Join renowned Baluch musician Rostam Mirlashari this Friday at 8 pm in London for an unforgettable evening at King’s Place. Balochis located in Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan, have their own distinct language, culture and customs, as well as musical and dance styles. The Balochi music is related to the musical traditions of southern Afghanistan, western … Continue reading
April 1st and April 8th 2019 The Master Musicians of Joujouka Part I and II This week part 1 of the tale of a Sufic musical tradition; The Master Musicians of Joujouka dates back over six centuries, in the mountains of North Morocco. From explicit reference in the cut-up novels by William Burroughs, to tales … Continue reading
This week, a political listening exercise. Too often when we discuss Iran today or even the Persian Empire that preceded it, homegrown classical music does not come to mind. But for how many years before the first notes were written down in Europe, were the Mesopotamians and their neighbours stringing the early versions of the … Continue reading
This week, traditional music from Lorestan and Isfahan. Ruhollah Khaleghi plays ‘Khooshe Chin’ from the album ‘Rangarang In Isfahan’, and we hear Ostad Shahmirza Moradi’s tracks from Regional Music of Lorestan. Khaleghi (1906-1965) was a renowned musician, composer, conductor and author, who founded the Gol’hā programmes on radio that revolutionised Iranian music. Shahmirza Moradi (1924-1997) … Continue reading
Select folk, electronica and classical music from North Africa, South Asia and Middle East. Featuring Kurdish-Iranian kamancheh player Kayhan Kalhor, Egyptian DJ Ghazi (featuring vocals by Abdullah El Miniawy), Pirayeh Pourafar, Sevdaliza, Dagadana and North Lab and two tracks from a new release by Jordanian band Albaitil Ashwai. (Image: Ebay Listings selling Afghan Clothing Items) Continue reading
Bertrand Lesca joins us in the studio to discuss his and Nasi Voutsas’ Palmyra, in which they both star at the Battersea Arts Centre this month. The duo who created the comic theatre piece Eurohouse, shift to “violent clowning” ﱣin a highly acclaimed piece that reflects on Syria through a metaphor of abuse and the … Continue reading
Experimental music from the Middle East, electro-classical works mainly from Iran, in this order: Playlist: Rohab by Showan Tavakol Sami Yusuf with the Persian nightingale Soog e Sarv by Showan Tavakol Iranian Hologram by Showan Tavakol DayBalal by Farshad BakhtiariHa feat. Shaghayegh Kamali Persian Jazz by Oxala Darreye Gham by Showan Tavvakol Ensemble Kamman Continue reading
‘The Box in the Majilis’ Episode 2 of the monthly series When The Far Becomes Near: The programme takes the form of an imaginary audio tour for the blind and partially sighted, guiding museum visitors around a room in the exhibition, ‘The Box in the Majilis’. The exhibition contains objects that illustrate the changing role … Continue reading
The sounds of South Iran, Bushehr on the south coast of Iran and the north of the Gulf basin, are well known in Iran. The bagpipe is normally the skin of a goat, uncut in that it keeps its essential shape, and the player will blow down the wooden pipe attached to the neck of … Continue reading
“With his brow furrowed in concentration, Abu Abdullah rhythmically strums his oud, exploring the core of a melancholic melody. Mohamad Isa Almaziodi’s robust and melismatic voice soars above, full of emotional ornamentation – sighing and repeating, rising and falling – until he runs out of breath and the phrase is forced to finish. In his … Continue reading
Six Pillars 