A review on "Tehran Avenue Music Festival" TAMF/ 2005

 

Nassir Mashkouri

www.nassir-mashkouri.com

December/ 2005

www.interconnect-iranian.com

 

The good thing about music festivals, especially the kind of electronic festival like TAMF, is that you get to feel the pulse of the new wave of the Iranian music scene. And I think I should admit the fact that it gave me enough motivation to go on and write this review. I believe that's the reason why the directors of TAMF prepared the third round of the Tehran Avenue Music Festival. They wanted to give us some motivation and hope, and help us believe in this movement by creating a platform where everyone, no matter what they have to say or how they say it, are able to express themselves, and that is hope. Specially these days that there isn't much hope left. This is the only place in our divided Iranian community where you can feel liberty. No restrictions whatsoever. These guys are experimenting with their and our limitations and pushing it to the point where it feels chaotic sometimes.

The first moment that I visited the homepage of the Tehran Avenue Music Festival, I can't say that I liked what I saw. A long list of names and titles of songs, which didn't make any sense at all. I felt lost. There was absolutely no information about any of those bands or musicians to help us (visitors) to orient ourselves and start to do what we were there for, "listening and voting". I just left the page immediately and it took a while for me to go back in there and start digging again.

I was vigilant and goal-oriented, therefore I could adjust myself to the surroundings and environment of the whole page. But when I think of those new visitors that happen to go there by accident or through some kind of curiosity then I am not sure if the design of the TAMF and organization of the page was a perfect idea.

So many bands and so many musicians with so many different styles and qualities needed a whole lot of time to look in to and get used to. Now that it has been a while since the voting has ended, I can push the play bottom on my window media player and listen to those tracks that I have chosen among the other tracks which are saved on my computer.

What I am trying to explain here is that, what was missing in the page was a sort of organizing list where we could at least find some information about where or which country this band are from. Plus some other relevant information. Believe me it makes a whole lot of difference.

However there were lots of interesting creative sounds in the festival that gave a ray of hope to the TAMF concept and dragged me out of my disappointment. The first track that got my attention and kept me in the listening page was by Abdi with Pesar Amoojoon. It is an unconventional and ironic track with a psychedelic rock sound (Pink floydish!). The track is unusual and somehow very interesting even if the lyric don't say much!. There is something about these ironic lyrics that has become a trendy thing in our modern song writing culture these days. Is it ignorance or is it an escape from the reality of life or is it a lack of freedom? In this case I think it's all together and it sounds cool.

The other impressive track, which grabbed my attention, was BSVR and a track called 'Hey you'. These guys are really bloody angry! And they definitely rocked the TAMF up. They have made the first Persian punk rock track ever and they sing it in Persian which is the only reason that it is of more interest to me.

Here are some of the fine and good quality tracks that I think, they could get to the level of popularity very easily, "If", we had a music industry that operated the way it should do:

1. 127/Miss You
2. Mehrad/Be Omid e To
3. Creep/Perfect G!
4. Halazoon/Beezseed
5. Kohan/Bardasht

The list is long, but here are four tracks amongst my favorites that have the kind of sound which oversteps the norms and traditions both musically and lyriclly, and are in Persian which I still believe that we should give more credit to:

1. Abdi/ Pesar Amoojoon
2.
BSVR/ Hey You
3.
Arsalan/ Ajoozeh
4.
Hich Kas/ Baa Ham

Let's remind ourselves that without Tehran Avenue's unlimited efforts and influences in the Iranian underground music scene, we wouldn't be here on this page reading this review. Thank you Tehran Avenue and "khaste nabashid!".

 

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