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- Daughter of late Iranian president jailed for ‘spreading lies’ - IRAN: Annual report on the death penalty 2016 - Taheri Facing the Death Penalty Again - Dedicated team seeking return of missing agent in Iran - Iran Arrests 2, Seizes Bibles During Catholic Crackdown
- Trump to welcome Netanyahu as Palestinians fear U.S. shift
- Details of Iran nuclear deal still secret as US-Tehran relations unravel - Will Trump's Next Iran Sanctions Target China's Banks? - Don’t ‘tear up’ the Iran deal. Let it fail on its own. - Iran Has Changed, But For The Worse - Iran nuclear deal ‘on life support,’ Priebus says
- Female Activist Criticizes Rouhani’s Failure to Protect Citizens
- Iran’s 1st female bodybuilder tells her story - Iranian lady becomes a Dollar Millionaire on Valentine’s Day - Two women arrested after being filmed riding motorbike in Iran - 43,000 Cases of Child Marriage in Iran - Woman Investigating Clinton Foundation Child Trafficking KILLED!
- Senior Senators, ex-US officials urge firm policy on Iran
- In backing Syria's Assad, Russia looks to outdo Iran - Six out of 10 People in France ‘Don’t Feel Safe Anywhere’ - The liberal narrative is in denial about Iran - Netanyahu urges Putin to block Iranian power corridor - Iran Poses ‘Greatest Long Term Threat’ To Mid-East Security |
Thursday 12 April 2012Iranian-American Musician Mixes Music Styles
VOA News -- Austin is the capital of Texas and the self-proclaimed "Live Music Capital of the World." In the 1970s, musicians in Austin fused rock 'n roll and country music. Now, Austin is one of America's fastest growing cities and a place where music from around the world comes together. Iranian-American musician and songwriter Fared Shafinury is developing another sound, combining Persian classical music and American styles.At home in Austin, Shafinury plays the Persian setar. Iranians love this music, but Shafinury says others are intrigued by it. "Americans find it exotic, mysterious and interesting, but they can relate to it," he says. On a hot day in Austin, Shafinury sometimes shares his music with friends on a hillside near a spring-fed pool. Shawn Bayly plays rock and blues with a local band, but he joined in the Persian jam. "I like to listen to everything and I like to try to play everything I hear," Bayly says. "I was listening to him and trying to find the chords and accentuate some of the melodies." Fared Shafinury was born and raised in Texas. His parents immigrated from Iran, and he heard classical Persian music at home and everything from country and rock to Mexican Tejano outside. "I don't know if I am Iranian, American, Hispanic, Texan," adds Shafinury. "Texan is an identity. Who am I?" He says he plays music to sort it all out. Although the melodies are first and foremost Persian, other influences creep in. He says Persian music leaves ample room for improvisation. "It's very jazzy, actually. Persian music has these scales and within the parameter of these scales you have different melodic frameworks and within each framework of melody you have some liberty to improvise and create upon," Shafinury explains. Whether playing solo or with a group of Iranian and American musicians called Tehranosaurus, Shafinury says his goal is to bridge cultures. "That's my ultimate goal. It is to bring understanding between cultures, between nations, between different people from all walks of life," Shafinury notes. This month, Fared Shafinury will play a series of concerts with Tehranosaurus in San Francisco before returning to Austin. |