Ashkan Kooshanejad
Ash Koosha | |
---|---|
Origin | Tehran, Iran |
Genres | Electronic Experimental Soundtrack Ambient |
Occupation(s) | Composer, record producer film director |
Years active | 2007–present |
Labels | Olde English Spelling Bee Ninja Tune |
Associated acts | Take It Easy Hospital Roya Arab |
Website | Ashkoosha.com |
Notable instruments | |
laptop software synthesizer virtual reality |
Ashkan Kooshanejad, (Persian: اشکان کوشانژاد; born August 13, 1985) also known as Ash Koosha is an Iranian multi-instrumentalist composer, record producer, film director and futurist living in London, United Kingdom. He mainly plays synthesiser, bass and guitar. He played the lead role in an Iranian-Cannes jury prize winner docufiction film by director Bahman Ghobadi called No One Knows About Persian Cats, which follows his band's story scouring the Iranian underground music scene trying to find musicians to play in a festival in the UK.[1] [2]
Kooshanejad sought asylum in the UK as a result of the reaction to the film in Iran.[3][4]
Kooshanejad released the album GUUD in 2015. The video for "I Feel That" was directed by digital artist Hirad Sab.[5] The album has received positive feedback and support from music critics such as pitchfork (website).[6] The album holds a rating of 4.4/5 on discogs.[7]
He released his second LP I AKA I on London label Ninja tune which has gained critical acclaim worldwide. The album holds a rating of 8/10 on Allmusic and 79 on metacritic [8] I AKA I was accompanied by mainly digital videos created by Hirad Sab and was premiered on Adult Swim.[9]
In 2015 he introduced the concept for the world's first virtual reality album and has developed multi sensory experiences for songs such as Snow, OTE, Stained and Eluded since.[10] He has performed using a virtual reality headset for the first time at the London Institute of Contemporary Art, in collaboration with The WaveVR.[11]
Early life and education
Kooshanejad was born and raised in Tehran, Iran. He studied music at Tehran Conservatory Of Music.[12]
Discography
Albums
Year | Title |
---|---|
2015 | GUUD
|
2016 | I AKA I
|
Filmography
Year | Title | Functioned as | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Director | Screenwriter | Producer | Composer | Actor | ||
2009 | No One Knows About Persian Cats (Feature) | No | No | No | Yes | Yes |
2015 | Fermata (Feature) | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
2017 | Another News Story (Feature/Documentary) | No | No | No | Yes | No |
References
- ↑ Davies, Rodrigo (25 March 2010). "Iran's underground rock scene thrives despite censors". BBC News.
- ↑ Richard Gehr (30 January 2017). "Ash Koosha: Acclaimed Iranian Musician on Being Newly Banned From U.S.". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2 February 2017.
- ↑ McElroy, Damien; Allen, Benjamin (11 August 2009). "Iran rock band seeks asylum in Britain". The Telegraph.
- ↑ Backer, Stina (8 August 2009). "Iranian stars who shone at Cannes ask Britain for asylum". The Independent.
- ↑ Liu, Juliet (8 July 2015). "Enter Ash Koosha's Extra-Dimensional Virtual Reality In The Video For "I Feel That"". The FADER.
- ↑ http://pitchfork.com/reviews/tracks/17588-ash-koosha-harbour/
- ↑ https://www.discogs.com/Ash-Koosha-GUUD/release/8122155
- ↑ http://www.metacritic.com/music/i-aka-i/ash-koosha
- ↑ http://www.adultswim.com/videos/music-videos/ash-koosha-mudafossil/
- ↑ http://www.factmag.com/2016/03/02/ash-koosha-interview-ninja-tune-virtual-reality/
- ↑ https://www.ica.org.uk/whats-on/ash-koosha-live-uk-debut-brood-ma-ling
- ↑ Philip Sherburne (2015-09-16). "Ash Koosha: Conducting Destruction". Pitchfork.com. Retrieved 2016-06-03.