Tuesday, April 30, 2024

‘The World’s Fastest Fingers’: Percussionist Mohammad Reza Mortazavi

By Azadeh Karimi and Ali Eshtyagh
Mohammad Reza Mortazavi is an Iranian percussionist once described by a German TV channel as "the fastest fingers in the world." Growing up in Isfahan, he began taking drum lessons when he was six years old, and was so prodigiously gifted that his tombak (percussion) teacher gave up teaching him after three years. Four years later,

All About Googoosh: Pop Superstar Embarks on Concert Tour

Googoosh is one of the most celebrated and influential Iranian pop artists of all time: a national treasure to generations of Iranians, and hugely popular in Central Asia and the Middle East. Googoosh is marking...
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New iPhone 7 Commercial Features Music by Iranian-American Rostam Batmanglij

From the Cookie Monster to Taylor Swift, Apple has used endless ways to convince us to buy their products. Now, the new iPhone7 commercial features a finely crafted track titled "In a Blackout" – co-written...

Israeli-Iranian Singer Maureen Nehedar Releases One Bestselling Album After Another

By Ahmad Rafat
Thirty-eight-year-old Maureen Nehedar was only two-and-a-half when she emigrated with her family from Isfahan to Israel. It was during the early years of the Revolution, when many Persian Jews were leaving their homeland. Maureen and her family were determined not to forget their roots.

Iranian Singer Cancels Concert After Female Players Banned from Stage

Benyamin Bahadori – an Iranian pop singer, composer and songwriter – has refused to perform at a concert in Kerman, capital of Kerman Province, after female members of his music group were prevented from...

Iranian Pianist Arash Rokni Wins Second Place in Bach Competition

Iranian musician Arash Rokni has won the second prize in the piano section of the 2018 Johann Sebastian Bach competition, held between July 11 and 21 in Leipzig, Germany. Mr. Rokni attended the School Of...

Iranian-Irish Fusion Band Nava Is Nominated for Irish Folk Award; We Meet Co-Founder Coohe

By Kayhan Life Staff Nava is a four-person Iranian-Irish musical group based in Dublin. Formed in 2016 by Irish folk and bluegrass musicians Paddy Kiernan and Niall Hughes, and Iranian born brothers Shahab and Shayan...

EXCLUSIVE: The Sweet Destiny of Arash Sobhani, The Kiosk Band Leader Speaks to...

By Ahmad Rafat Arash Sobhani is the founder of the pioneering Iranian rock group Kiosk. An architecture graduate, he formed his band before moving to the U.S. Kiosk was one of the prominent bands in...

Shirin Neshat, Actor Abbas Bakhtiari Star in Shakespeare’s Tempest

William Shakespeare is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language. He is the author of a tragicomedy called The Tempest, which is believed to have been inspired by real-life accounts and...

Iranian Actor Mohsen Afshani Arrested for Posting Provocative Video on Social Media

Police have arrested the Iranian actor and TV presenter Mohsen Afshani after he posted a video clip on his Instagram page that showed him waving a handgun and a knife while driving around in...