As it is always the case with acoustic guitars there is a tendency for this type of music to have a major Latin sound, but Shahin and Sepehr manage to interject their Persian influence just at the right time and in the appropriate dosage for the listener to distinguish the authentic flavor.

I've known about Shahin & Sepehr for the longest time. After all, correct me if I'm wrong but they are probably one of the most internationally famous Iranian duo musicians in the world to this date. Yet believe it or not, I had not heard a complete tune from them until now.

I had just filed them in that part of my brain that associates their type of music with stuff you hear in a restaurant or may I dare say in an elevator. Additionally, I had seen tidbits of their music videos here and there, and these guys just didn't look the part. To me they fit the image of investment bankers more than they did of that of musicians. But then as they say, looks could be deceiving.

From the very first note that you hear on their latest creation Nostalgia, you can tell that there is indeed a reason that these two have achieved the status that they have at this stage of their career. Not only are these guys simply superb musicians, but also they sure have tapped into what their fans are looking for. If you have any doubts about that, just check out their web site and see how scores of devoted fans believe that this is probably the finest music that their ears have ever heard. Now that may be somewhat of a stretch, but there is no doubt in my mind that this is music from the heart. While it may not be my favorite category of music, I'm actually enjoying it as I'm writing this review.

The opening track, Midnight in Madrid, is quite a delight. I'm certain that I will be playing back this track quite a few times in the future. I can already see lights flashing in my head about an upcoming compilation CD including this track! So are the following couple of tracks, Norooz and the title track Nostalgia. I'm especially pleased about the fact that these guys have not lost touch with their roots. As it is always the case with acoustic guitars there is a tendency for this type of music to have a major Latin sound, but Shahin and Sepehr manage to interject their Persian influence just at the right time and in the appropriate dosage for the listener to distinguish the authentic flavor. Some of my other favorites of the album are Ferdowsi in Love (I'm kind of biased here), Fellow Travelers, and Pictures of Lily, the only song with some vocals on the album. The lyrics of this song are in the Bassa language, sung by Armand Ntep from Cameroon. The translation is available inside the cover and the words are just simply beautiful. I was so touched by the lyrics as well as the little dedication of Shahin to his newborn Lily (what can I say, I'm a sucker about babies) that I was going to include this song among my favorites whether I liked it or not, but in this case I did like the song -honest!

I'm not sure if I agree with the description of this type of music as World Beat/Urban Groove as it is so indicated on their album cover. But that is just my personal view. I see the World Beat thing, but Urban Groove?! Hm… I need to look that up. Of course, the words on the cover have nothing to do with the fact that this album is indeed a beautiful piece of work. I usually have a tendency to get bored quickly with instrumental works, but in this case I actually sat through the whole thing with pleasure. Ok I confess I may have fast-forwarded a couple of tracks! But I certainly am glad that I came across this album. Now I need to go and do some research on their older works…