Axiom of Choice (band)

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Axiom of Choice is a world music group of Iranian émigrés who perform a fusion style incorporating Persian classical music and Western music. Led by Loga Ramin Torkian who plays a variant of a guitar of his own invention that is fretted to play quarter tones, the band has a unique sound combining soaring female vocals, Middle-Eastern rhythms and melodies, and progressive Western production styles.

The band was named after the mathematical concept, the Axiom of choice.

The melodies and rhythms of Persia's Radif tradition are combined with Western sensibilities by Southern California-based band Axiom of Choice. Led by Persia-born nylon-string classical guitar, quarter-tone guitar, and tarbass player and musical director Loga Ramin Torkian, the septet has continued to incorporate a global range of influences into its unique sound. Formed in the United States, Axiom of Choice remains rooted in the musical heritage of Torkian and fellow Persian émigrés Mamak Khadem and Pejman Hadadi. While Khadem's singing in the Persian language retains the spirit of the past, the innovative playing of Hadadi, one of the leading Persian percussionists living in the United States, gives the group its distinctive flavor. Hadadi -- who plays daf, tombak, and nagada -- previously toured with Hossein Alizadeh, Kayhan Kalhor, and Shahram Nazeri. He continues to balance his involvement with Axiom of Choice and his participation in the Dastan Ensemble.