Various: Deeyah presents Iranian Woman – review

http://www.theguardian.com/music/2013/oct/24/various-deeyah-iranian-women-review

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Iran has a long history of powerful female singers, but after the revolution in 1979 women were banned from performing in public unless they were granted special permission or followed official guidelines. But many kept singing, as shown by this powerful new set compiled by Deeyah, the award-winning film-maker who was born to Afghan-Pakistani parents in Norway, where she was forced to end her musical career after threats from local Muslims. Some of these songs come from exiles: there's an exhilarating, pounding track from the classically trained Mamak Khadem, now based in Los Angeles, and a gutsy treatment of Sufi poetry by Canadian-based Azam Ali, who mixes electronics with the traditional santoor hammered dulcimer. But there are other songs from inside Iran. One of the finest of the 13 singers here is Parissa, an exponent of the classical, improvised <em>radif</em> style, who lives in Tehran, working mostly as a teacher.

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