Meera (band)
| Meera | |
|---|---|
| General information | |
| origin | Tehran , Iran |
| Genre (s) | Alternative rock , hard rock |
| founding | 1996 |
| resolution | Year unknown |
| Founding members | |
| Babek Akhoondi (until 2005) | |
| Farzam Rahimi | |
| Last occupation | |
singing |
Farzam Rahimi |
guitar |
Pouya Mahmoudi (from 2006) |
| Aydin Naeeni | |
| former members | |
| Pouya Nikpour (until 2003) | |
| Kasra Ebraheemee (until 2005) | |
| Reza Moghaddas (until 2005) | |
| Dara Darayee (until 2005) | |
guitar |
Agah Bahari (2004 to 2006) |
Meera was an Iranian rock band from Tehran . They belonged to the few music groups in the country officially recognized by the Iranian government and were among the pioneers of modern Iranian rock music .
history
Meera was founded in 1996 in Tehran by guitarist Babek Akhoondi and singer Farzam Rahimi . The band name Meera is the name of a girl in a novel Rahimi read during his school days. The choice of the band name has no background. In the first few years of its existence, the band struggled with the circumstances in their homeland. It was common for state-controlled music producers to buy their music from artists in order to have it recorded by well-known solo artists and later publish it under their names without further advertising. Meera's goal was to keep her music free from such influences. In 2004 the debut album Meera was released on Gienne Records in Iran and Australia . In autumn 2004 there were protests by Iranian musicians against the publication policy of the state authorities and the associated restrictions for musicians, and many Iranian bands - including Meera - had to cancel their planned concerts.
The band initially jammed together with members of the Iranian metal band DNA without wanting to turn to another genre stylistically. A contract was signed with music manager Nicholas Pattison and the Iranian beverage company Sanich (for whom Rahimi worked at the time) had expressed an interest in sponsoring the band . But in 2005, in addition to drummer Kasra Ebrahimi, two more members left the band. Main songwriter Babek Akhoondi moved to Germany , Reza Moqqaddas to Canada . After bassist Dara Darayee decided to work in the world music project RUMI, Meera only consisted of singer Rahimi at the end of 2005. The Iranian band manager Golnoosh Jaffari managed to get Meera. In 2006, Pouya Mahmoudi and Aydin Naeeni, two former members of Barad , became guitarists . In June 2006 the debut album was also released in North America. After a few sold out concerts, where musicians from O-Hum helped out, Farzam Rahimi emigrated to Canada. Since then there have been no publications and no more live performances. The band is considered dissolved.
style
The musicians wanted to differentiate themselves stylistically from the state publications, but had no intention of adopting a particular style of rock music. Her texts, written in Farsi and later in English, deal partly with religious topics such as the love of God, but also the bond with nature. Singer Farzam Rahimi described the band's music as "Persian Alternative [Rock]". One reviewer compared the music to the early Dire Straits or Creed .
Discography
- 2004: Meera (album, Gienne Records)
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Biography of Babek Akhoondi. Website of the band Orientation , archived from the original on January 19, 2010 ; Retrieved September 27, 2012 .
- ↑ a b c d Nassir Mashkouri: An interview with Farzam the Singer / Songwriter of Iranian rock band, Meera. zirzamin.se, January 17, 2003, accessed on January 16, 2010 .
- ^ The Most Problematic Art Form in Iran. (No longer available online.) Freemuse.org, October 21, 2004, archived from the original on January 19, 2010 ; accessed on January 16, 2010 (English). Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ a b Nassir Mashkouri: Interconnect Iranian Meera. (No longer available online.) TehranAvenue.com, June 2004, archived from the original on October 31, 2010 ; accessed on January 16, 2010 (English). Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ^ Zebra: Meera at Taraneh: Rock in the Open. (No longer available online.) TehranAvenue.com, January 2006, archived from the original on July 16, 2011 ; accessed on January 16, 2010 (English). Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Esfand: Meera. zirzamin.se, September 16, 2006, accessed on January 16, 2010 .
