Best Albums of 2017
selected by Ali Eshqi

Amirhossein Tafreshipour <BR> “Inhamani”

Amirhossein Tafreshipour
“Inhamani”

Tafreshipour’s first solo album “Inhamani” (Identity) is a new interpretation of Kurdish maqams and folk songs with new arrangement and orchestration. Himself a tanbur player, a Kurdish ancient lute, employed other instruments like harp, a kind of folk flute and a combination of different percussion played by Ali Rahimi.

♪♫ Listen: “Narina” + album sampler

Amirhossein Tafreshipour on Instagram.

Ata ‘Sote’ Ebtekar <BR> “Sacred Horror In Design”

Ata ‘Sote’ Ebtekar
“Sacred Horror In Design”

Ata Ebtekar, known by his stage name Sote, a prominent electronic musician, tries to produce a genuine fusion of Iranian traditional music and electronic music.

♪♫ Listen: “Plebeian” + album stream

Ata ‘Sote’ Ebtekar on Soundcloud, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, www.

B-Band <BR> “Donbalehdar” Vol I&II

B-Band
“Donbalehdar” Vol I&II

B-Band is an alternative and synth rock band from Tehran. Their latest album “Donbalehdar” (which means “To Be Continued”) includes two EPs, each four tracks.

♪♫ Listen: “Omidi Hast” + album stream

B-Band on Soundcloud, Facebook, Instagram, www.

Bâdzang <BR> “Donyaye Nâtamoom”

Bâdzang
“Donyaye Nâtamoom”

Badzang is a electro-rock project of Alireza Ahmadzadeh (vocal) and Masoud Fayyazzadeh (guitar). On “Donyaye Nâtamoom” (Incomplete World), clean guitar notes, vocal melodies and rhythmic accents are chosen finely and fit nicely together in this album. Masoud is a founding member of Minus1 band.

♪♫ Listen: album sampler

Bâdzang on Soundcloud, Facebook, Instagram, www.

Bomrani “Gozashtan va Raftan-e Peyvaste”

Bomrani “Gozashtan va Raftan-e Peyvaste”

Having recently celebrated their 10th anniversary, Iranian alternative country-blues band Bomrani published their latest album at very beginning of 2017. Unlike their previous album, “Gozashtan va Raftan-e Peyvaste” (Leaving and Passing By) sounds relatively slower and introverted.

♪♫ Listen: “Gozashtan va Raftan-e Peyvaste

Bomrani on Soundcloud, Facebook, Instagram, www.

Farshid A’rabi <BR> “Marg-e Khamoosh”

Farshid A’rabi
“Marg-e Khamoosh”

Heavy metal pioneer Farshid A’rabi’s fourth studio album has made metal fans so happy.

Like on his previous albums, beside some epic and social lyrics on “Marg-e Khamoosh” (meaning “The Silent Death”) he has also used few classical mystic ones.

♪♫ Listen: “Saz-e Kohne

Farshid A’rabi on Facebook, Instagram.

Raam “Ta Hezar o Nemidoonam Chand…”

Raam “Ta Hezar o Nemidoonam Chand…”

Last solo album of Raam titled “Ta Hezar o Nemidoonam Chand…” (Until a Thousand and…) is about the feelings of him and his generation in this period of time. The works of founder of NY band Hypernova after moving back to his homeland gets more and more personal.

♪♫ Listen: “Faramoushi” + album stream

Raam on Soundcloud, Bandcamp, Facebook, Twitter, www.

Salam Riazi, feat. Habib Meftah Boushehri “From Boushehr <BR> Soundscapes of South Music”

Salam Riazi, feat. Habib Meftah Boushehri “From Boushehr
Soundscapes of South Music”

This is an experimental interpretation based on motifs and rhythms of music of Southern province of Bushehr; the first collaboration between Salam Riazi as composer and Paris- based percussionist Habib Meftah Boushehri, both originally from the same region.

♪♫ Listen: album sampler

Habib Meftah Boushehri on Soundcloud, Facebook, www.

Shahram Shojaee <BR> “The Concepts Among Stars”

Shahram Shojaee
“The Concepts Among Stars”

This is the first solo album of the jazz drummer Shahram Shojaee, recorded in collaboration with other talented musicians such as Hamze Yegane and Arian Keshishi. “The Concepts Among Stars” is a fusion of jazz, rock and some Middle Eastern moods.

♪♫ Listen: album sampler

Shahram Shojaee on Soundcloud, Facebook, Instagram.

Siavash Amini <BR> “TAR”

Siavash Amini
“TAR”

Continuing his experiments combining elements of drone and modern classical music, Tehran based composer Siavash Amini`s 4th solo LP “TAR” explores the fragile tensions between an individual and a collective subconscious.

♪♫ Listen: “Rivers of Tar” + album stream

Siavash Amini on Soundcloud, Facebook.