New measures and guidelines for musicians issued by the Ministry of Culture (ERSHAD) have had their effect on the music scene. With the FAJR Music Festival about to start (30 January – 6 February), over the past few months only a handful of musician could take the stage of various halls around the city. But the two months of religious mourning – during which music will only be heard in religious ceremonies – are upon us and after that the PRESIDENTIAL Elections will dominate every activity in the country. But, let's review some of the events that took place recently.

Fajr Music Festival

The TWENTIETH FAJR MUSIC FESTIVAL will start on Sunday 30 January 2005 in various halls around the city of Tehran and it will last a week. In the international section, the festival will play host to musicians from Italy, Russia, Romania, Holland, Turkey, Tajikistan, France, Poland, Azerbaijan, Spain, and Ukraine. The festival will be held in two general categories of "Art" and "Research." According to Iran newspaper, "since pop music has gained importance in recent years, this music will be evaluated in the 'Research' category of this year's Fajr Music Festival."

Noteworthy, however, is the issue of the PERSIAN GULF and recent controversy over the National Geography Company's inclusion of the name Arabian Gulf for the much contested water. Many Iranians were infuriated by the inclusion and they successfully organized a campaign to force back National Geography's decision. Now, the Fajr Music Festival officials are joining their voice to stress our "Iranian and Islamic identity." Who else but the FLORENCE SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA to perform a piece called Kalij-e Fars or Persian Gulf?

Alireza Assar's Concert

Every year, pop singer {Alireza Assar} stages a marathon of a show at one of the large halls of the city in which he and his big band perform to a packed hall not once but twice per night. This year, the singer and his band were to perform 16 tracks from Assar's previous albums but, due to the new guidelines, 4 of those tracks were scrapped. The venue for the series of concerts was the SHAHID AVINI Hall of the BAHMAN Cultural Center in the south of Tehran. Although the venue is large, it is not ideal because of acoustic problems and seating. {Habib Sabur}, the organizer and producer of the concert, decided to change things for the Assar concert. He not only made some technical modifications but installed 1400 new seats whose arms locked into each other to avoid the seats from moving. But the security of the cultural center decided that the seats were too close for the comfort of people from different sexes. So the organizers were forced to detach all the seats hours before the first concert was to take the stage. We will talk more about some other fringe problems in future reports.

Me and My Giant Friend

{Farshad Fozuni}'s album, having overcome various Ershad obstacles, was ready for release by the BAM AHANG Company but another producer picked it up. This album, based on poems of {Shel Silverstein}, was recorded at Bam Ahang Studio in Tehran with musician {Ramin Behna} helping with the arrangement of pieces. TehranAvenue  visitors listened to one of the tracks of this album in the Underground Music Competition two years ago. We wish a smooth landing for this album in music stores.

Jack of All Trades

He is a director, actor, comedian, and, yes, singer. From 26-31 January 2005, {Mehran Modiri} is taking the stage of the biggest indoor hall of the city, MILAD, to bring the gift of his voice to his avid fans. The music is from Modiri's only album Az Ru-ye Sadegi (Out of Naiveté), whose music was arranged and composed by {Fardin Khal'atbari} and performed by a group of musicians three years ago, including {Naser Rahimi} on flute. Rahimi is also the conductor of the orchestra accompanying the actor in the upcoming concert. The audience will hear 6 new pieces arranged for the concert. What makes this concert significant is that after 8 month, the doors of Milad Hall are again opening to musical performances. Interestingly enough, the concert coincides with the beginning of the Fajr Music Festival, at which time music fans are busy finding tickets for performances of the gala week. Modiri's first and only album was not received well three years ago, when it hit music stores.

Mehran Modiri first appeared to mass audiences in the television series Bagh-e Gilas (The Cherry Orchard), acting subsequently in the feature Didar (The Encounter). But his popularity is owed to the comedy series of Tanz 77 (Comedy 1998) and his recent series Pavarchin (On Tiptoes).

Eggs On

To get Ershad permission for an album release, other than going through various bureaucratic mishmashes, there are two quick ways. You find someone with some might in the establishment who can pull levers, in which case your permission will be ready in a short time, or you can go directly to the print media (state radio and television being outside your control) with the record company announcing bankruptcy.

This is what happened to HERMES Records (www.hermesrecords.com) and renowned composer and tar player {Hossein Alizadeh}'s latest record. The two waited for Ershad's permission for 11 months and eventually went to the print media with their case, with Hermes announcing bankruptcy. Now, it seems, that the permission has been granted and that Alizadeh's album, Be tamasha-ye Aab-ha-yeh Sepid (Beholding Clear Waters), will come to the store after a year of sitting in Ershad's screening office.

Pezhvak Sounds Again

In 1995, when POP music was on the rise, the only rock band that was able to get permission to appear on stage was PEZHVAK. The band covered the music of Pink Floyd and Joe Satriani at first and then started to compose its own music, using the Persian poems of such poets as {Fereydoun Moshiri}. The band's first and only album, Bastar-e Laghzan-e zaman (The Slippery Ground of Time), was subsequently released three years ago before the band ceased its activities.

Meanwhile, Pezhvak's drummer, {Amir Tavasoli}, migrated to pop and became artistic director of a group called DATIS, whose producer also produces works of the pop sensation group ARIAN. Datis is a 13-member teenage group that hopes to follow in the footsteps of Arian. The group is waiting for the permission to release its first album. Tavasoli is also busy working with another pop band, which still doesn't have a name.

Now, there is rumor making the rounds that Pezhvak is also reuniting after 2 years of silence with the same make up.

Images:
Home Page and top of this page, details from a 1998 rock band, Pezhvak, concert.
1/ Twentieth Fajr Music Festival poster near Vahdat Hall
2/ Mehran Modiri's concert announcement billboard on Modaress Expressway
3/ Datis in a small concert in 2002.