Blash - “Persian Prince”

Persian Princess International Records (UK)
2006 (1385)

Once upon a time in United Kingdom, A young Persian Prince by the name of Blash found his Persian Princess and together they… well I think you know the rest!! Because there is no way that you could have missed his emergence earlier this year on the world wide web and the high ratings and most-requested list of Radiojavan.com proves that! He released his downloadable album very ”satanically” in 06.06.06 on his own record company Persian Princess (in case you couldn’t break the code of the fairytale!) and now is the printed version available in the market. “Persian Prince” comes with its 9 tracks as an elaborate collaboration with Bobbi S. as co-lyricist/composer and producer while featuring also lyrics by Amir Amini, Elodie Cherpin and Benedicte Jacquet.

The album kicks off with the old national anthem leading into the WORLD CUP 2006 special song ”Iran Barande Mishe”. By now we all know that Iran didn’t win, far from it unfortunately, but nevertheless this WC something around 50 songs were presented by Iranian singers, comedians and kids for the grand occasion!!!! With Blash’s high-energetic TRANCE-inspired contribution being among the best, if not THE BEST!

With the second track unveils the more innovative and stronger feature of the album! ”2gether 4ever” is a bilingual up-beat track with a blend of the UK R&B and BOY BAND POP sound, spiced with Eastern melodies! Blash looks and sounds like a one-man-BOY BAND, reminding me despite his Sean Paul-esque hairstyle of the ex-FIVE member Richard “Abs" Breen in terms of musical style! An excellent track!!

Next comes the BEST song from the album with an ÜBER-HIT potential! ”Midouni” is a PERFECTLY produced Euro-TRANCE/Electro-POP fare hybridised with a prominent Persian 6/8 beat! One of the BEST attempts to Iranianise the genre. Simply Gorgeous! The specific difference of the impact that Blash’s deep English accent has on his singing is perfectly showcased in this bilingual song! While the part in English is phonetically impeccable and allowing him to manoeuvre smoothly his Persian performance suffers from rigid pronunciations! Normally I would recommend the artist to work harder on such details that often are of a depreciative nature for a singer. However these can also turn out to be flattering flaws that create a charming and characterising vocal signature! …the fans are to decide!

”Nagoo” is the first released song from the album. A PROGRESSIVE ARABESQUE fare that adheres to the rules of the mainstream market and from the experimental point of view perhaps also the least interesting feature of the album! The production too suffers from underdevelopment and bears to be further elaborated. It simply needs more ”meat” on its bones!

And now, time for a HISTORIC moment! For the first time in the Iranian history we have a singer pulling-off converting the entire old-school NY R&B/BOY BAND ballad formula to Persian! And that in a smoothly transitioned changing-pace nature! Believe me its not the easiest task to pull-off! ”Ghesseye Shekaste” is another one of this album’s priceless GEMS! I wish Blash could understand and appreciate the true value of his R&B and experimental songs and hopefully continue to build further upon such styles instead of the mainstream Persians! The combination of his silky voice and the slick ambience is amazing! A track custom-made for TOP OF THE POPS!

From what I know Blash used to live in Dubai once and as the result of this we can hear ”Wanek Inti ( ou’est tu?)”, a bilingual Arabic/French song with subtle Arabo-ANDALUSIAN and ROCK&ROLL influences! Reminiscent of the 70’s.

”No” is a song entirely in English using the DESI STREET BEAT with the R&B flava. Shamur’s ”Gonna Make It” and Beyoncé's ”Naughty Girl” come to mind! I only wish he had done it entirely or partly in Persian!

And though its practically an impossibility that you have fallen asleep on this album Blash wants to wake you up with a LAZER DANCE/TRANCE/HOUSE fare! So ”Rise Up to Dance (Bidaarsho)” with this marvellous track!

Finally to seal the package comes another soothing UK R&B/BOY BAND POP ballad called ”Its Been a Long Time”, bilingually in the accordance with the rest of the album.

Blash’s “Persian Prince” is a rare text-book example of how immaculate ambitions and aspirations can give birth to an OUTSTANDING debut album! Especially for being an “independent” production! Charged with an extraordinary level of creativity and innovation. Elements long missing in the LA- and recently rare in the Mojaaz-division of the Iranian industry! The EURO-vibe in general and the UK-flavour in particular are distinct and prominent features in “Persian Prince” while the team has tried to offer a vivid and vitalising alternative to the music harped on and recycled in the large part of the Iranian industry! I have said it before, there are many talented young artists based and active in Europe who are exercising different styles and active in different genres. But unfortunately all we hear coming from Europe-based artists is the stuff either adapted to- or sanctioned by the xenophobic LA-market, since they do not feel it being worth the while to try and convince the mainstream listener let alone to convert the people of the industry! So it is utterly important that you my dear reader who enjoys the brave attempt of this INDEPENDENT offering to show your support for its maintenance and most importantly for the survival of the current that it represents and inspires!

This is a “Persian Prince” from Europe, and it basically sums up what this album is all about! A for-the-Persian-market UNIQUE unification of East and West that deserves to be acknowledged, praised and HIGHLY RECOMMENDED! In fact I would have given its ambition “++++” if I could, its musical and vocal performance (Persian pronunciations) on the other hand bear to be further polished and worked on!

Note: Thanks to Blash for providing us with his album.

Overall Performance: ++
Artistic Ambition: +++
Commercial Potential: ++
Technical Quality: ++
Aesthetic Presentation: +
Ethical Adherence: +++
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