A round-up of the cosmopolitan classical musical culture in Iran. Starting with music scholars of the Qajar era (1796–1925) and ending with the global music scene of the 21st century, from both the diaspora and from home.
The audiovisual artist Shaahin Peymani and his family share a long history of migration from Iran to Germany and back. Here he maps the route from his German grandmother’s migration diary alongside one of his own compositions.
The audiovisual artist Shaahin Peymani and his family share a long history of migration from Iran to Germany and back. Here he maps the route from his German grandmother’s migration diary alongside one of his own compositions.
A poetic encounter with the different family histories of poet Tanasgol Sabbah and bassist Reza Askari. Weaving together experience, memory, and narrative, this piece switches between languages, and allows uncertainty about what is said and what is imagined.
Die Klarinettistin Shabnam Parvaresh beschreibt die Musik ihrer Kindheit und Jugend. Die Erinnerungen an ihr Elternhaus verbinden sich mit geliebten Tonträgern und endlosen Downloads. Was sie als Musikerin noch im Gepäck hatte, entdeckte sie aber erst in Deutschland.
Kamwangi Njue traces the story of political (i.e. conscious) music in Kenya, drawing on his own biography. He asks: Can conscious music achieve the impact it seeks when it has to play in the same sphere as popular music made purely for entertainment?
A remixed profile of young Nairobi-based DJ/producer Victor Munyasya, an exciting newcomer to the city’s electronic scene. Baring his soul in this abridged interview, he challenges the need for false identities and the social pressures behind it.
Journeys through Nairobi take on an abstract, haunting quality, where familiar traffic sounds transform into otherworldly voices, transporting us into a fugue state where the mundane act of moving in the city begins to suggest other journeys, other places.
Oscar Mizani is a rapper using Nairobi public transport as his stage. We take a ride with him as he spreads his message through the streets.
Different artists from Nairobi share their experiences of life in the city during the tumultuous election season of early 2022, and their thoughts on political and social messages in music.
Juliani, a self-confessed «musician with a mission», runs a community center in the heart of Nairobi’s poorest district, building on the legacy of conscious rap that began in this part of the city.
