Text by Sohrab Saadat Ladjevardi

During my last week in Tokyo one of my favorite US bands played at the Stone in New York: the Secret Chiefs 3 (SC3) led by guitarist and composer Trey Spruance (formerly of Mr. Bungle and Faith No More). A band which fuses Persian music, surf rock, heavy metal, film music and electronics. Luckily I found videos of this show in YouTube. SC3 has always been a general name for several different bands. “Each representing a different aspect of a musical and philosophical intersection.” That night SC3 played under the name of Ishraqiyun,  a six piece band with following members: Trey Spruance (guitar, saz), Ches Smith (drums), Timba Harris (violin, viola), Toby Driver (bass), Shahzad Ismaily (bass) and April Centrone (percussion). They mainly used Middle Eastern (Persian) melodies and rhythms adding sounds of western metal, surf rock, and noise.

Last year in November I had the chance to see this band for the first time at Le Poisson Rouge. Me as an Iranian this concert was a revelation: Trey proved that Iranian or Persian music can “rock” and can “move” US rock fans. After the show Trey I interviewed him backstage (watch the video here).

It’s interesting that an American (an “enemy” of the Iranian state?) is able to put a modern touch to very deep classical Persian music that young listeners can connect to, a feat that no Persian has done yet. When will Secret Chiefs 3 be invited to play in Iran?……..