Pars Arts

Iranian Singer Mohsen Namjoo

Nazila Fathi of the New York Times writes about Iranian singer Mohsen Namjoo.

The first time I heard Namjoo, I was walking briskly down Bowery with my far-savvier friend’s headphones in my ear. “This sounds like Pearl Jam,” I said. It was the song “Toranj,” which doesn’t really sound a lot like Pearl Jam but still made me think of them for its jam-band qualities:

I think Fathi is right in the “Iranian Bob Dylan” description; Namjoo’s voice is really distinct. But his ability to blend traditional Iranian style with rock, blues, and other Western music is unparalleled by most accounts. He’s also got really great range. See for yourself (and check out the translated lyrics for the song “Zolf Bar Bad”):

To download Mohsen Namjoo’s music, see the list of songs available on Iranian.com, and check out his bio. As of right now, Namjoo’s site is down, but check out his writing on the awesome English-language TehranAvenue.