"An abstraction of what human culture is about"

Nassir Mashkouri

www.nassir-mashkouri.com

January/ 2004

www.interconnect-iranian.com

Last night was the opening night of "The Culture in Exile Music Festival" in Gothenburg, Sweden, presented by Farahang Association. From the very first minute that I had found out about this event, I knew that one way or another I was going to make it to see Sussan Dayhim. I had seen her perform about 2 years ago in Gothenburg, without having any prior knowledge of her whatsoever. And frankly, the whole experience was quite a surprise for me back then. Last night however was a different story, cause this time around I knew her pretty well. In the course of two years, I have become very familiar with her music and art and have read numerous articles about her. So, when I sat in my seat at the Pustervik Teatern Salon, I was ready for a journey through time and space where somehow I could also connect with my roots and ultimately myself.

The event started with some speeches about the Festival and Iranian contemporary music in exile, which is not what I am about to review here. Next I was blown away by the opening act, Shohaz, a new contemporary band, which performed an incredible style of crossover music between Baloochi folk and contemporary Jazz. They were simply splendid and they deserve a review all on to their own, and I am hoping that in the very near future, we will be able to cover them on the pages of Interconnect-Iranian. But on this particular night, my reason for being there was to see Ms. Dayhim.

The theatre was almost packed and you could just feel the curiosity level of the crowd. Center stage was a sound mixer, which was the only instrument that she used throughout the whole show because her performance was supported by recorded background music. She performed 7 pieces from different projects that she has been involved in, like movie sound tracks, installation arts, and her personal unreleased pieces. Some of the beats and rhythms were actually transformations of her voice, using computer programs, the result of which had a surrealistic effect on the listener.
Sussan is a very down to earth artist who makes easy for the audience to connect with her. She is a multifaceted composer that takes any listener to a state of equilibrium, where for example as an Iranian you no longer are the product of what the Islamic society and its' cultural limitations has made you to conform by. You simply become a human; one who is and has always been a crossover of cultural differences, traditions and new ideas. At least this is what I experienced from the artistic expression of her performance. To me it felt like a journey through the folk music of the world, as if at times I was standing in downtown Manhattan and moments later somewhere in Africa or Kurdistan, and then suddenly I would appear in the North Pole listening to Eskimos. Yet all of it sounded so familiar, like the melodies that I had heard in my childhood.
In the middle of the concert she explained that she has only had a few opportunities of performing for a mostly Iranian audience, and that each and every one of them had been in Sweden, which was rather surprising. At the end as she started to communicate with the audience, they asked her to perform Meykhane (Wine Cave) but she explained very sadly that she needed her live band and unfortunately it was impossible for her to perform it without them. It was then that I realized that the people who were there actually know her pretty well and even she herself was a bit surprised by hearing the audience ask for various pieces. But it was obvious that she was pleased and overwhelmed of all the knowledge that the primarily Iranian audience had about her.

Sussan Dayhim was born in Iran and she has been living in New York for a long time now, but I can't see her as an Iranian or American woman, either traditionally or culturally. Her art and personality seems to be the result of her love to the cultural differences of the world, which she uses so beautifully just like a painter who paints with different colors. And when you look at the painting, you don't see the colors anymore; you just experience the artistic expression. Her work is not only a crossover or experimental but a pure post-modern art form.

Sussan is the world's daughter as her music belongs to the world. Her compositions are professionally created and derived from so many different cultures that you can't find any distinct link to a particular corner of the world, despite the fact that prior to performing her pieces, she explains the whole concept of the composition and the cultural point of inspiration for that piece. Her work is an abstraction of what human culture is about.

Her music is can be described as the climax of what we call world music today, yet somehow she manages to guide you to find your Iranian roots in it. It simply is a superb experience that in my opinion is rare among the world music artists.

At the end she finished her show with a very old piece that she had made for the homeless in New York. It was called "No Hot Meal for the Street Dog" which was a tune with Hip Hop rhythms and her own artistic abstract style that she sang on it. I have to be honest with you here. This one wasn't exactly my favorite piece that I really wanted to hear in closing. Nonetheless, it was an amazing night and I was very pleased with the whole event including the sound and even the lighting. I couldn't have asked for a better experience myself, except for maybe a better selection of her music that would not have been as monotonous. Her set sounded pretty much the same as the collection that I had heard her perform 2 years ago. But even considering that, she made my night.

After the show I was so pleased when I saw so many Swedish people in the crowd and privately it made me so proud of who I am. It felt good for a change, not to be associated with Islamic fundamentalism and instead be respected as a people with a progressive culture and Art.

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