The music of Iran encompasses music that is produced by Iranian artists. In addition to the traditional folk and classical genres, it also includes pop and internationally celebrated styles such as jazz, rock, and hip hop.
Iranian pop music refers to pop music originated in Iran, with songs mainly in Persian and other regional languages of the country. It is also widely referred to as Persian pop music in the Western world.
Sharaam Naazri is a contemporary Iranian singer, musician and composer of Iranian traditional music. He has been accompanied by some of the authorities of Iranian traditional music such as Jalil Shahnaz, Hossein Alizadeh, Jalal Zolfonoun and Faramarz Payvar. He has also worked with his son Hafez Nazeri, a composer.
Iranian rock refers to rock music produced by Iranian artists. Rock music has been popular in Iran since the late forties, with the emergence of singers such as Kourosh Yaghmaei, Farhad Mehrad, Fereydoon Foroughi and Habib Mohebian, but was largely forgotten after the Cultural Revolution. Like most rock styles, electric guitar and bass guitar and drums are the main instruments in this type of music. In some groups, the keyboard also has the task of adjusting the rhythms and symbols.
Leila Forouhar is an Iranian pop and classical singer. She was a child star, acting from the age of 3. She is one of the most successful women artists in Iranian society. She relocated to Turkey in 1984, then to Paris, before emigrating to Los Angeles in 1988.
Farhad Mehrad, commonly known as Farhad, was an Iranian pop, rock, and folk singer, songwriter, guitarist and pianist, who released the first English rock and roll album. He rose to prominence among Iranian rock, folk and pop musicians before the Islamic Revolution in 1979, but after the revolution, he was banned from singing for several years in Iran. His first concert after the Islamic Revolution was held in 1993. To this day, he is considered as one of the most influential and respected contemporary Iranian artists of all time.
Mohsen Namjoo is an Iranian singer-songwriter. His style of music is influenced by blues and rock as well as Iranian folk music. The lyrics of his songs are also a combination of Persian classical poems, his own lyrics, and contemporary poems; Namjoo uses the words freely, infusing them with irony and sarcasm to carry the music and to create a free style form of singing.
Avang Music is a record label and TV channel based in Los Angeles, California. It is best known for its extensive Persian music catalog.
Shahram Shabpareh is an Iranian Pop singer and songwriter.
Andy & Kouros were a Persian pop duo formed together in 1985, composed of Andranik "Andy" Madadian and Kouros Shahmiri.
Arashk was an Iranian hard rock/metal band that were active between 2004-2008 and based in Tehran.
Persian Talent Show is a reality television show competition that searches for the most talented acts across the Iranian diaspora. It is a talent show that features singers, dancers, magicians, comedians, and other performers of all ages. The program is broadcast internationally on the GLWiZ program, and is judged by Shahram Shabpareh, Behrouz Vossoughi and Faramarz Aslani. The first couple seasons have been aired from Dubai with plans to expand to locations in Europe and North America.
Black Cats are a popular Los Angeles based Persian pop group founded and produced by Shahbal Shabpareh. The group was originally formed in 1960s Tehran as a rock outfit with members Hassan Shamaizadeh, Shahram Shabpareh, Farhad Mehrad,Shahbal Shabpareh before being reborn in 1990s Los Angeles as a pop group. While band members and singers changed frequently over the next two decades, Shabpareh has consistently remained the group's manager and producer.
O-Hum is an Iranian rock band from Tehran, Iran formed in 1998. The band consists of Shahram Sharbaf, Nima Ramezan (guitar), Roozbeh Gholipour, Pouya Shomali (bass), Saman Vandadi.
Sepideh is an Iranian-born singer of Kurdish descent. She has recorded and toured around the world multiple times, performing songs in multiple languages including Persian, English, Armenian, Arabic, and Turkish.
The Robles was an Iranian rock band. The leader of this group was Shahram Shabpareh. Shahram Shabpareh worked in Black Cats group founded by his brother Shahbal. Ebrahim Nabavi mentioned the band in the Basement music book and said of them: "Rebel was the first rock band in Tehran Sound." The band's only album was released in 1970. The album's name was Indian Robels. The Robles group didn't have much success. But it made three great pop singers, Ebi, Siavash Ghomayshi and Shahram Shabpare, introduce themselves to the world of music.
Golden Ring was an Iranian rock band. This group was one of the major groups in Tehran Sound. Golden Ring was the first Iranian rock garage band. In the early 1960s, many bits started operating in Iran. Groups such as Black Cats, The Robles and Scorpio often copied European works. The only band that originally released original works that used Persian songs and Iranian rhythm was the Golden Ring band. The Golden Ring was the first destination for the famous Iranian pop singer Aref. Golden Ring was eventually dissolved in 1975 due to low reception.
"Zemestoon" (Winter) (Persian:زمستون) is a song written by Jahanbakhsh Pazouki, composed by Cheshm Azar Group, and sung by Afshin Moghaddam on his first album of the same name. Zemestoon is regarded as Moghaddam's most famous song, though he only performed it live once, two months before his death.
Iranian Heavy Metal is a subset of Iranian rock. The genre originated in Iran in the late 1970s and gained much popularity after the Iranian Revolution. Many heavy metal Subgenres, such as death metal, are known in Iran thanks to rock and metal festivals in neighboring countries like Georgia. Heavy metal has been widely introduced into Iranian music since the Iran-Iraq War. Iranian heavy metal is heavily influenced by American metal. Heavy metal is still banned in Iran, and the ban has become more severe in recent years as heavy metal has become a symbol of underground musicians in Iran.
