KIOSK

[royaz]

BBC had an interview here:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/persian/arts/story/2005/07/050722_ad_kiosk.shtml

Their website is:

http://bamahang.ca

They sound great!

[ShaHr0uZ]

ahangeshoon bahale =P

[Cop]

not bad

[Tapesh]

how could this be underground if they are in canada loool

[RedWine]

LoL Irani bereh Rock bezaneh,engari Shajarian ba 50 cent beshineh Rap bekhooneh. hahaha

[royaz]

how could this be underground if they are in canada loool

Read the title : it says "published" not "recorded" in Canada. They are "underground" in Iran because they can't get "published" in Iran.

Hope that helps!

[royaz]

LoL Irani bereh Rock bezaneh,engari Shajarian ba 50 cent beshineh Rap bekhooneh. hahaha
ya masalan Vigen bereh Jazz bekhooneh, ya Faramarz Aslani bereh Flamenco bekhooneh, y Sandy bereh Rap bekhooneh... ehhhh... vali engar hameh inha in kar ha ro kardan va movaffagh ham boodan.. hmmm

[RedWine]

ya masalan Vigen bereh Jazz bekhooneh, ya Faramarz Aslani bereh Flamenco bekhooneh, y Sandy bereh Rap bekhooneh... ehhhh... vali engar hameh inha in kar ha ro kardan va movaffagh ham boodan.. hmmm

Viguen vaghti jazz ro avord tuyeh Iran,az kasi copy nakard ! az kasi ahang nadozdid ! az hameh mohemtar,chizi keh mikhoond,ma'ani dasht,ghafieh dasht, arzesh dasht.mohem bood.original bood karesh.

F.Aslani flamenco nakhoondeh hich vaght !!! in chizaro az koja dar avordi ?? haminja tuyeh in ghesmat,topic hast az ishan,bekhoon aval in adam az koja umadeh,chikar kardeh,badesh bia gir bedeh. ! barayeh inkeh bedooni,Flamenco barayeh spanish ppl yani ahanghayeh khiaboonieh gipsy ppl hast,vali Faramarz khan,asha'are hafez ro mikhoneh,pas beh Flamenco chikar dareh akheh ??? chera akheh ageh az chizi sar dar nemiari ,haminjoori miai ye chizi migi ??? chi ro mikhai sabet koni ? man motma'enam keh hata Kiosk ham nemishnasi !

Naya inja kasi ro ba kasi moghayeseh kon ! chon injoori khodeto neshoon midi keh persian music ro nemishnasi.bikhod ham vaghteh man ro migiri ! dafeh ba'ad boro info dashteh bash,badesh alaki critic kon sohbathayeh digaroon ro !

Ezzat ziad.

[royaz]

doosteh aziz,

malomeh keh ya senet kameh ya etelaateh music ya zarfiyatet.

Viguen vaghti jazz ro avord tuyeh Iran,az kasi copy nakard ! az kasi ahang nadozdid !

chand ta ahang az Vigen goosh kardi va hanooz in harf ro mizani ??? aval boro
in do ta ahang ro ham goosh bedeh va moghayeseh NOTE FOR NOTE bokon baad biya shoar bedeh "Vigen az kesi copy nakard, az kesi ahang nadozdid"!!!!!

Vigen : Asemaneh Abi
Original Italian Song: Love in Portofino

NOTE FOR NOTE moghayeseh kon!!!!

az hameh mohemtar,chizi keh mikhoond,ma'ani dasht,ghafieh dasht

ageh fekr mikoni sher bayad hatman ghafiyeh dashteh basheh pas digeh bahsi nadarim, chon maloomeh rajeh beh Shere No va rhythm tooyeh sher chizi nemifahmi. dar zemn agar ma'ani sher sadeh Farsi Kiosk ro nemifahmi fekr kardi keh shayad moshkel az khodeteh ???!!! aslan beh man cheh keh Kiosk chi migeh, man na sareh piyazem na taheh piyaz. moshkeleh man adamahyi hastan keh ba negative boodan joloyeh pishraft ya hatta experiment ro tooyeh music ma migiran. hameh chi ro bayad ba cliche hayeh tooyeh zehneshoon moghayeseh konan chon hazer nistan risk konan va tahavvol beh vojood biyaran :(

man keh ba to doshmani nadaram doosteh aziz, yek music Irani jadid va fresh peyda kardam rooyeh Internet va khastam ba hameh share konam. hala ya khoshet miyad ya badet miyad, ya connect mikoni ya nah, vali engar aslan ba experiment ham mokhalef hasti ????

[RedWine]

royaz aziz jan ! man ham ba shoma nah doshmani daram va nah ede'eai ! man 33 salameh ! kheili bishtar az uni keh fekr mikoni va mitooni tasavor koni, persian music ro mishnasam ! bad nist aval beri ghashang tamameh topichayeh man ro tuyeh hamin ja music part peida koni va bekhoonishoon ta befahmi dastan chieh !


Sohbateh man rooyeh ineh keh az persian music ehtiaj beh copy kardan nadareh. agar ham kasi bekhad copy koneh,la'aghal bayad joori copy koneh keh karesh khoob dar biad,mardom pasand dar biad.

Az tamame khanandeh hayeh tazeh (new generation) shayad hata 5% ham namooneh bad az chand sal ! khob chera digeh nemitoonan bekhoonan ? chera enghadar tafavot voojood dareh beineh new and old generation in persian music ?! barayeh inkeh ghablanha system music irani taghlidi nabood ! kasi mesleh un yeki nemikhoond ! ageh ham az ahangahyeh khareji taghlid mishod,enghadar acordha beh irani tabdil mishod ta emkan nadasht keh betooni tashkhis bedi keh in system ahang az kharej taghlid shodeh !

Hala miresim beh Rock music ! man khodam yeki az rocker hayeh ghadimi hastam keh alagheh ziadi daram,chand bar music unharo (Kiosk) ro goosh kardam,beh soorathayeh mokhtalef ! un chizi keh esmesho mizaran rock,man nadidam toosh! hala ageh baz harfe mano ghabool nadari ! yek mini search bekon tuyeh google,boro tu safehayeh avang,pars video, va chand ta digeh ,unjaha critic haro bekhoon ! inha hata ingineer of sound ham nadashtan !! ya'ani ba pc zabt kardan each piece tuyeh har ahang ro .

Akheh azizeh deleh man,to aval bayad info dashteh bashi ! un vaght miai az Viguen barayeh man harf mizani keh ehteram va alagheh khasi daram beh Ishan ( Khoda rahmetesh koneh ) .man ghabool nadaram keh enghelab besheh tuyeh persian music,ghabool ham nemitoonam bekonam keh kasi bedooneh info biad chizi ro begeh faghat barayeh inkeh chizi gofteh basheh !

barayeh critic kardan va ya hata dadan opinion tuyeh jaii mesleh forum,adam bayad music ro beshnaseh,khodesh ham balad basheh chizi bezaneh,ashena basheh ham ba persian clasic music ,ham ba pop va ham ba another system of sounds ! beh Khoda nemisheh haminjoori ye chizi goft va badesh ham engari hichi nashodeh ! digeh un zaman gozasht keh mishod ye chizi goft va chon mardom info nadashtan ,migoftan ohhhhh,yaru kheili halisheh ! yek music khoob keh beh zabaneh shirineh parsi khoondeh misheh,bayad vazn dashteh basheh,bayad hamkhooni dashteh basheh ba tamame notha va tamame song !

Tuyeh ma iraniha va music -e khodemoon ageh kasi az aval injoori lang langan ahang khoondeh,kheili zood az yadeh hameh rafteh ! hala,nah beh tajrobeh rabti dareh va nah beh in keh chand ta javoon az rhytm un khosheshoon biad !

Man aslan az moghayeseh kardan khosham nemiad chon chizi jadid behem nemideh,man delam mikhad chizi hamisheh yad begiram va befahmam beh vasileh khodeh taraf nah inkeh X ro ba Y moghayeseh konam ta betoonam alaki khodam ro gool bezanam .bayad hamisheh taraf ro ba kari keh mikoneh moghayeseh kard va nah ba kaseh digeh !

Moteasefaneh khanandeh shodan kheili asoon shodeh,hamin alan ba yek manager-e khoob ( Tuyeh USA,Canada,Dubai por hastan ) miri bank gharz migiri,ye ahang ham var midari va hel hel helheleh ! ya CD ,migire az hamoon aval taraf pooldar misheh ( chon hadaf bishtar javoonha hastan ta baghieh ! )
ya taraf bad bakht misheh,ghablanha injoori nabood,un kasi keh miumad tuyeh iran khanandeh mishod,music ro mishnakaht ,support mishod az musician-e khoob,class dasht,ehteram dasht.

Harf ziadeh,baz behet migam,tamameh topichayeh man ro dar inja peida kon, bekhoon,va injoori dalile sohbateh man ro motevajeh mishi aziz.

mamnoon :) .

[royaz]

shoma aslan faramoosh kardin keh Kiosk yek Underground Band hastan tooyeh Iran, yani beh khatereh inkeh mojavvez az Ershad nadaran nemitoonan beran tooyeh studio kar konan va bayad tooyeh khooneh khodeshoon ba haddeaghal emkanat rooyeh PC zabt konan, oonvaght mizani tooyeh sareshoon keh Sound Engineer nadaran ??? vaghean keh kheyli az music Irani hemayat mikoni !!! tazeh ba hamin nadashtan Engineer kolli ham sedayeh khoob zabt kardan!! shoma mitooni yek dooneh ahang kamel rooyeh PC khodet zabt koni ba hamin quality ???? lotfan demo beferest !!!

dar zemn tooyeh Avang va Parsvideo hichi rajeh beh Kiosk peyda nakardam, banabarin lotfan link hayeh music review ro barayeh man beferestin. montazeram.

va ta javabeh soal ghabli man ro nadin man ba shoma digeh bahs nemikonam.

TEKRAR: aya in do ta ahang ro goosh kardi va moghayeseh NOTE FOR NOTE kardi ya nah ? natijeh chi shod ?

Vigen: Asemaneh Abi
Original Italian Song: Love in Portofino


ghorbaneh shoma

Roya

[RedWine]

Roya jan.. bayad ba admin-e avang.com / parsvideo.com tamas begiri,una review ghabl az update khodeshoon ro barat mifrestan !

LOVE IN PORTOFINO

(J. Larue / F. Buscaglione / L. Chiosso, 1959) Dalida (France) check kardam, vali bishtare acordha, mix boss una avaz shodan,banabarin dalili nemibinam tane Viguen-e aziz ro tu ghabr belarzoonam .

Ma khanandeh hayeh 'underground' ziad darim ,khodeh Sh.Aghili do saleh tamoom behesh mojavez nemidadan va yavashaki mikhoond ! khob karesh khoob bood,music ro mishnakht va az hameh mohemtar,dobareh esrar mikonam NOTE ro ageh khanandeh nashnaseh,ahang jaleb dar nemiad,hala rock basheh ya indian music basheh !

Kareshoon ghabeleh taghdir hast agar vaghean ini keh migi basheh !,beh har hal az lahaz-e science of music ma sohbat mikonim,chon kasi keh donbaleh kasi nemikoneh keh agha toro Khoda bia bekhoon,nah ! har kasi azadeh kareh khodesho anjam bedeh unjoori keh mikhad.

Beh har hal loozoomi nemibinam keh edameh bedam in bahs ro ! shoma nazareto gofti,man ham goftam.khod,bozorgan danand,cheh ayad,cheh bashad,va cheh bemanad !

Zendeh bashi :) .

[royaz]

man keh velet nemikonam! fekr kardi beh hamin sadegi hastesh??

Roya jan.. bayad ba admin-e avang.com / parsvideo.com tamas begiri,una review ghabl az update khodeshoon ro barat mifrestan !


agha jan , Avang va Parsvideo rajeh beh Kiosk music review nadaran va nadashtan. in harfha ro az khodet dar avordi va fekr kardi man nemiram check konam. ageh music review vaghei mikhahi rajeh beh Kiosk lotfan boro in ro bekhoon keh kolli ham information khoob behet mideh, va mifahmi chera enghadar havadar daran:

http://www****anian.com/BruceBahmani/2005/July/Kiosk/index.html




LOVE IN PORTOFINO
check kardam, vali bishtare acordha, mix boss una avaz shodan

:D:D:D az hamin harfet fahmidam keh shoma cheghadar music shenas va musician hasti ! khoob dokoon vaz kardi inja barayeh khodet ha amoo! khodeh shoma "boss" mizani ya "bossa-nova" ?? :D

dar akhar:
man eftakhar mikonam keh Kiosk avvalin group Underground Rock Irani hast keh oonghadar karesh khoob boodeh va tarafdar dashteh keh toonesteh bereh tooyeh iTunes!!!!

http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewAlbum?playlistId=78578000


digeh ba shoma bahs nemikonam. tamam.

next topic!

[RedWine]

Khob alan Roya khanoom injoori mifahmam az in poste shoma keh hadafet in boodeh keh inja in yau Kiosk ya miosk ro tabligh koni ! inam jash inja nist.inja mitooni ye kari ro mo'arefi koni ,crtici koni ya admire koni....

Khanoom joon ageh talent nadari,ageh savad nadari keh be Bahram moosavi,admin pars video harf bezani,in taghsireh man chieh !?

nemikham khodam bekesham pain az class,mesleh to besham.! man fekr kardam mikhai ye chizeh jadid yadeh hameh maha bedi,vali hala mibinam nah... sabet kardi keh cheh joor adami hasti !

Khoda zendeh nigaret dareh barayeh bacheh hayeh rocker-et LoL.

P.S ... miri ruyeh ignore va baghiash ham No Comment keh aslan hoselato nadaram !

[RedWine]

'کیوسک' تور آمریکای شمالی خود را آغاز می کند


کنسرت گروه کیوسک، عکس از ماندانا فرد
گروه راک زیرزمینی "کیوسک" در پی موفقیت کنسرت سانفرانسیسکو، تور آمریکای شمالی خود را از هفته آینده آغاز می کند.
این تور شنبه ۸ سپتامبر با کنسرتی در شهر تورنتو آغاز می شود و پس از آن کیوسک در شهرهای ونکوور، اورنج کانتی، بوستون، واشنگتن، لس آنجلس، آتلانتا و نیویورک کنسرت خواهد داشت.

از آنجایی که اعضای این گروه در شهرهای مختلف آمریکای شمالی زندگی می کنند، آنها تور را از شهرهای "خودشان" آغاز می کنند اما قصد دارند که به زودی در دوبی و لندن هم برنامه اجرا کنند.

کنسرت ها از دو آلبوم "آدم معمولی" و "عشق سرعت" خواهند بود و ۱۴ تا ۱۵ آواز را شامل می شوند.

یک آواز جدید که براساس شعر تاجیکی ساخته شده، در برنامه کنسرت ها قرار دارد.
هر سالن اجرا بین ۸۰۰ تا ۱۰۰۰ نفر گنجایش خواهد داشت اما کنسرت دوبی آنها که در حوالی نوروز ۱۳۸۷ خواهد بود در سالن خیلی بزرگتری برگزار می شود.

آرش سبحانی خواننده اصلی گروه می گوید: "ما خیلی خوشحالیم که موسیقی راک زیرزمینی ایران سرانجام دارد خودش را نشان می دهد و خوشحالیم که این اقبال را داشته ایم که بتوانیم در مقابل این جمعیت بزرگ برنامه اجرا کنیم. سعی ما این است که اجراهای خود را بهتر کنیم و عناصر جدیدی به آن اضافه کنیم تا تجربه خیلی خوبی برای تماشاگران باشد."

ترکیب گروه به قرار زیر است: آرش سبحانی خواننده اصلی و گیتار، انوش خازنی گیتار و خواننده دوم، بابک خیواچی گیتار، علی کمالی گیتار باس، اردلان پایور کی بورد و شهروز مولایی جاز (طبل).

[RedWine]

After a lot of anticipation, Kiosk went on stage in Toronto to perform for a sold out crowd of 850.

Barzin and his band performed first. There was no introduction and Barzin didn’t talk to the crowd to break the ice, either. It took some time before people started paying attention. The crowd started to respond to Barzin during the last few songs, especially after he spoke to the crowd in Farsi. The sound system was not set up properly and there was too much base.

Kiosk didn’t have any better luck for their introduction either, the announcer could not be heard but the crowd was so anxious for Kiosk to perform that it didn’t really matter. The crowd went wild as soon as Kiosk started playing.

Kiosk members who performed in Toronto were: Ali Kamali, Anoush Khazeni, Babak Khiavchi, Shahrouz Molaee, Ardalan Payvar and Arash Sobhani. They played most of the songs from their two albums: Adam Ma’mooli and Eshghe Sora’t. They also performed “Ay Yarom Bia” but in a completely new way, Reggae style, which was received well by the audience.

The crowd knew all the Kiosk songs by heart and sang along with each and every song. In Arash’s own words: “The energy level was very high and I felt like a puppet that is being controlled by the crowd! I was not directing the event in anyway, it was the audience who was performing and we were watching!”

The songs' sequence had a very good flow and selecting Zoghal Khoob as the first song for the encore was great, so Arash and Anoush started the encore and then the rest of the band joined them to play “To Kojaee”.

At times, the crowd’s noise overwhelmed the huge amplifiers and the sound system. It was unbelievable! There was a lot of good energy but it seemed that Kiosk didn’t expect such an active crowd and lost focus here and there. Overall, they played very well and performed the songs different from their studio version. There were very good solo performances by almost all of the band members, especially Babak who knocked the socks off the crowd with his guitar solos.

Arash and the rest of the band members were visibly happy and enjoying the concert. Ahmad Kiarostami projected video clips on a backdrop on the stage, relevant to each song which was very interesting and hopefully we will get to see those clips on youtube eventually.

The band members mingled with their fans after the show and there was a very special feeling about the whole event. Everybody felt that there was something special happening and a new chapter in Iranian music culture is beginning to unfold.

[RedWine]

Kiosk: Sound Check!
After months of hearing about Kiosk’s music and live shows and watching their videos, I’m an audience of one at their sound check, on the day of their Orange County show at the Galaxy Concert Theatre. It’s just before 2 pm now; they’ll be joined by Ardeshir Farah (guitarist of Strunz and Farah fame) and this place will be packed by 8.

This venue is in the middle of an ugly, flat, boring industrial area (welcome to Orange County) and looks like nothing from the outside. But I was told by the guy at the door that it was actually built in the 1950s and the inside looks a bit like a cross between a dungeon and a circus tent. It’s a proper theatre with tiered seating, but booths and tables instead of rows of seats… and the best part is that it smells of old gin and the vinyl on the chairs is cracked. I’m pleasantly reminded of New York.

They’re in full swing now, playing “Afsoos”… the guitars sound really good but I can barely hear the lyrics. Which means this is going to be a proper rock show.

[RedWine]

The truth is I was a bit nervous at first. After all, it is not often that I have the chance to meet a total stranger whose voice has become a part of my every day routine. Odd as it may seem, this one dimensional nature of fame is an inevitable reality for all successful artists including the one I was about to interview. Adapting to increased recognition and celebrity is an adjustment that Arash Sobhani will most likely have to make in the upcoming years because both he and his band Kiosk [kiosk-music.com] have gained significant popularity and recognition recently across the US, Europe and Iran and show no signs of slowing down. Accompanied by two dear friends/hosts from the Bay area, (one of whom is the infamous Jahanshah of Iranian.com) I walked in to the Steps of Rome Cafe. Our trio had been running a bit behind driving into San Francisco from Berkeley and Arash had been on time so he must have gotten bored and left to go walk around. I took advantage of the few extra minutes I had to set up my laptop and order a latte, while someone else called him and within a few minutes he was walking into the café. Dressed both very casual and very San Francisco, Arash is the type of person who puts you immediately at ease. Easy going and calm, he has a big smile and a balanced, effortless energy which makes understanding and connecting with his music even more real when you meet him in person. After a few minutes of small talk and some pictures, my friends leave for a stroll around North Beach, and our conversation begins.

M: What influenced you growing up?
A: I grew up listening to Bob Dylan and Dire Straits and Rock music in general. I also read a lot of books and that gave me a good balance of exposure to both Western culture and Iranian literature. I think those who left the largest impact on me personally are Sadegh Hedayat and Shamloo.

M: How long have you been living in the States now and what type of music do you listen to for your own pleasure? For example, what would I be able to find on your iPod right now?
A: I left Iran 3 years ago to settle here permanently, but I used to live in the US when I was younger. As for music, I am currently into a lot of Argentinean, Gypsy, Eastern-European, World, or Ethnic music. Not the same as what I perform in Kiosk obviously.

M: Kiosk has existed for a very long time now and has gone through many changes. Can you please explain where the concept came from and how the band has evolved?
A: The concept and inspiration for Kiosk came from me and then there were other individuals who joined in and helped in forming what later became the band. Some of the original musicians are still in the band today, but there are others that came and went and then there are also those who will participate on a limited as-needed basis.

M: I have heard Kiosk classified under a variety of different types of music, but I would like to know what you personally would call your style of music.
A: There are variations in every track and each album, so it is not easy to call it one thing. You can hear Jazz, Blues, Rock, and even a little Country in there. The music is definitely “Alternative” from what currently exists and is the norm in our culture, which is mostly pop. Traditionally, this style of music was always referred to as “underground music” in Iran and while it may not be called underground anymore, because we are not literally performing “underground” here anymore, it is still underground to me because it cannot be sold freely in Iran and Iranian society still continues to be underground in so many ways.

M: There have been many attempts to bring Western influence into Iranian music, especially in the area of pop, which have mainly had awkward results at best. How then, do you explain the success of fusing foreign music with Iranian lyrics to create something that is so naturally representative of Iran and of our generation?
A: I am not really sure I can comment on why something works or not in the Iranian Pop industry, but as far as Rock is concerned, I think it is the same across the world. Rock is the music of protest. It is the music of simple feelings, and of simple expression. It is not intended to serve a specific class or certain group of people. It is the music of all people. I think the biggest challenge that Rock music had in Iran was with the lyrics. Because of our rich and complex literature and verse we have this extremely elevated standard set for ourselves and we think all good work must have that level of verse to go along with it. We felt that we must use deep lyrics from deep sources, and that simply does not work in Rock music.

M: Well, your Lyrics are extremely deep and I think they are what actually “MAKE” the band stand out and really be remembered. Not only is the message in each song very thought provoking but the words just seem to roll out naturally. It seems ironic to me that, in a society where we have such a hard time speaking clearly and directly about the simplest things, you manage to communicate your feelings about all the social maladies around you in a very informal, effortless and direct manner.
A: It was the lyrics that made us; I won’t deny that. The music is huge too, but I think we have always been about the lyrics and the message first. The cultural restrictions that you’re talking about, I see in 2 forms. There are 2 sets of restrictions imposed on us right now; the first is government-imposed and the second is self-imposed. In order for Iranian society to reach the same level of maturity as its western counterparts in a capacity of open and direct communication, it first needs to have the government-imposed restrictions lifted. Once this happens, the society itself will still need to go through the growing pains of learning and developing to reach the next level so that it can then remove the self-imposed restrictions that remain. Only then will it reach the maturity of open and direct dialogue, but the first step still remains the lifting of government-imposed restrictions which are very much in place right now.

M: You have 2 great albums out and a successful North-American tour behind you now. Should your fans expect a continuation of the same or will they start to see the influence of your new environment in your new material taking on a new direction?
A: We really do not come up with a concept or idea first and develop it, the way the big record labels operate. We try to express our message in a way that is genuine and true to ourselves and according to our standards and values and we hope that it is received well by the fans as well. We never create any of our music with any marketing ideas or final product in mind, so if there is a connection, it is truly direct. Most importantly, we won’t limit ourselves or try to force anything. We are not going to try to force our Iranian identity on a track by sticking a piece of santoor on there, but if it fits in naturally and we feel like it sounds good there, then we will put it in. The same would be true if it was any other instrument from anywhere else.

M: Iran and social consciousness is not only the universal theme of your lyrics but also an essential part of the band’s identity. Now that you are all outside of Iran and have lost that daily contact, how do you feel that will change your inspiration?
A: I think you can always spot a liar from far away. My commitment to myself is to always be honest with what I write and the message I speak, whether it is about Iran, about myself, about here, about San Francisco, about Mashhad, it doesn’t matter where. As long as I feel it genuinely, then I will say it. I am sure that certain experiences about my life here will eventually find their way in my lyrics but honestly, I think I have lived in Iran long enough that I will have 2 lifetimes’ worth to speak about Iran without ever feeling like I will run out of material.

M: Some Iranian artists who have achieved recognition for their talent in highly competitive European countries have criticized the Iranian art community for failing to establish adequate standards and critics, both as a means to institute basic guidelines as well as a means to weed out those who fail to meet them thereby preventing them from polluting the industry. What is your opinion about this suggestion?
A: I have to disagree with whoever said this. I don’t think music belongs to any one particular person for them to judge what should or should not be. I think the best judge is the listener and whether they connect with the message or not. As for establishing any type of standard, I think it would be cool to have a top 40s or something like that to keep track of what is popular, to know what is selling and what doesn’t, just to be able to follow what the trends are over time. Other than that people should just be allowed to do their own thing.

[RedWine]

M: Now that you have gotten the chance to go on tour and you have gotten to see Iranians all over the US and in Canada, what do you think of your fans? Who are they?
A: Well, Iranians are really different in each city as you know. It was interesting to see the characteristics of each community in each area. For example in Toronto we went in nervous at first and then we psyched ourselves up and we thought we were going to blow this crowd away, and they were the ones that really ended up blowing us away. They knew all of the lyrics and they truly blew us away. For the most part I would have to say our audience is comprised of professionals, mostly college educated, mostly male, over the age of 50, broken-hearted, followers of Iranian current events, and internet savvy.

M: I know you’re an architect and that is your main job and music is your hobby, but how committed are you to music and how long can we expect to hear from Kiosk?
A: There are 2 conditions that this group is based on. The first is that we perform for our own enjoyment and the second is that we do so at a high standard. I think as long as we continue to enjoy ourselves and keep up a high standard, our audience will also enjoy it because the feeling that is shared on stage is passed on to the crowd.

I am sure somewhere, someone has written a “How-To” manual on interviewing and Arash in all probability might have secretly been wishing he had bought me a copy of it sooner but he was too nice to let it show. Before we knew it, 2 hours had rolled by and some of my questions had taken us on various tangents which were all fascinating of course. Ultimately, what I found most captivating about Arash is that, although he may think he is just an ordinary guy, he embodies an ideal, especially for our generation. He is what Iran might look like without those 2 types of restraints we spoke of earlier. He is a great example of what Iranian identity looks like when it is unleashed with the kind of limitless freedom of expression and self-definition that is emblematic of the west. A young man who communicates with such openness and ease that I find it difficult to give him an example of the opposite. But, fortunately for me, he knows exactly what I am talking about and it is precisely this equilibrium I see in him which is what I like the best.

I catch the flash of a camera from the corner of my eye and turn to my left. It is Jahanshah standing outside and taking a very artsy photo. I also take this as my cue that they are back from their stroll and it’s time to wrap things up and let poor Arash leave. I was told repeatedly how nice he was before meeting him and of course when he agreed to meet with me for an interview on such short notice, despite not feeling well and coming down with a cold, it made him even nicer. However, this was not a care bear cartoon and we were not giving out free hugs. I wanted to know what really drove him and as we were wrapping up a conversation about (my favorite topic of 2007) Iranians in Iran versus abroad, he mentioned something that finally hit the spot. He was talking about how often when Iranians want to show disapproval or criticize someone they feel they need to do so in a competitive way.

It is not good to be competitive. We have nothing to prove. Life is not competition. It is simply about a scream that is caught in your throat and that has to be released and that has to be let out. If you can get it out, then get it out, and if you can’t then stand aside and let someone else do it.

There it was. I found it! The “bug”, the “kerm”, “el duende”, however you want to call it, there is something that all artists have in common, and he was no exception. Those who perform, are questioned rather often as to why they have chosen to do what they do and in my limited experience, their reaction is typically the same. They have chosen their art because they have no other choice. Just as he mentioned it is a scream that needs to be let out, whether it is in the form of music, or poetry, or live performance or something else. In Arash’s case, while finding and fine-tuning his scream, he also has given a voice to the frustrations and daily plights of a generation of his peers. It may not be completely traditional, or have the widest range but it fits us only like our own skin could.

For more information, please visit kiosk-music.com. My gratitude goes out to Arash Sobhani for the time he gave me for this interview.

[RedWine]

"Jadeh Khoshbakhti"
Music by Kiosk

Video by Nader Davoodi www.naderdavoodi.com
For Kiosk www.kiosk-music.com

YouTube - "Jadeh Khoshbakhti" by Kiosk