Daramad - Daramad

The debut album for Daramad was recorded by a young recording engineer and enthusiast by the name of Tom Wearne over a weekend at his beach house overlooking the sea in Safety Bay, Western Australia - an idyllic and relaxed setting to record about twelve hours of raw material.

During this recording Daramad focussed on original material and tunes that captured the spirit and uniqueness of the band. The rich variety of sound textures heard here reflects both the cultural diversity and multi-instrumentalism of Daramad, and the Persian classical background of two of its members is a strong influence in their sound.

The music is woven together like a Persian carpet of vibrant tonal colours and subtly evolving motifs. Like a carpet, there are many strands to the Daramad sound – the vivid interactions between plucked strings and winds, the rhythmic drive that propels the music and the coalescing of traditional influences with the improvisational energy of jazz.

DARAMAD EPK

To traverse a Persian rug requires a crossing of borders, those often geometrically symmetrical boundaries that frame the interior, the central field, of the carpet. The pieces of music on Daramad unfold by means of a similar traversal… This compositional methodology (as well as the number and variety of the tracks) allows each performer and each instrument to surface individually as bright threads that cannot be untangled from the collective fabric. Arjun von Caemmerer (Australianjazz.net)

...and earning the mantle of, 'Almost, but not quite single of the week' is this profound piece of witchcraft from local jazz-improv ensemble with strong Arabic associations Daramad. The title track has already earned kudos featuring on the Jazzaziz compilation, but it's the flip-side Zornery that takes the royal biscuit. Working around a veritable snakepit of stealthy Middle Eastern rhythms, it operates like some kind of deadly tango noir as various guitar-like instruments encircle one another in a fevered embrace. Hunters for something a bit different will no doubt be salivating with anticipation for the upcoming album launch. [Drum Media]

The group dynamics and improvisations in that rich Middle Eastern context, colour this authentic fusion, rewarding the close listener with jubilant exoticism. Peter Wockner, (Jazz and Beyond)

Fusing the sounds of the middle east with a strong improvisational jazz bent, Daramad sound like nothing and noone else. It’s difficult to imagine this music hailing from anywhere in particular, but with it’s fluid rhythms, sinewy melodies and exceptional musicianship it’s great that we can claim such an original musical creation as our own. [Adam Trainer, Music Director RTRFM 92.1]