Country-blues band jazzes up Iran

Behzad Omrani’s Bomrani disrupts the local music scene with non-traditional rhythms.

DUBAI: Behzad Omrani grew up in Tehran, in a house ringing to the sounds of his father’s record collection, mostly the twangs and twirls of American Country and Western music. Years later, Omrani formed the group Bomrani, one of Iran’s first country-blues bands.

The group is also among the handful of bands that have started disrupting the local music with performances a world away from Iran’s traditional rhythms. Bomrani is bringing forth its unique style of music, which has garnered the praise of locals in Tehran. “I really like Johnny Cash, Muddy Waters, Bob Dylan, John Denver, BB King, Gogol Bordello, Eric Clapton and Roger Waters,” said Omrani.



His father brought his records back from his studies in Tennessee. Omrani’s distinctive gruff voice and six-piece band have now taken those influences onto the stages of Tehran, a considerable achievement in a country where some once called America the ‘Great Satan’.

Five-member band Pallett is another musical group that has been gaining ground with its jazzier fusions of clarinet, cello and double bass. Musical styles of both the bands have been termed as refreshing alternatives to generic pop that is breaking out in other parts of the music scene within the country.

But the subject matter of their songs is less likely to jolt traditionalists in the Islamic state. A Thousand Tales, one of Pallett’s most popular songs, is infused with imagery of soldiers and revolutionaries, evoking memories of Iran’s eight-year-long war with Iraq.

“The brother is covered with blood. The brother will rise, like the sun into a house,” sings its frontman Omid Nemati. Fan Sarah Nasiri said the song brought back images of her childhood. “It brings back to life those dark years. In many ways, we lost our childhood because of the war,” said Nasiri, whose brother served in the war as a pilot.



Pallett’s songs pop up on Spotify and iTunes but band co-founder Rouzbeh Esfandarmaz said he does not know who is selling the royalties to use the songs, or getting money from them being played. “We get no money and we don’t even know who is selling them. Whoever it is, I hope that they get what they deserve!” he joked. They have to resort to making money the old-fashioned way at home, selling 60,000 copies of their first CD, Mr Violet. 

Published in The Express Tribune, November 17^th, 2014.

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