More from weird vintage psychedelia

Damn, exploring those different psych realms can be so rewarding, they are so myriad that require patience, but the weird vintage psychedelia from all side of the world has been creeping out over the years through the efforts of fanatical collectors and labels specialized amazing grooves like Now-Again Records , all this make more to suggest there’s a shit tonne of great psychedelic music out there to explore..

maybe ´cause an Iranian psych music don’t fit the mold of how the country I thought of.

So, you know I have digged through so many subgenres and bands that are influenced by psychedelia as on a lot of vibes from deepest in the rock, funk , electronic experimentation and world musics genres from various European, African and South American countries, but never from the Middle East, less if I talk about Iran, maybe ´cause an Iranian psych music don’t fit the mold of how the country I thought of. But this Iranian Psychedelic Rock Collection of 70s rock star Kourosh Yaghmaei comes to occupy its rightful place among early apreciated psych bands.

Singer-composer Yaghmaei is the ikon of Persian psychedelia who along with his brother, guitarist Kamran, created sounds that proving that, like most of the world at some point or another, Iran was far from immune from great sounds of garage rock and psychedelia.

The rest of this story, below…

By the early 1970s, Iranian artists such as diva Googoosh, her r&b influenced saxophonist and musical director Erik, sitar-funker Abbas Mehrpouya and the angelic tenor Pourain took the stage. Using indigenous instruments and forms and adding electric guitar as well as other Western influences, these artists set a new standard for Middle Eastern pop music. And so did Kourosh Yaghmaei. But Kourosh was of a different sort.

While the aforementioned artists are giants in their own right, Kourosh stands as the godfather of Persian Rock and Psychedelia. Alongside his brothers, the guitarist Kamran and the keyboardist Kambiz, the trio created vocal and musical stylings that bear a striking resemblance to Turkish fuzz-guitar god Erkin Koray. But their tales – such as “Hajme Kahali,” a meditation on loneliness, are uniquely Iranian.

Kourosh’s 7” singles are exceedingly rare. They are all masterful in their cross-cultural melding but they – alongside music Kourosh recorded in the mid-to-late 70s but never officially released – have languished since the Revolution, and are unheard of by those outside of the immediate Iranian diaspora. We at Now-Again Records, alongside Kourosh and his son Kaveh, have corrected this glaring inaccuracy in the world of Psychedelic Funk and Rock music with the Back From The Brink anthology, which we released in August 2011.

Kourosh Yaghmaei ‎– Back From The Brink

Pre-Revolution Psychedelic Rock From Iran: 1973-1979

Label:Now-Again Records

Format:3 × Vinyl, LP, Compilation

Country:US

Released:2011

Phonographic Copyright – Stones Throw Records

Arranged By – Kourosh Yaghmaei (tracks: A1 to F3)

Art Direction – Errol F. Richardson

Compilation Producer, Interviewer, Liner Notes [Edited By] – Eothen “Egon” Alapatt

Composed By – Kourosh

Liner Notes – Ali Reza Delavar, Niloofar Farzandshad

Liner Notes – Dario Margeli

Lyrics By – Aradalan Sarfaraz , Hakim Omar Khayyam , Hossein Bigham , Hossein Najafian , Mani Motiee , Mansour Tehrani , Mehdi Akhavan Langroodi , Moeeni Kermanshahi , Naser Mehdipoor

Producer , Liner Notes – Kourosh Yaghmaei

Remastered By – Sean C., Will C.

Comes in 6-panel gatefold jacket with an 24 page booklet with an interview, photos and credits.

Printed in China. Vinyl pressed and assembled in the USA.

The durations are not printed on the release.

TracklistHide

1 Gol E Yakh 5:07

2 Dar Enteha 4:09

3 Hajme Khali 2:43

4 Paiz 4:20

5 Leila 4:28

6 Del Dareh Pir Misheh 2:54

7 Akhm Nakon 3:25

8 Shirin Joon 3:31

9 Ghazal 5:18

10 Tavalode Yek Seda 4:23

11 Mosafere Shahre Baran 6:01

12 Saghe 3:25

13 Entezar 4:23

14 Niyayesh 5:34

15 Saraabe Toe 4:35

16 Reyhan 3:49

17 Baroona 4:27

18 Khaar 6:49

19 Havar Havar 3:46

20 Ashiooneh 4:36

21 Bachehaye Khoobe Koocheh 3:39

Kourosh Yaghmaei was 10 when his father gave him a gift that revealed his talent for music. It was a Santour (The Persian Traditional string-percussive /Dulcimer). According to his mother, when he opened his present, after a few tries, he started to play a tune. Not to mention that he had never touched a Santour before. After 5 years of practice he gained precious knowledge of Iranian traditional music along with excellent skills in playing Santour.

At the age of 15 he chose to play the guitar, which he has always loved. He gathered his own Pop/Rock bands which he both composed for and played in. He mostly played the lead guitar. In fact Kourosh introduced Rock music to Iran with a Pop formation of songs. At that time he received several tempting offers from Western musicians and bands’ managers to join them. In his senior year as a Social Science student at the Iran National University (DANESHGHAH-e MELLI-e IRAN), Kourosh released his first single hit GOL-e YAKH. The poem was written by his classmate, now-famous poet Mahdi Akhavan Langeroudi. This memorable love song led him to worldwide fame. He orchestrated, composed, played and sang the song. The song received international attention. It was re-played and sang in several other languages by their local musicians. His voice was banned for 17 years after 1979. In these years he published children stories on books and cassettes. He released an instrumental album called DIYAAR (Homeland). It was an orchestration of endemic songs for Grand National Orchestra. He also took some guitar students. His first album SIB-e NOGHRE’EE (Silvery Apple) was released after the ban was lifted. His picture was only allowed to be printed in his albums after 24 years. It has to be noted that Kourosh has learnt all different aspects of music without having any music teacher or instructor.

Kourosh Yaghmaei