Female Vocalists from Iran - and Beyond

This Female Vocalists from Iran show, The Diva's, includes epic songs by iconic Iranian female vocalists with an operatic vocal range whose voices are accompanied by systems of traditional Persian music. Vocalists include Hayedeh, Marzieh, Delkash, Homeyra, Mahasti and Sima BIna.

Female Vocalists from Iran By discourse - Episode 1 : The Divas

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)

Live recording at Radio Tempo Não Pára (20.05.2023)

Artist: @discourse-katayoun

Female Vocalists from Iran and Beyond w/ discourse @ Radio TNP 20.05.2023

Kiosk Radio is an online community radio streaming 24/7 from a wooden shack in the heart of Brussels’ historic “Parc Royal”. More info and music: https://kioskradio.com

Female Vocalists From Iran w/ discourse @ Kiosk Radio 30.07.2023

Broadcasted live at Radio Tempo Não Pára (06.01.2024)

Artist: @discourse-katayoun

Female Vocalists from Iran and Beyond, ‘prayers and lullabies’ w/ discourse @ Radio TNP 06.01.2024

A dig through the world of female vocalists from Iran and beyond by Dutch-Persian selector Katayoun.

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Outsiders: Female Vocalists from Iran and Beyond w/ Katayoun @ Kiosk Radio 01.09.2024

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)

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. 
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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
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23.07.2020 Black Pride Fundraiser, Klauw Collective, Mono, Rotterdam
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9.10.2019 ADE Soundlab, Compagnietheater, Amsterdam
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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
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30.03.2019 Arab Film Festival afterparty w/ Pantropical @ Worm, Rotterdam
08.03.2019 MAMA Cash Feminist Festival, Centraal Museum, Utrecht
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Support act of 'Jerusalem in My Heart'
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