Nafir (Clamour)
by Saba Alizadeh
Video by Sivash Naghshbandi, title design by Sanaz Soltani. Full HD on YT
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about
With “Nafir (Clamour)”, Tehran-based composer, kamancheh virtuoso and electronic musician Saba Alizadeh releases a strong artistic statement:
a heavy emotional new piece and touching video which depict metaphorically life in Iran after 5 months of uprising.
“In the dark times
Will there also be singing?
Yes, there will also be singing.
About the dark times”
(Bertold Brecht)
“Nafir” is the sound of a million outcries channeled through the ancient string instrument Kamancheh” says composer and musician Saba Alizadeh about his latest single. “It’s the voice of the shed tears and blood”.
His instrument, the Kamanche is said to be resembling the spectrum of the human voice, why he used it prominently in this piece as a metaphor for singing, for the gathered voices and cries of the oppressed, fighting against the darkness, the oppressor, here represented by the rhythm section.
Alizadeh explains: “This section is based on the rhythms of T’azie (traditional religious mourning ceremonies during shia commemoration Ashura) but at the same time resembles the sound of explosions (the sound that became the soundtrack of our lives in Iran for the past 5 months) and a respirator machine. It is at the same time a spray paint can that is writing slogans on walls or wiping them out.
At some point in the piece the rhythm section crescendos and tries to distort and destroy the kamancheh melody but it is not able to.”
In the video which is masterfully implemented by visual artist Siavash Naghshbandi, the voice of the Kamancheh and the beam of light interact with each other: the louder the voice of the kamancheh gets the brighter the beam becomes. It battles with the rhythm section and a metaphoric swarm of Kalashnikov bullets (as a universal sign of oppression). The finale gives hope: the cry of the Kamanche and the warm bright light succeed defeating the bullets, the darkness and oppression.
a heavy emotional new piece and touching video which depict metaphorically life in Iran after 5 months of uprising.
“In the dark times
Will there also be singing?
Yes, there will also be singing.
About the dark times”
(Bertold Brecht)
“Nafir” is the sound of a million outcries channeled through the ancient string instrument Kamancheh” says composer and musician Saba Alizadeh about his latest single. “It’s the voice of the shed tears and blood”.
His instrument, the Kamanche is said to be resembling the spectrum of the human voice, why he used it prominently in this piece as a metaphor for singing, for the gathered voices and cries of the oppressed, fighting against the darkness, the oppressor, here represented by the rhythm section.
Alizadeh explains: “This section is based on the rhythms of T’azie (traditional religious mourning ceremonies during shia commemoration Ashura) but at the same time resembles the sound of explosions (the sound that became the soundtrack of our lives in Iran for the past 5 months) and a respirator machine. It is at the same time a spray paint can that is writing slogans on walls or wiping them out.
At some point in the piece the rhythm section crescendos and tries to distort and destroy the kamancheh melody but it is not able to.”
In the video which is masterfully implemented by visual artist Siavash Naghshbandi, the voice of the Kamancheh and the beam of light interact with each other: the louder the voice of the kamancheh gets the brighter the beam becomes. It battles with the rhythm section and a metaphoric swarm of Kalashnikov bullets (as a universal sign of oppression). The finale gives hope: the cry of the Kamanche and the warm bright light succeed defeating the bullets, the darkness and oppression.
credits
released March 3, 2023
Composition and kamancheh by Saba Alizadeh, violin: Aso Kohzadi
Composition and kamancheh by Saba Alizadeh, violin: Aso Kohzadi
license
all rights reserved
tags
about
Saba Alizadeh Tehran, Iran
Sound artist/Instrumentalist/Composer
based in Tehran
Saba brings from no-input mixer, modular synth, tape,
Laptop and other effect pedals to his pallet of sounds.
He is a virtuoso on Kamancheh (Persian spike fiddle).
Alizadeh holds an MFA in music fro Calarts.
He has released With Karlrecords(Berlin) and 30m records (Hamburg).
... more
discography
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Jan 2025 -
Oct 2024 -
Jan 2024 -
Mar 2023
contact / help
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