Lohrasebi’s road leads to Rome

Ali Lohrasebi recently announced that his new album is postponed till late spring while it was due out last week! The reason for the delay is the addition of new material (this seems to be the recent standard excuse used!) to the already 11-track album. Mohsen Yeganeh and Reza Sadeghi are among creators of this album. Lohrasebi will soon preform in Rome in association with the Iranian consulate.

The first Iranian music-blog festival

The Iranian community of music websites and bloggers have in their second summit hosted by MEHR News Agency decided to hold a festival for those bloggers who blog about music in Iran. Khaaneye Moosighi (House of Music) is involved in this project, date is yet to be announced.

New Release: Navid & Omid - “Kolli Sefaaresh”

Navid and Omid have released their follow up to the successful debut “Faryaad”. In “Kolli Sefaareshi” the brothers have once again had an elaborate collaboration with Alex Abedi. The album comes with 10 tracks and a very cool artwork! Dont forget to check out Navid and Omid’s latest videos in HD, premiered on Bia2!

Remixing a greeting Obama

Kayvan Paymani of the PERSIA band has done a cool remix of Obama’s recent Norooz greeting! Check it out:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=93Xmi0pzX2M

Another Iranian (re-)invention!

Recently Iranian press announced a new groundbreaking invention by the Iranian scientists, namely a harp with strings of light! I am not sure if these scientists are aware or not but their so called invention has been already invented by Bernard Szajner and played by Jean Michel Jarre in nearly three decades! Wake up and hear the “Laser Harp” played 20 years ago!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Tfoto7sokk

Askari begged people not to dance!

Hamid Askari’s Norooz concert in Tehran pleased the crowd to the extent of many of them standing up and moving to the music! Something which could be considered “dancing”, a forbidden act! Hamid Askari reacted immediately and urged people to sit down, not to get him banned from performing! The fans obliged.

Only one remake on EBI’s new album

You have by now seen the music video of Ebi’s remake of “Khaali”, the good old Ghomayshi-creation, directed by Navid (& Omid) premiered on Bia2 in HD! Based on this some might wonder if the forthcoming album is the remake album which was once promised and according to the singer himself had (a pre-fame) Arash producing it. A collection done (but put on hold) around the same time when Arash’s debut featuring the duet was released. The answer is no, the new album will only feature “Khaali” as a remake while the rest will be consited of brand new material, promises Alex Abedi who is involved in the production.

Chavoshi: Meeting fans in public ruins my day!

In a recent interview with HAMSHAHRI (Javan) Mohsen Chavoshi says that he is not really aware of people’s response to the album, at the same time he contradicts himself by saying that he expected “Ye Shaakhe Niloofar” to work better in the market than it proved itself to do. That album also suffered from a bad distribution which affected the sale numbers, he says. Chavoshi argues that people’s preference changes all the time, so it’s hard to predict how they will respond to the forthcoming follow up. However they, he and his producer Ahari, have tried to make it more appealing to the masses, so that it won’t suffer the slow process of acceptance which “Ye Shaakhe Niloofar” has endured. Even though the company is never honest about such numbers, Chavoshi says. I agree with the critique that this album was too dark and gloomy. I won’t be making “shaad” and happy songs he reminds, however it will be more energetic from now on. His producer Ahari adds that the Iranians are instant music consumers and current climate isn’t really suitable for innovative and experimental music. People expect the old stuff from me but I would like to evolve, Chavoshi complains. When I repeated myself people said I imitated a certain singer, now that I try new things they say we want the old you! In this album I’ve tried to be myself, he insists. About people missing his old lower voice he says that he hasn’t changed anything, it’s just that now he uses better technical recording equipments which make his voice sound clearer (!).

Ahari concludes that Chavoshi won’t be releasing more than a couple of POP albums in the future, instead he will be aiming at an international market considering the BLUES quality of his voice. Chavoshi explains that he lost faith in POP music long ago and today it has proved itself unpopular. However he still halts Ahari when he is to depart too far from it, since people won’t be handling it. Even though more intellectuals have been drawn to my music thanks to the latest album, he says. “Ye Skaahe Niloofar” was supposed to be much more experimental if I hadn’t halted Ahari, Chavoshi continues. About not giving concerts Chavoshi says that he still feels untrained and unprepared and he needs time to reach his ideal condition for stage performance. At the same time he is also scared that his enemies will be trying to take advantage of his LIVE performances in order to ruin his reputation in a way it would take him years to release another album (?!). Regarding the rumors claiming his inability to sing LIVE Ahari defends by saying that Chavoshi sings acapella for every producer he happens to meet. Chavoshi explains that he has never had a happy memory because he is always sad and that he hates to be a publically recognized and photographed, fans coming up to him in public will ruin his entire day! I work to have peace of mind not to be deprived privacy. I would love to work with the Sothern musical styles (avoiding terms like BANDARI!) however they have become clichés and the rhythm doesn’t suit my style, he argues. Finally Chavoshi announces that he is in the process of getting married!

This edited translation of mine can’t possibly convey the extreme level of pretentiousness that gets uttered in the actual interview! If you have a chance read it in Persian!

Note: thanks to Mansour J

What is Kamran & Hooman’s identity?

Kamran and Hooman’s brand new album is to be released any day now as they are touring Europe at the moment. The album is entitled “Shenaasnaame (identification paper, ID)” and considering last year’s controversy and public questioning of their Iranian identity one can’t help but to wonder if it’s a follow up to the damage-control interview they did on Shabkhiz’s television, explaining that it was a recommended marketing tactic which went wrong and they still feel proud to be Iranians!

********Happy Norooz 1388********

Covers can be deceiving!

Speaking of self-describing album covers the recent Chris Cornell album features one typical example of how it can turn out to be a true deception! Cornell who had cut his hair Springsteen-short and adopted a softer approach to ROCK in his previous albums, both as AUDIOSLAVE’s singer and solo-artist, “looks like” returning to his Soundgarden-roots judging by his appearance on the new album’s cover. No matter if you know who Chris Cornell is or not, when you see the cover of the album you almost immediately understand its messages. What it is telling you is loud and clear! The long-haired artist who has jumped high up into the air in order to smash his guitar as hard as possible can’t be anything other than a ROCKER! This imagery is in fact the very symbol for the ROCKER archetype. And the “lazy edges” surrounding, the mere title “Scream” and the gravity-enforcing vertical text all play parts to eliminate any doubt that you might have. This is a ROCK album by a ROCKER!!

http://bia2.com/review/corn.jpg

But what you don’t realize is that this image is nothing but a deception! Something which you will find out as soon as you put the CD in your player and press play! In his third solo album Cornell has had an elaborate and least-said unlikely collaboration with none other than Timbaland, whose eclectic touch has turned even this album to an Electro/ROCK fusion! This of course will disappoint many, many fans who pick this album on the sole premise of the cover’s promise! It should be mentioned that Timbaland’s involvement in other genres, although appreciated by many open-minded artists and fans (including yours-truly), is a capital sin for the puritans! Duran Duran’s original guitarist Andy Taylor basically left the band when the band hired Timbaland’s services for their latest album “Red Carpet Massacre”!

New Release: Mansour - “Janjaali”

Mansour’s new album “Janjaali” is out with a horribly designed cover! When this cover started appearing on websites I thought it was a bootleg-job! The design has got a Bollywood vibe going on and so does the album. Its also surprising to see Mansour having moved to a smaller label!

http://musicboxla.com/maja.html

As you know I’m more selective lately when it comes to picking albums for reviewing, due to lack of time. After having listened to this album a couple of times I’ve decided NOT TO REVIEW it, for the same reason I didn’t review Siavash Ghomayshi’s recent album. Neither you nor I would like me to repeat what I’ve written in my last reviews on Mansour’s albums, as this album is yet another chronological installment in the chronic regression which has characterized Mansour’s music in recent years! Thats my review in a nutshell for you! I feel that there are other albums which could need my limited time and attention more.

Recommended Arabic e-tailer

When you are dealing with Middle Eastern music-market, whether its the Iranian branch or Arabic or Turkish, you have to be constantly careful not to get stung by bloody bootleggers. They’ll rip you off in their very own store, never mind on a shady website online! Therefor its extremely important to support honest and serious merchants when they’ve proved themselves to be one. In your quests for Arabic music online one Chigaco-based e-tailer (online retailer) meets the standards. MAQAM sells ONLY original albums for a very reasonable price and they ship worldwide. As someone who purchases 90% of his stuff online I can assure you that if there is one thing that pisses you off its poorly packaged parcels! No one deserves to see their order smashed and mashed beyond recognition! (Or even worse, to have it dented! Which is even worse than having it mashed, cuz then you can clearly see the damage in contrat to the prestine condition of the rest and suffer day in and out!lol) MAQAM handles your items gently and wraps them in layers of bubble wrap. The delivery to mainland Europe takes approximately one week, which is about the same time it takes to recive your orders from a European e-tailer! All in all MAQAM is about good deals and excellent service. So if you are looking for original Arabic albums, DVDs and even instruments then I highly recommend MAQAM!

Bia2 iPhone App

After having broken ground as the first Iranian website to feature High Definition music videos, we at Bia2 are eager to take the technology further yet another giant step. We now present you Bia2 App! The first and only application on the App Store that brings you selected Persian music videos right on your iPhone and iPod Touch. Now you can watch your favorite artists anytime, anywhere! This application also updates you frequently about the latest upcoming Persian events in your area. This way you won’t miss a single party!

Click here to download the App!

Sadeghi’s new album postponed

Reza Sadeghi’s upcoming album “Cheghadr Sakhte” (which had the working title “Be To Madioonam”) will reportedly be postponed a couple of months till next Iranian year, due to addition of three new tracks to the album. This news has further disappointed fans who felt already let down by the broken promise about Sirvan’s involvement in the new album. Sadeghi however reassures that he will deliver the old formula with a new twist in perfromance. He also explains that he for the first time has decided to sing another composer’s creation, just to see how he can manage such a task. The man in black has in last couple of years faced problems with the ministry (Ershaad) because of his videos being shown on “unapproved” channels!

New Release: Saeed - “Tabe Eshgh”

Saeed who is better known as Saeed Asayesh and is even better known for his UNDERGROUND HIT “Nazi Nazi (emshab)” has now become legal and released his debut under his actual name, namely Saeed Molki (alt Maleki, since both are spelled the same way in Persian). The album is called “Tabe Eshgh” and all songs pretty much sound like the “Nazi Nazi” song (which itself is musically and vocally inspired by Benyamin), even though that particular track isnt included in the debut from Avaye Nakisa.

ARIAN loses key member

The ARIAN has recently faced a critical loss, the departure of one of its founding members and creative masterminds! Ninef Amirkhas, the keyboardist, creator, main arranger and producer of the group, has left the band to puruse studies abroad. ARIAN has picked two new keyboardists who are training hard for the final tryout. One will ultimately be chosen to fill the huge shoes of Ninef in the upcoming Norooz concert. Their producer, Mohsen Rajabpour, expresses concern and is worried. He says that it wouldn’t have mattered if this was a concert in the countryside, but a capital concert for Norooz is simply to important and significant. And postponing is out of question since considering the harsh concert climate no one knows when the opportunity will be provided again, Rajabpour adds.

J as in Janet

Half-Iranian Janet Ava Leon whom I recently presented in this blog has now released her debut album “J”! The first video from the album is called “Let Go”:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PMxpMLct0gQ

The return of a poster

“Just when Andy & Kouros had reached the peak of their popularity and success as a duo, they decided to break-up!! And let me tell you that it became something of a NATIONAL TRAGEDY!! The fans (not only Iranians) were devastated, while the media announced the break-up repeatedly on the NEWS and prominent personalities commented and analysed the role that the Andy & Kouros-phenomenon have had in the life of the 2nd generation-Iranians and its impact on the future of Iranian music, in mass-media’s special reports and round-tables!! Today, 13 years after the historic separation I’ve still got the poster of their FINAL-TOUR (with them posing back to back, in their famous PIRATE-shirts and THUNDER striking down through their hands) glazed and hanging on my wall!”

The passage above is from my review on PLATINUM five years ago. I wanted to show you that poster designed by Behzad, who was THE designer of the Iranian industry back then (you can spot his signature by the letter “S”, he was also the only artist who signed his pieces). Andy & Kouros are doing gigs together again, every now and then, here and there. Of course not even remotely close to the grandeur of their “Final Show” back then (even starring the playmate Deborah Driggs, who had a recurring role in Andy & Kouros’ videos and album covers, on stage)! Nonetheless they are recycling this nostalgic sheet once again!

New Release: Ehsan Khajeamiri - “Fasle Taaze”

Ehsan Khajeamiri’s highly anticipated new album “Fasle Taaze” is finally out on IranGam in Iran. However the album seems to be distributed by Century Records in USA. The album looks also be missing the promised cover on his dad’s (Iraj) old song “Fasle Barooni”!

Like two peas in a pod

The photo above is a recent press-photo from Danny Fernandes whom I presented in this blog a couple of days ago. This particular image happens to have striking resemblances to an image used on Idin’s album “Guess” over two years ago! An album cover which I praised and nominated as the 2006 Best Album Cover. Just a coincidence?!

The soulful sound of Sheri

After Laleh and Janet, the 23-year-old Sheri Nowrozi is the new artist in the line of talented Iranian girls in Sweden who have stepped up to the plate and delivered quality music of professional standard! Sheri’s debut song is called “Hit and Run” and its to be featured on her debut album which is planned to be released in spring/summer 2009. The album features collborations with the Guns N Roses guitarist Richard Fortus and Jack Spalsh, who is a name behind artists such as Alicia Keys and Beyonce. Needless to say the album is to target even the American market. We’ll be waiting and anticipating!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z25iJJ6tCQM