Category Archives: Interview

Interview with musicians

Interview: Koubeh – Revoicing Iranian Folk Music in Brooklyn

Interview by Sohrab Saadat Ladjevardi 

Since early 2000 a talented diaspora of a number of Iranian-born musicians have been producing sumptuous sound landscapes here in New York that both incorporate tradition and go beyond it incorporating jazz, blues, alternative rock, chanson, flamenco, heavy metal and electronica.

Well known bands, such as HYPERNOVA and KIOSK moved to New York which was the right artistic location and space to make music without the pressure to get a permission from the Department of Culture in Tehran which required pre-approval of all public performances and CD releases.

KoubehOne of the newer bands coming out in 2019 is Koubeh based in Brooklyn, New York.

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Kaveh Haghtalab

Kaveh Haghtalab – An Iranian Musician’s Perspective of NY’s Music Scene

Interview by DooBeeDooBeeDoo NY

I had the opportunity to interview Iranian musician Kaveh Haghtalab. He has been contributing music, sounds and rhythms with his kamancheh and drum skills to the New York’s music scene since 2012. His views on the music scene and business in his native Tehran and in New York City bring a fresh and informative view of our business and art.

DooBeeDooBeeDoo NY (DBD): Kaveh, it’s good of you to join us. Please let’s start with your background. You’re Iranian, originally from Tehran. What did you do before coming here? What made you come to New York City in 2012, and what have you been doing since your arrival?

Kaveh Haghtalab (KH): Thanks for having me here at DooBeeDooBeeDoo.

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Interview: Kamran Hooshmand devoting his life to various styles of Middle Eastern music

Interview by DooBeeDooBeeDoo NY editorial staff

DooBeeDoo (DBD): Salam Kamran!

Thanks for making time to do this interview with DooBeeDoo. We’re looking forward to seeing your show this Sunday at CA Music Room in New York.
You have great guests in your ensemble and also a strong band, SoSaLa, opening up for you.
Two different bands with two different sound and messages will be performing but both leaders have their roots in Iran. Is this the first time for you to play here?

kamranbeard

(Photo courtesy of Kamran Hooshmand)

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Interview: Arun Ramamurthy “…When I offered him a baseball ticket in exchange for an interview.”

Interview by Richard Bennett

Arun Ramamurthy

Photo courtesy of Arun Ramamurthy

The excellent violinist Arun Ramamurthy combines Carnatic music with jazz in his eponymously titled  Arun Ramamurthy Trio. He lives in Brooklyn with wife, violinist Trina Basu and their baby son. When I offered him a baseball ticket in exchange for an interview, he quickly agreed. We sat in section 202 in the bleachers at Yankee Stadium on a sunny day. Arun was wearing a Don Mattingly Throwback Jersey. I bought Arun a hot dog and a beer and between innings we talked.

Richard Bennett (RB): In your ideal band, would you rather hire Questlove or Zakir Hussein?

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Interview: George Barba Yiorgi and Dervisi…Greek Gangsta Blues and PunkRembetika

Text by Richard Bennett

DervisiGeorge Barba Yiorgi first appeared on the New York music scene as co-leader of the wildly successful Greek-rock band Annabouboula. When the group disbanded in 1994, he mysteriously disappeared for around twenty years. Rumours abounded; the most credible being that he was working as a merchant marine based out of Piraeus Greece. Barba Yiorgi reappeared in NYC in 2014, leading two groups, The ByzanTones (surf-rock) and Dervisi, a rembetika trio in which he sings and plays the tzouras, which is a thin string instrument related to the bouzouki.

Dervisi on SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/barba-yiorgi/sets/dervisi-live-2014-3-songs

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