Sussan Deyhim
Sussan Deyhim | |
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Birth name | Sussan Deyhim |
Origin | Tehran, Iran |
Genres | Folk |
Occupation(s) | singer, composer, dancer |
Years active | 1986-present |
Labels |
Crammed Discs Venus Rising Records |
Website | http://sussandeyhim.com/ |
Sussan Deyhim is an Iranian composer, vocalist, performance artist and activist. She is internationally known for creating a unique sonic and vocal language imbued with a sense of ritual and the unknown. She was part of the national ballet company in Iran from the age of thirteen and she traveled all across Iran studying with master folk musicians and dancers. In 1976, she joined The Bejart Ballet in Europe after receiving a scholarship to attend Bejart's performance art school Mudra where she was trained in many of the great world, dance, music and theater traditions as well as in classical ballet. Her music remains true to the spirit of her ancient heritage while pointing to the future with a very personal and poetic dramatic sensibility. In 1980, she moved to New York, embarking on a multifaceted career encompassing music, theatre, dance, media and film. She created/starred in ground breakin gmedia operas at La Mama in the 1980s including Azax/ Attra and The Ghost of Ibn Sabah.
Deyhim's wide-ranging collaborations with leading artists from across the spectrum of contemporary art have included Ornette Coleman, Bobby McFerrin, Peter Gabriel, Bill Laswell, Richard Horowitz, Rufus Wainwright, Marius De Vries, Hal Winer, Mickey Hart, Branford Marsalis, Jerry Garcia, Will Calhoun, Karsh Kale, Doug Wimbish, Keith LeBlanc, Skip McDonald, Jah Wobble, Talvin Singh, Adrian Sherwood and The Blue Man Group and with prominent female visual artists Shirin Neshat, Sophie Calle and Lita Albuquerque.
Her composition "Windfall/Beshno Az Ney" was recently used by U2 throughout the US and Europe in U2's 360 tour in one of the largest scale tock tours to this day. "Beshno Az Ney" is an intro to U2's "Sunday Bloody Sunday" a moving number in solidarity with Iran's Green movement. Deyhim has performed with international orchestras such as the Polish Radio Orchestra and the Kraków Philharmonic and has received commissions as a composer from international ensembles such as Bang On A Can. She has performed her music at Lincoln Center Summer Festival, Carnegie Recital Hall, the Royal Albert Hall, The Old Vic, the Queen Elizabeth Hall, Royce Hall and many other major venues.
Deyhim has been a frequent participant at humanitarian events and benefits, including a performance at the gathering of the spiritual leaders of the world at the United Nations General Assembly in 2001; the first Gathering of Female Spiritual Leaders in Geneva at the United Nations and the Royal Hope Gala in the Royal Albert Hall, London, England with Plácido Domingo, The Royal Ballet and many others, for medical aid to Iraqi children. In 2009, she performed in a sold-out concert at the UN General Assembly organized by Pakistan's biggest rock musician and activist, Salman Ahmad to raise funds for misplaced children in Pakistan with other participants such as Jeffrey Skoll, Bobby Sager and Gavin Rossdale.
Solo recordings
Deyhim's solo recordings include:
- Madman of God]: Divine Love Songs of the Persian Sufi Masters
- Shy Angels (with Bill Laswell) for the Crammed Discs label.
Her recordings with Richard Horowitz include:
- Majoun (for Sony Classical)
- Desert Equations (Crammed Discs)
- A Gift of Love (for Deepak Chopra with narration by Martin Sheen, Robert Thurman, Rosa Parks, Madonna, Goldie Hawn and Debra Winger).
With composer and director Heiner Goebbels, Deyhim recorded
- Shadows (for ECM), based on the writings of Edgar Allan Poe and Heiner Mueller.She was also a featured soloist on Hal Wilner's tribute to Kurt Weill, Lost in the Stars.
Her label Venus Rising Records has released five new albums of her works on film, multi media and recent collaborations.
Film and television
- Argo directed by Ben Affleck. Music: Alexandre Desplat. Golden Globe and Oscar nomination for best score 2012.
- The Last Temptation of Christ. Music: Peter Gabriel.
- The Kite Runner. Music by Alberto Iglesias.
- Any Given Sunday. Music: Richard Horowitz.
- Tobruk. Music in collaboration with Richard Horowitz, winner of Czech Lion Award in 2009.
- The Stoning of Soraya M.. Music: John Debney
- Unfaithful. Music: Jan Kaczmarek
- Sleeper Cell. Music: Paul Haslinger (Golden Globe winning Showtime series).
- Rise of the Argonauts. Music: Tyler Bates
Current and upcoming projects
New solo recording releases and works with Richard Horowitz.
- The House Is Black, her media opera based on the life and work of the Iranian contemporary literary heroine, Forough Farrokhzad
- "Forbidden Echoes” a sonic visual installation (in development). The New York Times Magazine said that her "thrilling music...sounds in the ear long after you've left the show."
References
External links
Videos
- Sussan Deyhim with Polish Radio Orchestra (Music by Jan A.P. Kaczmarek, vocal improvisations by Sussan Deyhim)
- Deyhim at the Grand Performances in Los Angeles
- Deyhim in Argo recording sessions
- Deyhim live with Maetar, 2012 Zeitgeist Media Festival, Hollywood, CA
- Deyhim at Grand Performances 2011- Sange Khara
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