’70s Iranian rock of Googoosh and Kourosh gets reissued [MP3]
Posted By Admin on August 30, 2011
Sundays Calendar section features a look at two recently compiled collections of pre-revolutionary Persian rock and pop music, which serves as a reminder of the exhuberant modern culture that developed in the country before the 1979 Islamic revolution single-handedly halted the movement.
This week the label Now-Again Records will release a collection of Persian rock from singer/guitarist Kourosh Yaghmaei called Back From the Brink: Pre-Revolution Psychedelic RockFrom Iran: 1973-1979. And LA/UK-based label B-Music/Finders Keepers had a similar mission when they resurrected the lost singles and B-sides of Irans biggest female pop star, Googoosh, with the self-titled Googoosh.
You can read the story here, but if youre curiousto hear the music, below is a free download from Kouroshs Back from the Brink. Its a song called”Hajme Khali,” and it captures the essence of what writer Jessica Hundley describes in her story: Working, like Googoosh, from traditional Persian influences, Kourosh developed a unique crossbreed, mixing the classical sounds of his early musical training (he first learned to play on the santur, an Iranian version of a violin) with thoroughly Western instrumentation. He and his band embraced bass, electric guitar and a propulsive rock n roll drumming and the result was music that captured a vibrantly expressive era.
Translated, the song title means Empty Bulk, and according to Now-Agains consistently engaging and informative liner notes, the song tells a story about the sorrow and grief of a human who, even when he is in love, feels lonely. This horrible loneliness and endless sorrow is with him his whole life.
Download:KouroshYaghmaei – Hadjme Khali [MP3]
ALSO:
How they rocked before the revolution
Live review: Sade at the Staples Center
In Rotation: Red Hot amp; Rio 2
– Randall Roberts
Photo: Iranian rock starKourosh Yaghmaei in the 1970s. Credit: Courtesy Now Again Records
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