Ojala
Javier Palacios and Kamran Hooshmand
July 12, 2001
The Iranian
Partially by research and partially through listening, we know that there
are many musical links between Spanish/Latin and Persian cultures. The first
link happened through the Moorish influence in Spain from the 7th to the
14th century. According to the Grove dictionary of music, among the musicians
who were influencial in introducing Eastern musical modes to Spain was a
freed Persian slave named Zaryab (Ziryab) who established the first school
of Andalucian music in southern Spain. After the conquest of the Americas,
many of these modes and rhythms made their way to the Americas.
A much more recent connection between the two cultures was made during
the decades extending from 1950's to 1970's when Latin American popular
music was spreading all over the world. Iran was no exception. Much like
many American jazz musicians of this era, Iranian "pop" musicians
would "dub" popular Latin tunes with Persian lyrics. And they
would sound great because the feel of the scales used in Latin love songs
would fit well with Persian musical tastes, and thus would sound pleasantly
familiar to Iranian ears.
This album is a mixture of the old and the new connections between Latin
and Persian musics. We have translated our popular tunes back to each of
our own languages, often word by word. Expectedly, the lyrics of these popular
romantic songs in both cultures often speak of the same things: Love, passion,
loss, beauty, and deep and powerful sadness. Some are very danceable and
some contemplative.
Ojala is the CD project of Javier Palacios of Monterey, Mexico, and Kamran
Hooshmand of Tehran, Iran. -- From the album description
Selected songs
* En Los Dias
de Hoy / Tu in Zamuneh (In this Day and Age)
* Macorina
* Ojos Embriagados
/ Chemaane Mast (Drunken Eyes)
* Historia
de un Amor / Daastaane Yek Eshq (Story of a Love)
* Cucurucucu
Paloma (The Dove)
* Mañana
de Carnaval / Sobhe Carnaval (The Morning of Carnival)
Purchase Ojala CD HERE
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