Iranian Musical Alternatives

I come from a lineage of musicians, namely singers of traditional (classical) Iranian music. The sound of mashreq is in my blood. And sonically, nothing moves me more. Having said that, Iranian pop music (LA styles) has never been my thing. I can appreciate moving my hips to it at a family gathering but not really trying to follow the latest hit by the Black Cats or whatever. Over the last few years, some solid groups with an alternative sound (whether it be pop, rock, etc.) have been surfacing. Mainly part of the underground music (musiqi'e zirzamini) scene in Iran. One of which is Kiosk, which recently had to leave Iran because of their politically progressive lyrics. A mellow rock band, reminiscent of Dire Straights. Something like Knopfler meets Leonard Cohen.



Another group I adore are The Abjeez, two sisters based in Sweden (via Spain via Iran). Heavy dub influence. Alternative, Manu Chao-esque, pop rock music? Forget the labeling, just listen.



Both groups are socially/politically progressive. They are influenced by other sounds and rhythms, as well as their Iranian cultural/musical roots. I respect what they're doing. And I love their music. I just hope there's more of us pushing musical boundaries (and political ones too) without sounding too "world music-ish." Either way though, both groups are sadly going to be lumped into that category. World Music. What a messed up categorization. I will blog about that another time.