Daramad
Daramad explores the confluence between the music of the eastern world and improvised jazz. A mix of Persian and Australian backgrounds, they perform an original repertoire, as well as innovative arrangements of tunes by famed composers of the Islamic world.
Daramad's sound is a tapestry of woodwind and string textures, interwoven with dazzling rhythms played on traditional Persian percussion. Performing a broad sweep original repertoire, Daramad draws on Persian, Turkish and Arabic influences, all filtered though an Australian sensibility grounded in jazz and western art music.
Akin to a Persian carpet of vibrant tonal colours and subtly evolving motifs, there are many strands to Daramad’s sound – vivid interactions between the brightly toned Turkish baglama lute, double bass and winds and the rhythmic drive that propels the music, coalescing traditional influences with the improvisational energy of jazz.
In the Persian classical tradition the term Daramad refers to the process of beginning, appearing or emerging. The group emerged in 2009 in Fremantle during a series of improvised concerts aimed at bringing musicians of different cultural and musical backgrounds together at Kulcha Multicultural Arts of Western Australia.
Daramad are:
Reza Mirzaei - Turkish baglama & guitar
Saeed Danesh - tombek, daf & percussion
Kate Pass - double Bass
Mark Cain - saxophones, ethnic reeds and flutes
DARAMAD EPK
Singly, Daramad's many fine qualities are not so very rare; but you rarely find them all within one band. On the one hand, they offer serious musicianship, integrity, well-informed respect for various traditions. On the other, they are very playful, conversational, in-the-moment, fun, inventive. Composition and improvisation, eastern and western elements, tradition and innovation, quietude and jubilation are equally integral. Daramad's music is vital and substantial; it is worldly, but blessedly free of the crassness and/or tedious 'worthiness' that cripples rather too much so-called 'world' music. Doug Spencer (producer-presenter, 'The Weekend Planet', ABC Radio National
I have had the pleasure of following their career from their beginnings, as a by-product of a regular “session” at Kulcha in Fremantle, where artists from diverse cultural backgrounds were invited to improvise together. Their evolution has seen them develop a distinctive sound based on a solid basis of traditional Persian music with a seamless overlay of Western jazz improvisation. Their regular performances in Fremantle have seen them develop into one of the most accomplished acts to emerge on the WA world music scene in the last several years. They made a very strong impression at Fairbridge this year, in a number of performances including a very well received workshop on the history and techniques of Persian music. Steve Barnes (Artistic Director - Folkworld Fairbridge Festival)
You might like them for the musicianship, for the intriguing conceptual endeavour or exploring the junctions of styles that are worlds apart, for the near-psychedelic soundscapes that emerge or for the remarkable composition that has gone into this project. Lyndon Blue (Cool Perth Nights)
Immediately apparent in the first few bars of the opening tune from Daramad, transported on waves of exotic textures and sounds, a musical magic carpet ride, undulating on shifting rhythms and sailing thru clouds of diverging melodies. Music intricate and intriguing but never overtly technical, the players suppleness and passion making it a smooth and relaxed ride. Listening to Daramad is a bit like admiring a Persian rug: the details complex, the overall effect rich and soothing.
Rod Vervest (Perth International Arts Festival, Program Manager: Great-Southern)