As a tribute to a defiant and rich heritage and to a world of beauty and unknown depth, the celebrated Iranian singer Mahsa Vahdat releases her first solo album.
After six albums with different kinds of collaboration (with her sister Marjan, with the American soul singer Mighty Sam McClain and with the Norwegian choir SKRUK), she now for the first time carries a project under her own name.
The album is called ?Traces of an Old Vineyard?. It contains her own melodies to poems by the classical Iranian poets Khayyam, Hafez and Rumi. The musicians who are accompanying her are Tord Gustavsen on piano and keyboards, Shervin Mohajer on the Persian string instrument kamancheh and Ali Rahimi on percussion.
The poems on the album express a great variation on the many aspects of love and life: devotion, desires, ecstasy, tensions, disappointments and sorrows. The musical idea of the record is to develop the beauty of Persian poetry and vocal tradition within the frame of a meeting between Iranian contemporary instrumental music and a jazz pianist. All the songs are arranged by Tord Gustavsen with whom Mahsa has worked several times before.
The recording was done in Kulturkirken Jakob, Oslo in September 2014 by the sound engineer Martin Abrahamsen and the producer Erik Hillestad. The album will be released internationally from the end of January 2015.
Through the year several concerts will happen, it started with a release concert in Kulturkirken Jakob on the 24th of January. Another highlight will happen on the 9th of July when Mahsa, Tord Gustavsen and other musicians will present the repertoire during the Istanbul International Jazz Festival.
The album is supported by the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Fond for Ut?vende Kunstnere.
Mahsa Vahdat has been granted the Freemuse Award (2010). Her previous projects have been given great reviews in many countries. ?Twinklings of hope? (2012) was regarded as a ?Top of the World Album? by the Songlines Magazine, and won the ?Independent Music Award? in 2013.
Tracks:
1. Vanishing Lines 4:21
2. My Ruthless Companion 4:01
3. Sleepless Eyes 6:09
4. Wind In Tresses 5:26
5. Pledge With the Jar 4:30
6. Beauty On the Run 5:04
7. Morning Sun of Hope 3:08
8. Kissing the Wine Jug 4:24
9. The Flower's Garment 3:57
10. Once Again Beside Myself 6:06
11. Fire In the Heart 4:46
12. Dialogue With the Beloved 4:58
