Shekasteh Mouyeh
electronic sounds, voice & piano improvisation, and video art
Date: 2015Location: New York, New York, USA
PERFORMANCE
Shekasteh Mouyeh, Multimedia Performance. Saman Samadi, pianist, vocalist, video & electronic sounds artist.
MAY 23, 2015, Spectrum, NEW YORK, NY, USA.
MUSIC-VIDEO
Composer, video designer & editor: Saman Samadi; videographers: Arian Vaziridaftari, Saman Samadi.
Filmed on location in Tehran and Shiraz, Persia (New York, 2015)
RECORDING
Saman Samadi, Shekasteh Mouyeh (New York: Samadis' Records, 2016).
"Shekasteh Mouyeh" is a project that explores the amalgamation of Persian musical modes with electroacoustic techniques and materials while integrating video art and visual effects, resulting in a collection of innovative compositions. These compositions aim to challenge traditional paradigms by juxtaposing the complex modalities of Persian classical music with the avant-garde elements of electroacoustic soundscapes. Beyond the auditory realm, the project employs visual aesthetics through video art and effects, enriching the sensory experience and transcending conventional boundaries of musical expression. Furthermore, "Shekasteh Mouyeh" embraces live performance, using improvisational methods to expand the sonic possibilities inherent in Persian musical modes and establish a contextual connection with Western contemporary art music. In essence, this project exemplifies a dynamic fusion of cultural, artistic, and interdisciplinary elements, redefining conventional boundaries and offering a visionary perspective on the transformative potential of cross-cultural artistic endeavors in the contemporary musical landscape.
I traverse the serpentine byways of Persia's quintessence,
Where phantasmal specters weave chronicles of aeonian introspection,
In cadence with Persian sages and profundity's oracles,
I bear witness to existence's multifarious fabric, woven with abyssal profundity.
Amidst these labyrinthine thoroughfares and dim-lit alleyways, I embark,
Through lanes steeped in epochs of sage erudition,
Crossing paths with manifold enigmatic souls,
Their tales etched within the annals of time's majestic saga.
Here, the mystic's discerning gaze plunges, fathomless and probing,
A dervish's gyratory trance, an elevation from terrestrial fetters,
Their oratory cascades like meandering rivers, winding through cognitive terrain,
Incising profound tributaries into the minds of those who partake.
The bustling market bazaars pulsate with effervescent vitality,
Merchants spin sagas, both audacious and opulent,
Persian harmonic modalities, "dastgāh," saturate the ether,
As though melodies born from the innermost sanctum, resonating through this primordial dominion.
And "āvāz" ascends, soaring aloft as an avian phantom,
Sung by troubadours afire with fervent ardor,
Reverberating the enigmas of the concealed realm,
In the harmonics of their sacral incantations.
Each visage, a canvas painted by the hand of fate,
Eyes that shroud the enigmas of the cosmos,
In the mosaic of Persian existence, I perceive my being,
A witness to the labyrinthine interplay of destinies and conflagrations.
The poet's stanza, a mirror of the soul's ineffable yearnings,
In Hafez's lyrical verses, Rumi's perennial sagacity,
Their utterances, akin to celestial sparks, persist in kindling inspiration,
Guiding seekers through this boundless and enigmatic expanse.
—Saman Samadi