Two year ago I wrote in my blog that the Mansour-sound alike Nader Meschi’s second album “Shahye-e” is to be released. Now it has, after two years of postponing by Ershaad! I have given it a few spins and really like it, especially the songs “Omri Be Paat Neshastam” and “Daaram Fekr Mikonam”!

The man, the LEGEND, my childhood hero is coming to town! The grandmaster of ELECTRONICA, Jean Michel Jarre, is to go on tour next spring and I’m going for a refreshing experience baby!

Last time I saw the electro-maestro in action was the previous millennium, so this reunion is something of an anniversary!

And the fact that he STILL has his sidekick with him, after all these years, makes me happy like a kid before Christmas!! Tickets are bought! yaaaaaaaaaaaaaay, I cant waaaaaaait!!!

Mohsen Rajabpour, Arian and Benyamin’s outgoing and publicity-loving manager, says when he started in the business he couldn’t find a role-model for himself! Thats why he started to study the Western way and tradition of artist management in order to become the fair and functional manager that he is known to be today. He says that of 120 registered managers and producers in the country only 15 are active since there is no support for the private sector from the government, at the same time music academies are being closed down and POP establishment is being discriminated against by location owners! All these lead to a vacuum where the undergrounders are taking over what the legal market should be covering, Rajabpour claims.

I just returned home and this was the enchanting view from my window which met me this morning! What a welcome!!

FINALLY a white winter! Ahhhh, needless to say a long walk in that season scenery was a must! It all reminded me of one of my all-time favourite songs …

My friend Mobish once described Akon’s voice in a very quote-worthy way, he said its “so annoying yet so enjoyable”! And that pretty much sums up his artistic persona as a singer, …or is he a rapper? Well whatever he is, Akon has proved himself to be a rather smart and calculating producer. He has his fingertip on the pulse of the market and is not afraid of crossing over to whatever genre in order to manufacture HITS! Eclectic, much like Timbaland. In his brand new album “Freedom” he experiments liberally with the EURO-POP/-DANCE flavours in order to add that extra ELECTRO charm to the songs. Consequently there are several songs on the first half of the album that all possess the potential to reach number one on any international chart! Here is an excellent example of what the Akon compote tastes like, personally I’ve found myself enjoy it more than I thought I would! This song has become a favourite I keep on humming day in and day out:

The legendary Hugh Hefner has come to his senses and got rid of the three surgically enhanced American blondies in favour of the naturally endowed eastern European brunette Dasha! I salute you Hef for the wise quality-over-quantity decision, go dawg!

good riddens!

Hami sang a rather “shaad” and upbeat song called “Khaste Shodi” at his Fajr performance and asked the audience to let him know through their applauds whether they wish him to add this song to his future album or not! Since he has been advised by many in the business not to sing upbeat and uplifting songs, but needs the people’s help to deicide.

Another one of the many “Sex and the City: The Movie” editions I did get these past months. This one is actually BLU-RAY and comes in an exclusive steelbook packaging from Germany! Let me tell you that it was a true hassle to get my hands on this one, with a wrong item dispached at first, while the steelbook was sold out! Despite me having pre-ordered it to make sure I got it in time! Then me returning the wrong item and not getting a refund! And finally re-ordering it and getting the right edition for a higher price!lol Was it worth it? …back then it was.

Many albums released earlier this year are being repackaged and sold as Deluxe Editions, mainly Christmas-commercially! It often means a new design and some BONUS material. Here are two that I recommend:

By now even you guys in US have got acquainted with Duffy, this sweet British lass who has modernised the 60’s heartfeld music. When her album came out I was disappointed that no special edition was released! But now it has! A double-disc digipak with some new songs.

Leona Lewis is another British lass who is getting marketed in US as we speak. She reminds me of a young Mariah Carey (from the time in her life when she was married and felt that her image was too prude and her career too controlled) physically and a debuting Toni Braxton vocally/musically! Already a DIVA, got the potential to be a future SOUL queen!

Mohsen Yeganeh recently said in an interview that there is no excuse for an artist to turn to covering and remaking! In particular remaking foreign songs into Persian, since there are notes enough to compose new pieces for performance. Yeganeh seems to have forgotten that he himself has covered a Greek song into Persian as “Cheshmaaye Khise Man”! I guess for some the standards change when the status changes!

Man I just cant stop listening (and dancing) to Jay Sean’s latest song called “Tonight”! It makes me feel guuuuuuuuuuuuuud!!! A perfect pre-party jam, to warm up to!

PS. This song is featured as BONUS along with two other new songs on the deluxe edition of his latest album “My Own Way”, which will also be released on the American market soon!

This pic was a hit last year, hehe, based on responses received! So I thought making it a recurring feature! Since Christmas is about traditions and every established foundation needs a tradition! Again, Merry Christmas my dear friends!

I was long planning to travel far south for Christmas this year but then suddenly the wind blew in another direction, so I cancelled the tickets at last minute and decided to follow the wind of change wherever it might take me! Purely serendipitily! I’ll be on the road for a while but I will keep updating the blog. Or at least I hope so! I’m taking my laptop with me and I’ve been told that the accommodating hotels offer internet, so there shouldn’t be any problem. But just in case I wouldn’t be able to get online, have a merry Christmas and I see you soon back here! Same old blog but a brand new year! Cheers!

A new pair of brothers, twins if I’m not mistaking, have entered the Iranian market! Shahram and Shahrouz look alike and sound alike! Their debut album is the work of Babak Rouzbeh and Bobby S whose work we recently heard in Kaiser’s album.

http://musicboxla.com/shshefna.html

The cover of the album reminds of Modern Talking’s “Back For Good”, by the way!

Two years ago I had the privilege of hearing the first demo from Kamran Delan’s upcoming album “24:00″, a goosebumps experience which I shared with you guys in this blog. The song called “Khoonsard” which was also the working-title of the album back then, sounded like the old-school songs which Kamran Delan used to write for Andy back in the days! An energetic song about “cold blood” which pumps the adrenline through your blood! Today, two years later, the same song has turned into a duet with none other than Andy!! So, if you are a fan of the style and sound that I’m talking about here then for God’s sake! whatever you do, don’t miss the video which will come your way very soon!

there is always a good reason for it! …or better said …

…TWO good reasons for it!

A preformer in Fajr by the name of Alamshahi (not Behnam), in a reply to Lohrasebi’s urge to keep out uneducated musicians from the festival said it doesn’t take education to become a good creator, but rather talent and emotions!

related: http://www.bia2.com/pourya/?p=704

Its the longest and darkest night of the year!

May your days get longer and brighter my dear!

While the Iranian underground movement has been masturbating with the auto-tune frenetically these past few years, Kanye West has just discovered the pitch-correction technology which has been used rather avant-garde in the urban music scene prior to this. And he has used it to “sing” instead of rapping, which he normally does, in his latest album “808s & Heartbreak” (reffering to classic Roland TR-808 drum machine). As you know I am not a fan of Kanye, far from it! Its always been his self-righteous attitude and arrogant self-proclamations which have put me off. But with this album it all changes, at least for me! Kanye’s fourth album happens also to be his “break-up” album, in which he introspectively contemplates and mourns a loss, a lost love! Its the cry of a man who deals with the pain and agony of separation and crisis of loneliness.

“Didn’t you know
I was waiting on you?
Waiting on a dream
That’ll never come true!
Didn’t you know
I was waiting on you?
My face turned to stone
When i heard the news …
When you decided to break the rules!”

And he does so surprisingly very sincerely and vulnerably, to the extent of giving you goosebumps in a few songs!

“I’m not lovin’ you, the way I wanted to
I can’t keep my cool, so I keep it true
I got somethin to lose, so I gotta move
I can’t keep myself, and still keep you too…”

On an 80’s inspired canvas made of machine beats and synth sounds he carefully lays strokes of emotions, with a digitalising brush which enhances the effect of the loaded words in a peculiar yet striking way! This outlandish yet astonishing manifest actually works amazingly well and the video of “Love Lockdown” (which borrows aesthetically from “American Psycho”) conveys the mood of the album and the imbedded emotions perfectly.

the video (not embeddable):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xiRX6Gk5ym8

Often “break-up” albums are results of the harshest times in an artist’s life when she/he reaches the highlight of creativity and career! Just look at our own Andy for instance who delivered his magnum opus “Beegharar” after a major break-up 15 years ago and still none of his follow-ups have managed to surpass it. Because as sad as it might sound, happiness can never give birth to the same level of creativity that sadness does! So if you are looking for party music then BEWARE!! This is not your regular Kanye fix and absolutely NOT an album you should turn to for an ass-shake! But if you are somehow feeling the blues, this album will somehow speak to you. Even the design of the album speaks the same language and is equally thought-through and relevant. Check out the symbolic punctured heart-shaped balloon! Stare at it a few seconds and you’ll almost see it popping out! Beautiful!