prevalent.

This is basically a romantic interval, meaning that it has an aura

of sanctity to it. Regardless of why or how, it invariably guides the

listener towards a place of depth and meaning, which is also

melancholic.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

An ideological revolution is undoubtedly a manifestation of romantic

fury, and the third of minor is, likewise, a romantic position. It is used

by both the victor, to denote his supreme righteousness, and by the

conquered, to highlight the tragedy of her defeat.


> Most music was banned after the 1979 Islamic Revolution, with only
> religious and revolutionary songs deemed appropriate. To this day,
> women are not allowed to sing.

And yet, back in June, ISNA reported on a mixed-gender pop band that debuted in Iran in _2000_. The same band was covered by BBC in 2004, too.

<http://www.payvand.com/news/07/jun/1073.html> 6/8/07 Iranian pop band Arian to perform in Europe and North America

TEHRAN, Jun.08 (ISNA)-The Iranian pop music band Arian and leading pop singer Benyamin Bahadori 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.

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.

Benyamin Bahadori is an Iranian singer of Persian pop music whose 2006 album, 85, was a massive commercial success. His most famous songs include Khatereha (more commonly known as Donya), Loknat (Stutter), and Adam Ahani (more commonly known as Halam Badeh). He belongs to the new generation of Iranian pop singers.

In September 2006 Benyamin traveled to Sweden to have gigs in Tantolunden, Hornstull and Stockholm.

<http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4079581.stm> <http://newswww.bbc.net.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/4079581.stm> Iran's first pop revolutionaries

Iranian musicians have often faced immense challenges in getting their work heard in their own country.

After the country's Islamic revolution in 1979 it was made a criminal offence to own or play pop music and women were banned from singing in public.

But one group is trying to change that.

Arian is the first officially sanctioned mixed gender pop group to come out of Iran.

The nine-piece band have permission to play, to tour and to publish their music in their native country and are now touring Europe to spread the message of their music abroad.

In the process, they have opened the door for other Iranian bands.

Finding happiness

Speaking to the BBC's World Service programme The Ticket, main guitarist and singer Ali said they had experienced problems over Iran's strict Islamic beliefs and religious sensitivities in their attempts to reach a wider audience.

"We needed some very smart management for this, we had to go step by step," he said.

"For example, we started by playing at places where the permission of central offices of the ministry of culture was not required and step by step we have grown.

"Now, everything has changed. The belief of the people changed after the Iran-Iraq war, young people needed something else to be happy.

"That's why the government wanted to find a space for them and I think the best way was pop music."

The band remembers the ecstatic reception at their first live public appearance in the Iranian capital, Tehran.

"Our live performances changed [after that]... they got better and better and now we have very successful performances - too many people come, 50,000 or even 100,000!" Ali said.

Responsibility

At one point the band sold more than 54,000 tickets to one of their concerts in less than six hours.

Ali puts this popularity in their native country down to timing.

"There was nothing like this in Iran [before] and people were frustrated," he says.

"Now we have a responsibility, we should be better and introduce ourselves all over the world."

"If you go to Iranian movies all you see is misery - nothing else. People think Iran is like this - everything is a desert, all the people are crying..."

"We wanted to show the real Iran."

Postscript

More about both Mohsen Namjoo and Arian Band at <http://montages.blogspot.com/2007/09/mohsen-namjoo.html>. -- Yoshie



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