Persianesque: Iranian Magazine

L to R: Farhangeh Tarss, by SKS, Thievery Corporation Album Cover Art

As a fan and friend of the amazingly talented DC-based electro-lounge pioneers, Thievery Corporation, we cannot tell you how excited we are about the release of Thievery’s much-anticipated album, Culture of Fear.

If you thought 2008′s Radio Retaliation couldn’t be topped, well we’ve got some news for you: Culture of Fear, the sixth album in a line of brilliant melodies that have served as the soundtrack to the past decade of our life, is yet another example of the genius that Eric Hilton–whose directorial debut film, Babylon Central, has received decent buzz–and Rob Garza are capable of producing over, and over, and over again.

Naturally, our favorite songs on the album feature sexy-voiced Persian songstress, Loulou.

She purrs three tracks on the album in her  unique sultry sound: ”Take My Soul”, “Where It All Starts”, and “Safar (The Journey)” are more than repeat-button-worthy, per usual. (Especially “Take My Soul”.)

“Safar”, which the multilingual singer who speaks English, Persian, and French, sings in Persian is not her first time using our beautiful language in her work. Her song “Omid” from Thievery’s 2002 masterpiece, The Richest Man in Babylon, was the singer/songwriter’s initial Persian language work.

Like “Omid”, “Safar” is on the slower tempo side and comes charged with a spiritual vibe that haunts…Whether you speak Persian or not.

The lyrics are:

(In Persian)

cheraa cheshm-haato  baaz nemikoni?  

delam baraayeh to tang shodeh  

cheraa delam baraat tang shodeh?                  

delam baraayeh to tang shodeh                        

chera cheshm-haato baz nemikoni?          

bacheh-ha koja rafteen?                                          

rafteen…    

dast beh dast  

koja rafteen?

(In English)

Why don’t you open your eyes?

I miss you

Why do I miss you?

I miss you

Why don’t you open your eyes?

Where did you guys go?

You went…

Hand in hand

Where did you go?

“Culture of Fear” by Thievery Corporation is now available for purchase via ESL Music’s shop, iTunes, and/or Amazon .

Watch Loulou do her thing in the official video for “Take My Soul”, below.

Good news for all you reality TV junkies!

The tentatively named “Shahs of Sunset” (Kings of Sunset) are on their way to a TV screen near you.

BravoTV’s Andy Cohen announced on Ryan Seacrest’s “On Air with Ryan Seacrest” his new partnership with his fellow media mogul on the docu-series which will follow an affluent “group of young Persian-American friends” in their 20s from greater LA, whom Cohen calls “fun and family-oriented,” on his blog, further sharing his excitement. Continue Reading

L to R, "Self Portrait: Sanctioned", "Still Life: Haft Sin" by Taravat Talepasand

Iranian artists seem to be the subject of many exhibits in the past few years, but one of our favorites has managed to impress us yet again with her work alongside her emotional, physical, and mental strength.

Contemporary Iranian-American artist extraordinaire and our good friend, Taravat Talepasand, who recently survived a major life experience–one that we hope you won’t ever have to go through–a near fatal accident…is now more alive than she was before the unfortunate occurrence. Continue Reading

L to R: Photo Tapestry from the series; "Time of the Butterfly", 2011, Mixed Media, "Playboard", 2011--Courtesy of Institut für Auslandsbeziehungen

On the occasion of their 20th anniversary, the IFA (Institut für Auslandsbeziehungen/Institute for Foreign Relations) galleries in Berlin and Stuttgart present “Political Patterns: Changing Ornaments”, the third exhibition in the series “Cultural Transfers“.

The series addresses the reciprocal influence among different cultures, which are manifested in political, economical and social structures as well as social norms and artistic statements.

“Political Patterns” examines the changing role of ornaments in today’s globalized world, underscoring the fact that cultural influences are always reciprocal. Continue Reading