The first dose of Persian music today comes from the Kurdish group the Kamkars. The Kamkars are a single family, siblings. Kamkar is the family name. Here they set some of the poems of the ancient Persian mathematician/philosopher/poet Omar Khayam to classical Persian instrumentation. They are undoubtedly one of the finest classical ensembles in Iran and internationally, their recognition was sealed by their 2003 performance at the Nobel peace prize ceremony.
The track Ostokhoon meaning bone has been stuck in my head since my older sister played it for me about a month ago. 127 Band are a contemporary band out of Tehran, Iran, They are vibrant and young and seem to be having fun with what they do. And what they do is rather good.
And Thirdly we have Niyaz, which means the Yearning in both Persian and Urdu. They are comprised of members of both Indian and Persian origin and are based out of Los Angeles. Niyaz craft a kind of swirling sufi trance music. The video is of the concert performance of ‘the hunt’ in the knitting factory in LA.
