So last year the FreeWheelin/ Music Safari discovered that on this date in 1975, a very talented world fusion guitarist, Shahab Tolouie was born! That’s him at the start of this post, he is pictured with a guitar of his creation an instrumentally speaking a very cool guitar. Well technically speaking, it is not a guitar it is a
Fusetar (eng.“fusion”, “tar” – farsi. “strings” – fusion of strings). This three-necked instrument represents the culmination of his sound experiments in search of a mode of expression of his new musical concepts. The fusion of Setar, flamenco guitar, and fretless guitar
Now the reason that this Iranian born musician created the Fusetar was to fuse the musical traditions of Iran and Spain by combining them into his own expression of Persian and Flamenco fusion. He has named the fusion of any ethnic music style with Spanish flamenco Ethnoflamenco.
Here’s what Shahab says about music:
Music is the common language and element that connects all people, nations and races together without borders. Musicians are citizens of the borderless world, and they create the best way of expression without fighting. These are the gifts that music brings to us all.
Now if you have read this blog before you know that I am in total agreement with that sentiment!!
After Shahab finished high school he left Iran and went to Seville Spain. While in Spain he completed the flamenco master course and attained the highest level of achievement “Nivel Alto” Returning to Iran Shahab was recognized as one as the best guitar players in his homeland by The House of Music of Iran”
The style he has created by fusing Flamenco and Persian music “Ethnoflamenco” also uses lyrics from the ancient Sufi poems of Moulana Rumi, the unique Ghazals of Hafez and the poems of Ferdousi. In addition, as a multi-instrumentalist, he incorporates different traditional Persian instruments such as the Setar, Laud, Mandola, Daf and Dammam, along with the Flamenco Guitar, into his compositions.
Ok I can see I will be off to explore some of those traditional Persian instruments and the people who play them!!
I listened this morning to Shahab’s 2009 release Tango Perso and really enjoyed it, once again I have no idea what the translation of the lyric is but the overall effect of the music was great… and yes, it certainly is a mixture of the to musical styles!!!
You can check out more about Shahab Tolouie at:
His website: http://www.shahab-tolouie.com/category/news/
Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/shahab.tolouie.fanpage
EthnoCloud:http://ethnocloud.com/Shahab_Tolouie/
YouTube:http://www.youtube.com/musicatlas
Here’s the Shahab Tolouie Quartet performing “Noche Azul (Blue Night” in Prague!! So Happy Birthday, Shahab!!!