Recently I have been hearing Mohsen Namjoo’s name everywhere. Being the Persian music enthusiast that I am, and I’m talking REAL Persian music, not what comes out of LA! I read about him and started listening to his work.
As weird and strange as his work is, I started linking it. I can see that he knows Iranian music inside-out and has an unbelievable talent to present such a unique style that will blow your mind away. Creativity is what he lives by and his work is the ultimate fusion of various genre’s of music from eastern to western and from the most traditional style playing his seh-tar and vocal “avaaz” skills to hard rock and jazz. All of this put together in each piece seamlessly, as if this genre has lived in Namjoo’s soul for decades.
What’s impossible to miss behind the sounds are his choice of lyrics. From Hafez to Rumi, and Shamloo to Khorasani, he touches on the most profound poetry at times, and other times he gets creative by singing about socio-political and cultural issues with a humorous flavor.
Known as the Bob Dylan of Iran, he has been part of the recent underground musical outburst in Iran and has produced multiple albums–non of which have been publicly released. Although he has done his part of composing music for Iranian movies and some of his more conservative work have been broadcasted on Iranian TV, his work is not published or publicized in Iran. I do not consider Namjoo a “sonnati” Persian musician, nonetheless, I do like his innovative taste similar to that of Kiosk and Abjeez.
by Iman Oskoorouchi
2 comments
Thank you Iman! I agree with you. Actually I just saw Namjoo in Europe and he is amazing! I’m so happy and proud that after all these years something is happening and it’s not what ever, it’s huge! Seeing so many none Iranians trying to sing Farsi at an Abjeez concert last year and the connection I felt between the crowd and the Kiosk recently in LA, I knew it’s happening! And now this artist coming directly from Iran!!! Namjoos recordings are not much to talk about but his presence on stage was something very special that I have only experienced few times in my life! One should see him live! It’s the way he moves from Persian classical modes and melodies to western blues and back that I have never heard before! Until now the Persian singers I’ve heard, they only know Persian music(dastgah) and nothing else! But you can hear tha Namjoo has listened and learned the western rock and blues and at the same time he dares to mix these two traditions and he is doing it well! I really recommend him and I hope that you too support him by spreading the word and going to his concert. I dream of a day that we can have quality Persian music festivals with these new and fresh artists few times a year around the globe so that everyone can enjoy it. Me and my wife even take our German friends to see these guys and they all love them. This makes me a proud Iranian again!
Peace/