Sister vocalists and songwriters Mahsa and Marjan Vahdat sing folk and classical in Persian. Their elevating, haunting voices are “their artistic cause” and the reason for which they left Iran, in order to be able to perform. Now they appear in north London’s Art Depot, Finchley in the Pentland Theatre on February 28th. The sisters’ songs … Continue reading
Iranian-Canadian media artist and director, Maziar Ghaderi discusses his artistic practice, Playformance: the unique synthesis of performance art and interactive technologies . Ghaderi visited the UAE this month for the International Symposium on Electronic Art, where he showcased, Dissolving Self: an interactive dance performance that translates movement to stellar visualizations inspired by Rumi’s mystic poetry. … Continue reading
Even when he calls himself Dan Wilde, you can imagine that the lyrics are influenced by Persian poetry on their own merit. “Drink your ideas down with wine, you’ll see better from outrageous heights and god made you stay for that one blessed day and then he took you away in the night. That day … Continue reading
Inspired by Persian poetry, Dana-Haeri has developed her own confident and indirect way of expressing the lofty concerns of which Persian poets and mystics once wrote, and which are still recited today. Here Dana-Haeri explains how she began her practise, what her influence was and the extent to which poetry is part of her everyday … Continue reading
Mature sound from Niyaz (نياز), verging on the electronic this time for a very generous free MP3 download. We first sampled the San Francisco-based trio on the show in 2008 since which time they have released only 3 albums. Their new double-album Sumud is released May 22nd 2012 and features Indian as well as Afghan … Continue reading
Simply talking to Rana Farhan, one can hear the smokey molten gold in her voice that makes her music so unique. Pairing the lyrics of classic and modern Iranian poets to jazz and blues influenced arrangements, Farhan and her band have released albums to worldwide acclaim, which grew exponentially following the release of the film Nobody Knows … Continue reading
Six Pillars – How did you group form and what is the thing that brings you all together to play? Shahab Hamidi Manesh – Roohafza Tanbour Ensemble (The Tanbour Players of Esfahan) was founded in 1998 in Esfahan-Iran by director and composer Aliasghar Rahimi, a master tanbour player. The tanbour is an ancient Persian-Kurdish instrument … Continue reading
Leading Sufi spokesman Nihat Tsolak visits the studio for a demystifying session about Sufism at host Fari Bradley’s request. As 2007 Islam Awareness Week falls on sufi poet Rumi’s 800th Birthday, events around London have stirred new interest in this rebel mystic. Along with excerpts from the play “Rumi, Unveil the Sun” and interview with … Continue reading
Six Pillars 