Modern Iranian dance music from the 1950s-1970s as selected for this show, is endemic to Iranian classical and rhythmic dance music dating all the way back to the 19th century. The samples that evoke the tonbak(goblet drum) sound, are the rhythmic base of modern dance music from Iran. This type of music was predominantly played and performed in urban areas by musicians who were referred to as ‘motreb' which means to move emotionally and typically with joy. 

In the early 20th century, the motrebi were often found performing in red light districts. While the groovy signature rhythm colloquially known as 'shish-o-hasht' (six and eight or the time signature 6/8), rapidly faced degeneration because of its affiliation with prostitution, drugs, alcohol and more generally with eroticism, it also became known for providing a sonic stimulus for a repertoire of improvised solo dances and moves concentrated on the face, neck, shoulder, arms, hands and hips. Sensual dances such as 'Ghere Kamar' (rotation of the hips/back) and 'Baba Karam', of which the latter includes cross dressing - that is women dressed as men, queering and poking fun at masculinity-, are prime examples of these solo dances. The beshkan sound, a form of intricate snapping of the fingers that is produced by performers, often became part of the musical arrangement. 

Despite varied regimes of unacceptability, the 6/8 signature of motrebi music proved to be inimitable and continued to reach large audiences throughout the 20th century (post 1950s) through mass mediation in theatre and in films (Film Farsi). The music genre moreover gained recognition because of its ‘mardomi’ (the music of the people) affiliation, which in itself existed in contradistinction to Western influences in music, essentially grounding the 6/8 rhythm in Iranian and more generally Middle Eastern space, people and culture. In contemporary parlance, the 6/8 rhythm is marked by frivolity and excess for the purpose of entertaining, and to inspire dance and incite lust. Lyrics of motrebi music performed by female vocalists, continued to build on the perceived eroticism of the genre by way of including erotic themes, alongside other, celebratory themes. Some of the most prolific female vocalists that popularized this genre are selected for this show, including Firoozeh, Ahdyeh, Roohparvar, Afat and Fetneh. The show also includes a rare track by Elaheh (Pashne Talla) as well as a motrebi song by Ramesh, Shaytoonak.

Female Vocalists from Iran. 'Beshkan, Beriz o Bepash' (26.03.2021 Khonia.fm)

Tracklist: 
Ramesh -Zeyarat
Najat Al Saghira - Ana Bashak El Bahr
Mona Abdel Ghany - Law Lailah
Lale Belkis - Umut
Betti - Bi Kassi
Googoosh - Mojezehgar
Ramesh - Roudkhoneha
Penahi - Dance music
Ramesh - Aroose Noghrepoosh
Leila Forouhar - Kalaghaye Khabarchin
Warda - Haramt Ahebak
Hayedeh - Gol Vajeh
Elaheh - Boose Baran

#iran #egypt #turkey #world #funk #ramesh #warda #lalebelkis #betti #googoosh #hayedeh #femalevocalists #archives #femalevocalists

Female Vocalists from Iran and Beyond. 'Miracle Maker' (09.08.2022)

This show is dedicated to the sonic imaginaries of Iran’s 70’s; a time when prominent Iranian musicians and artists including Googoosh, Farhad Mehrad, Black Cats, and Zia covered English soul, blues, and funk tracks by Aretha Franklin, Ray Charles, James Brown, Stevie Wonder, and Boney M. ​​

These interesting musical explorations not only reflect the country's complex relations with the United States, intersected by a colonial dynamic and notions of 'modernization', but also with visions of freedom, sociability through collaboration, and the identification of oppressed people internationally through music. This show also includes a cover of the iconic folk hit ‘Jolene’ by Dolly Parton and 1960s hits by influential bands like The Beatles, The Mamas and Papas, and The Animals.

Artwork: Arash Zarifian

Sonic Imaginaries - Soul, Funk & Rock Covers from 70s Iran (Kiosk Radio, Outsiders, 03.11.24)

#iran #dreaming #lullabies #cratedigging #selector #cinematic #myanalogjournal

My Analog Journal takeover Worldwide FM, 17 January, 2025. Dreaming 1970s Iran

Sonic Imaginaries of Latin Jazz & Big Band w/Katayoun (Kiosk Radio, Outsiders, 22.02.2025)

This show explores the marginal yet impactful “Iranian Dance Wave” that emerged in the 1990s–2000s, from the vibrant Iranian diasporic cultural scene in LA, also known as Tehrangeles. While the umbrella term Iranian Dance Wave isn’t widely used, it offers a useful lens for understanding how the music featured in this show is rooted in a transnational sound that also became widely embraced in diasporic Iranian music production of the 90s-2000s. The mixtape is a vision of car and dance music - it weaves together Italo Disco, Eurodance, trance, progressive house, and Tehrangeles pop, genres that shaped my own musical upbringing. Bridging high-energy dancefloor sounds with sonic heritage, the mix features both iconic anthems and hidden gems. It’s a personal reflection and a celebration of a uniquely global sound that continues to resonate across generations and borders.

Genres
Eurodance, progressive house, trance, Tehrangeles


Tracklist
1. 	Ishan – Zendegi
2. 	Susan Roshan – Dokhtare Mashregi (Koli) 
3. 	Boyz - Night to Remember
4.          Sayeh – Vajeh
5. 	Boyz – Setareh 
6. 	Nooshafarin – Hamishe Man
7. 	Boyz - Mr. Producer 
8. 	Shohreh - Sayeh 
9. 	Shadmehr – Zhina  
10.            Shahrokh – Dooset Daram 
11.           Shadmehr – Adam Foroush 
12.           Siavash – Tou
13.           Mekabiz – Nefrin 
14.          Davood Behboodi – Avalin Eshgh

Sonic Imaginaries - Iranian Nightrider w/ Katayoun, (Kiosk Radio, Outsiders, 26.04.2025)

This Sonic Imaginaries episode explores the genre-building of Tehrangeles pop with tracks by Iranian artists from the diasporic hub of Los Angeles. Drawing on eurodance, trance, and soulful house, these tracks—produced in the 1990s and 2000s—form part of what this show frames as the Iranian Dance Wave: a transnational sound rooted in the Iranian diaspora. Blending high-energy dancefloor rhythms with Iranian lyrics and instrumentation, the mix features both iconic anthems and hidden gems. It’s a personal reflection and a celebration of a global sound that continues to resonate across generations and borders.

Tracklist

Ishan - Bavar Kon
Leila Forouhar - Hamsafar
Shohreh - Eshgh
Siavash - Chike Chike
Shahram Solati & Shohreh - Gole Bi Goldoon
Leila Forouhar - Saale 2000
Toofan - Booseh
Saeed Mohammadi - Aftab Mahtab
Fereydoon Asraei - Khatereh
Siavash Ghomayshi - Milad
Leila Forouhar - Azad
Shahram Kashani - Boro Digeh
Mehrdad Asemani - Takhte Jamshid
Shohreh - Velgard
Tara - Dokhtare Mahsreghi
Mansour - Delam Faghat Toro Mikhad
Boyz - Mojezeh
Fataneh - Mola Mamad Jan

Sonic Imaginaries - Iranian Dance Wave (Kiosk Radio, Outsiders, 31.08.2025)

Tracklist Mehrpouya Special:
Aseman Migeryad Emshab
Seda Kom Mara
Maharaja Dance
Man Ke Dar To Moredeam
Booseye Moj
Twist
Katanga
Ah
African Jumbo
Soul Raga
Ghabileye Leili
Moon Amooz
Ghayeghran

Sonic Imaginaries - Mehrpouya Special (Kiosk Radio, Outsiders, 25.10.2025)

Female Vocalists from Iran and Beyond (24.10.2018, Red Light Radio)

#femalevocalists #Iran #cosmopolitanmodernism

Female Vocalists from Iran 1930-1970s (26.11.2018 Red Light Radio)

Female Vocalists from Iran and Beyond (10.12.2018 Red Light Radio)

Female Vocalists from Iran and Beyond (04.04.2019 Red Light Radio)

Listening Session Red Light Radio shop w/ discourse

This ‘Female Vocalists from Iran’ show, the 'Mey, Gher o Beshkan' mix, draws from a genre of modern Iranian music often referred to as ‘kooche-bazari’, which is roughly translated as ‘street and bazaar music’, also generally known to be the music of the people. 

This style of music is identified as evoking dance with the goblet drum, ‘zarb’, as a dominant sound-feature supporting the rhythmic movements of a ‘raqqas’ (dancer) performing the ‘gher’. In modern day Iran, ‘gher’ was known to be a solo style of dancing with an improvisational nature, shimmy-like movements of the shoulder, and a free flow rotation of the hips, with the latter having both a sexual and comedic effect. Often performed in a so-called cabaret space, which allowed for a direct performer-audience relationship with audiences uttering verbal reactions, a female performer enacted an unrestrained sexual character, geared towards the male gaze. The performers' movements were often accompanied by occasional intricate and sophisticated snapping of the fingers (beshkan).

The songs selected for this show range from having a 6/8 signature (upbeat) and slower melodies, explicit lyrics about drinking alcohol (mey), being drunk or wanting to get drunk, explicit sexual content, and failing at romantic relationships.  Vocalists include Roohparvar, Firoozeh, Afat, Susan, Gita and Ramesh amongst others.

Female Vocalists from Iran. 'Mey, Gher o Beshkan'(29.04.2019 Red Light Radio)

This edition of Female Vocalists from Iran and Beyond explores musical traditions of the Indian subcontinent, particularly that of Pakistan, and of Afghanistan alongside Iran, centring some of the most prominent Pakistani, Afghan, and Iranian female vocalists of the 1950s-1970s era.

Musical interaction between Iranian urban culture and the Indian subcontinent dates back centuries, as far back as the 16th century when a number of Persian poets and musicians, frustrated by the oppressive political and cultural policies of the Safavid rulers, embarked on a pilgrimage to the Mughal court, where they found a lavish source of patronage. Often, when examining Iranian music and its sources, the influence of Arabic modal systems on Iranian music, and vice versa, is cited. Influences from Indian and Afghan musical cultures on the Persian classical music repertoire and instrumental compositions in popular music to date, tend to be understudied. This show is dedicated to the remarkable contributions of Afghan and the subcontinent's musical traditions as they are integrated into the musical pop productions of some of the most prolific female vocalists from Iran in the 1970s, including Googoosh, Ramesh, and Giti. The list of vocalists from Pakistan and Afghanistan includes Iqbal Bano, Naheed Akhtar, Noor Jahan, Hangama, and Mermon Nadiya.

Female Vocalist from Iran, Pakistan, and Afghanistan (03.02.2020 Red Light Radio)

Jazz has played a marginal and yet significant role in Iran’s music history. The perception of the genre, however, has been in flux since it first arrived in the country: It's commonly believed that the history of Jazz in Iran began during the 1960s with the likes of Duke Ellington visiting and performing in the country. But earlier compositional principles of jazz and big band music were increasingly traced in the music of the 1950s. As Iran's oil industry was ‘booming’, Iranian musicians’ relationship with jazz music moreover further intensified through the presence of American expat clubs in oil-rich areas where jazz was played throughout the 1960s. Jazz is undeniably linked to the country's relations with the United States, intersected by a colonial dynamic and notions of 'modernization', but also with visions of freedom, sociability through collaboration, and the identification of oppressed people internationally. The primetime TV show on (improv) Jazz 'Kourosh Ali Khan va Dustan' (available on youtube) on Iranian national television in the 1970s, was an initiative of the American musician and ethnomusicologist Lloyd Miller - also known as Kourosh Ali Khan. Miller's show contributed to the confluence of Iranian music culture and jazz as he worked in Tehran for seven consecutive years, studying classical Persian music. By the early 1970s, the principles of jazz music were commonly integrated in pop music of the time, popularized through the repertoire of iconic and master female vocalists such as Elaheh, Googoosh and Giti. The musical confluence of jazz (and related music) with popular and traditional Persian music, its modal systems and its rhythms, alongside its long historical relationship with Persian poetry, at the time, gave birth to a genre of Iranian ‘Jazz fusion’* that didn’t necessarily mix the two distinct musical genealogies but placed them alongside each other. 

The tracks selected for this show include big bands, Mexican bolero influences, and an occasional twist like a Cuban-style Cha cha cha track. 

*Also referred to as 'Oriental Jazz'

Female Vocalists from Iran. 'Big Band / Jazz' (02.12.2020 Operator Radio)

DJ, selector, archivist, and curator specialized in older music from Iran and the wider region. Signature projects 'Female Vocalists from Iran and Beyond' (2018-ongoing) and 'Sonic Imaginaries'. Weaving genres and geographies through musical dreaming, storytelling, and deep listening. Currently resident at Kiosk Radio, Brussels. 
𝖚𝖕𝖈𝖔𝖒𝖎𝖓𝖌
01.03.25 OT301, Palestine Fundraiser
15.03.25 Bar Bario, Amsterdam 9-11 pm
18.03.25 Garage Noord, 7-11 pm
05.04.25 Rewire Festival







𝖕𝖆𝖘𝖙
22.02.25 Kiosk Radio, Sonic Imaginaries
17.01.25 My Analog Journal x Worldwide FM
29.12.24 Mulatu Listening Bar, The Hague
21.12.24 Kauri, Geneva
20.12.24 Adaptor Records
20.12.24 Bongo Joe, Geneva
30.11.24 Sinematranstopia (HKW), Berlin
01.12.24 Kiosk Radio, Sonic Imaginaries
03.11.24 Kiosk Radio, Sonic Imaginaries
06.10.24 Kiosk Radio, Sonic Imaginaries
27.09.24 Rijksmuseum of Antiquities, Leiden
13.09.24 Skatecafe, Amsterdam
08.09.24 My Analog Journal (YouTube)
01.09.24 Kiosk Radio, Sonic Imaginaries
16.08.24 Lowlands Festival
04.08.24 Kiosk Radio
03.08.24 RAUM, Utrecht
07.07.24 Outsiders, Kiosk, Brussels
22.06.24 Framer Framed, Amsterdam
14.06.24 Stroom, The Hague
02.06.24 Outsiders, Kiosk, Brussels
25.05.24 Parotia at EKKO, Utrecht 
04.05.24 Kiosk Radio, Sonic Imaginaries
24.04,24 Monk, Amsterdam
07.04.24 Kiosk Radio, Sonic Imaginaries
03.03.24 Kiosk Radio, Sonic Imaginaries
27.02.24 Tah Dig, Noods Radio
17.02.2024 Kiosk Radio 1-2 pm
28.02.2024 Noods Radio
06.01.2024  Radio TNP
11.11.2023   Zaal 100, Amsterdam
15.09.2023  Grote Kerk, Breda
25.09.2023  Refuge Worldwide
07.10.2023 De School, Amsterdam 
19.08.2023  RAUM, Utrecht
30.07.2023 Kiosk Radio, Bruxelles 
22.07.2023 Murmur, Amsterdam 
20.07.2023 Garage Noord, Amsterdam 
20.07.2023 Recovery Channel, Echobox Radio 
15.07.2023  Radio TNP
01.07.2023 Kunstlerhof Frohnau, Berlin
20.05.2023 Stranded FM offline party
20.05.2023 Radio TNP
18.03.2023   Radio TNP
17.03.2023   Garage Noord, Amsterdam
08.03.2023 Melkweg, Amsterdam
21.12.2022 Garage Noord, Amsterdam
15.10.2022 Radio TNP, Amsterdam
06.10.2022 Garage Noord, Amsterdam
28.07.2022 Garage Noord, Amsterdam
12.05.2022 Support act Sevdaliza, De Melkweg, Amsterdam
30.09.2021 Future Intel, The Hague
17.06.2021 RRFM, Amsterdam
26.03.2021 Khonia.fm,  Tehran
19.03.2021 Khonia.fm, Tehran
03.01.2021 Mutant Radio, Tbilisi
02.12.2020 Operator Radio, Rotterdam
23.07.2020 Black Pride Fundraiser, Klauw Collective, Mono, Rotterdam
17.07.2020 Muziekgebouw aan het Ij, terrace
22.03.2020 De School, Amsterdam
15.02.2020  MATADERO, Madrid
03.02.2020 Female Vocalists from Iran and Beyond, Red Light Radio 
20.12.2019 Pantropical at Worm, Rotterdam 
20.12.2019 Walter Books, Arnhem 
9.10.2019 ADE Soundlab, Compagnietheater, Amsterdam
04.10.2019 EKKO, Utrecht
02.10.2019 ECF Princess Margriet Award for Culture
21.09.2019 UNSEEN, Transformator Huis, Amsterdam, 8.30 pm - 10 pm
14.09.2019 STROOM, The Hague, a DJ-lecture performance during 'Uncertainty Seminars 04'
03.09.2019 Compagnietheater, Amsterdam
28.06. 2019 Perdu, Amsterdam
22.06.2019 Stranded FM, Utrecht
22.06.2019 BAK, basis voor actuele kunst, Utrecht
15.06.2019 Vrankrijk, Amsterdam
25.05.2019 MONO Rotterdam
18.05.2019 Listening session Red Light Radio Shop
11.05.2019 Subbacultcha Amsterdam (s105, De School)
29.04.2019 Red Light Radio
12.04.2019 Closing party conference 'Realities and Fantasies' School of Cultural Analysis
04.04.2019 Red Light Radio 
30.03.2019 Arab Film Festival afterparty w/ Pantropical @ Worm, Rotterdam
08.03.2019 MAMA Cash Feminist Festival, Centraal Museum, Utrecht
 31.01.2019  Muziek Gebouw aan het Ij - De School (Amsterdam)
Support act of 'Jerusalem in My Heart'
31.01.2019 Red Light Radio: The Rest is Noise and Subbacultcha 
28.01.2019 Red Light Radio

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