I am certain that if Iranian rockers were operating on a grander arena, Shahriar and Khak would have had a great chance of being known internationally.
I don't know about you, but I only recently found out about the band Khak operating out of Germany, and their album Ashegham Bash. And right away I knew that this is one piece of work that deserves our attention. I have to admit that I have not bought their CD yet for a couple of reasons: 1. I have no idea where and how to buy it 2. Their songs (except for one song) are freely available for downloading off of their own Web site. Otherwise, I'd be more than delighted to pay for a fresh copy even if it were only to promote their work.
The very first thing that will jump at you by listening to Khak, is Shahriar Khatam's (vocals and guitar) voice. It kind of reminds me of Chris Rea. It's one of those mesmerizing types of voice that you either love or hate. I am one who has fallen in love with this guy's vocals. His vocal range is also pretty impressing (however I prefer his deeper range personally). Then comes the musicianship starting from the Drums all the way to the guitar melodies. This is one tight band. I am certain that if Iranian rockers were operating on a grander arena, Shahriar and Khak would have had a great chance of being known internationally.
Ashegham Bash can be divided into two parts: one part really good songs, and the other brilliant outstanding songs. The opener Sabsi Forush is a nostalgic piece that prepares you for the pleasure ahead. My favorites of the bunch are Parastuye Mohajer, Che Mishe Kard, and Dalile Budan. I'm not sure why they decided to include Khoshkel, the one 6/8 tune among this collection. I guess it has something to do with our inherent Iranian nature to play that beat one way or another. But even that one is a nice piece of work and has nothing to do with your typical 6/8, except for the fact that the lyrics on a 6/8 beat always tend to veer towards cheap stuff like "maro maro tanhaam nazaar".
It is not clear who writes the music or the lyrics for the band, as the site does not provide that information. But whoever has a hand it must be a fan of Pink Floyd, as sometimes the melodies resemble the sound of Pink Floyd a little bit too closely. But regardless of questions about the originality of the music, they are doing a fabulous job, and they sure deserve a serious round of applause. The album closes with this interesting mellow piece Az Khak in which Shahriar does this voice-over thing where he introduces the members of the band; Khodayar Bahmani (Drums and Percussion), Konstantinos Kostis (Bass), Afshin Tahmasebi (Piano & Keyboard).
On their Web site you can find some pictures of them playing live (god I wish I could have been there). And they also feature a guest guitarist named Human. He must have been involved in their live performances. Speaking of which, they have included some live versions of the songs off of the album that if nothing else takes balls to do! But they mesh so good together that even the live recordings are a pleasure to listen to. Of course the live versions do not do justice on the smooth vocals, and it is my opinion that the Drum sound is kind of overpowering in the live versions, but who cares? Khodayar can beat that drum better than most drummers out there so let him bang his thang!!!
I for one have pressed a CD off of the whole collection (except for Ey To which for some peculiar reason is the one and only song not available for download) and it's getting heavy rotation in my car, not to mention my computer at home, work, and my mp3 player. And if I were you, I would do just the same. These guys are worth it.
