my tehran for sale
music
One of the strikingly different elements of MY TEHRAN FOR SALE is its contemporary Iranian soundtrack. Many of the artists involved in the soundtrack are part of the alternative Iranian music scene and many perform their music underground in Iran.
The soundtrack features the work of modern Iranian musician Mohsen Namjou, who is known as the "Bob Dylan of Iran". His music and words are very emotional and, in his works, he creates an exceptional fusion between various styles from traditional Iranian to blues and rock.
On his official website Namjou says:
"Whenever I've wanted to laugh at the contradictions in my society I use the laughter and playfulness of the blues scale and its singing style. I blend it with the Iranian scale and singing style. Then whenever I've wanted to cry and express my sadness I direct the Iranian singing style towards blues or find refuge in reciting poems."
Namjou's songs are featured as follows in the film:
OMRI DEGAR BEBAYAD - sung by Marzieh in the truck
ZOLF BAR BAD - playing during the opium smoking scene
NEO-KANTIAN IDEOLOGY - playing as Marzieh walks in the final scene
TORANJ - plays over end credits.
Also featured in the film are the works of Haale Gafori and Babak Mirzakhani.
Haale Gafori is a Bronx-born woman of Iranian descent whose name means the 'halo around the moon.' Her songs are trance inducing, rhythmically propulsive, and lyrically engaging tapestries that draw on both Persian mystical and American psychedelic musical traditions (www.haale.com). Her song HASTEE plays on the car stereo in the scene where Marzieh and Saman drive home from Sadaf's party and Marzieh hallucinates over the lights of Tehran.
Babak Mirzakhani is the frontman of Persian Blues outfit Mirza Band and performs his song EMSHAB (TONIGHT) as part of the underground concert scene in the film. He has been playing and performing for over fifteen years in Iran and was previously a teacher at the Tehran Conservatory of Music.
Also forming part of the soundtrack are many songs based on traditional folk music or using the words of famous Persian poetry by Hafez and Forough Farrokhzhad.
