Mohsen Namjoo

محسن نامجو
Mohsen Namjoo
Background information
Born 1976 (age 38–39)
Torbat-e Jam, Iran
Genres Persian traditional music
Iranian folk music
Rock
Experimental rock
Occupation(s) Songwriter
Setar player
Singer
Instruments Setar
Guitar
Years active 1993–present
Website Official website
Notable instruments
Setar

Mohsen Namjoo, (Persian: محسن نامجو‎), is an Iranian musician, singer-songwriter. His style of music is influenced by Blues and Rock as well as Iranian folk music. The lyrics of his songs are also odd combination of Persian classical poems, his own lyrics, and contemporary poems; and uses the words freely with irony and sarcasm to carry the music and make a free style of singing. An Iranian correspondent for The New York Times in Iran wrote that "some call him a sort of Bob Dylan of Iran".[1]

Career

Namjoo at his concert in Illinois.

Namjoo was born in 1976 in Torbat-e Jam, a small town in northeastern Iran. In late 1997 and early 1998, Namjoo had his first two concerts, themed "modern combination of Iranian poetry and music".[2] In 2003 he started recording parts of his own works in Tehran. His debut album titled Toranj was officially released in Iran in September 2007. He also composed soundtracks for movies and plays.

He was featured in the documentary Sounds of Silence (directed by Amir Hamz and Mark Lazarz] which has been screened at international film festivals. He also appeared in a feature narrative film called Few Kilograms of Dates for the Funeral (Director Saman Saloor), played in various film festivals.

In 2006 the Iranian judicial system sentenced Namjoo in absentia to a five-year jail term for allegedly ridiculing the ash-Shams, a surah of the Quran, in his song "Shams". The conviction took place in spite of his formal apology.[3][4][5] After establishing in the West, the song was released as part of his album Oy.

In 2010, Namjoo kicked off his "A Minor" tour with a new band ensemble centered around some of his most popular and courageous songs. In June they performed at the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles, California (US). In October they performed at the Sony Center in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Mohsen Namjoo also released a single titled "Such Strange Times" in June, a song which was sung in English.

In fall of 2011 Namjoo recorded his next album Alaki live during his concert in Stanford University. This album was part of his work in Stanford Pan Asian Music festival. Accompanying band consisted of Ali bazyar (Percussion), Dina Zarif (back vocal), Tannaz Jaffari (back vocal), Serwah Tabbak (back vocal), Siamack Sanaie (Guitar), Mark Deutsch: (Bazantar, Guitar)

In fall of 2012, Namjoo released his new album 13/8. Thirteen/eight is a compilation of six pieces by Mohsen Namjoo, which were developed in the United States during the past year. The performance has been prepared in collaboration with California-based musicians James Riotto (Contrabass), Robert Shelton (Keyboard), Ezra Lipp (Drums) and Greg Ellis (Percussion). Payam Entertainment produced a series of live performances for 2012. The inaugural performance in Berkeley, California will be recorded in preparation for a future double-album release by the same title.[6]

Since late 2013, Mohsen Namjoo has been Brown University Middle East Studies' 2014 Artist in Residence. During his residency, he is engaging in a number of activities. On December 7, 2013, to kick off his residency, he gave an electrifying performance to an enthralled audience at the Granoff Center for the Creative Arts. In spring 2014, he taught a course titled “Tradition and Protest: Persian and Iranian Music,” and gave several musical talks to public audiences on topics including “Shahram Shabpareh: Honesty and Minor Scale,” and “Iranian Rhythms.” The spring 2014 semester was capped by a well-attended concert on the evening of May 10 "When you are talking about Iranian fusion, what are you talking about?." Webcasts are available to view from Brown MES.

In fall 2014, Namjoo will teach “Revolution and Poets: Content and Form in Iranian Poetry.” Organized by Middle East Studies, Brown, he will take part in a panel discussion on Protest Music/ Music Performance and Social Change on Thursday, November 13, as well as take the lead on assembling a couple of Iranian bands, banned from playing in their own country, who will come together for the first time in an Iranian Music Festival titled “Iran Underground” on November 15th at RISD Auditorium. The event is part of Brown’s 250th Anniversary events.

Discography

Albums

Studio albums
Year Title Persian Native Note
2007 Toranj ترنج In September
2008 Jabr-e Joghrafiyaei جبرِ جغرافیایی
2009 Oy آخ In October
2011 Useless Kisses بوسه‌های بیهوده In February
2014 Trust the Tangerine Peel از پوست نارنگی مدد In May
Live albums
Year Title Persian Native Note
2011 Alaki الکی In December
2012 13/8 سیزده/هشت In Fall

Singles

Audiobooks

Filmography

Performance

Philadelphia, USA

2014: Mohsen Namjoo performed with Al-Bustan Takht Ensemble as part of Al-Bustan Seeds of Culture concert series. [7]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Fathi, Nazila (1 September 2007). "Iran’s Dylan on the Lute, With Songs of Sly Protest". The New York Times. Retrieved 10 December 2011.
  2. ↑ "Mohsen Namjoo Official Website | Mohsen Namjoo Music". Mohsennamjoo.com. Retrieved 2014-04-29.
  3. ↑ محسن نامجو به 5 سال حبس تعزیری محكوم شد | سایت خبری – تحلیلی موسیقی ما (in Persian). Musicema.com. Retrieved 2014-04-29.
  4. ↑ http://www.internationalfreepresssociety.org/2009/07/iran-mohsen-namjoo-convicted-for-unconventional-singing/
  5. ↑ "روزنامه اعتماد87/6/7: شكايت قاري مشهور قرآن از محسن نامجو". Magiran.com. Retrieved 2014-04-29.
  6. ↑ "Press Release: Thirteen/Eight Mohsen Namjoo and Ensemble Live in Berkeley and Los Angeles | Mohsen Namjoo Official Website". Mohsennamjoo.com. 2012-04-04. Retrieved 2014-04-29.
  7. ↑ "Classical and Contemporary Persian and Arab Music". Albustanseeds.org. Retrieved 2014-11-17.

External links

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