Mehraab

Personnel: Loga Ramin Torkian (guitar, electric guitar, saz, viol, fretless bass); Omer Avci (bendir, shaker, tambourine); Ziya Tabassian (tombak).
Audio Mixer: Carmen Rizzo.
Liner Note Author: Loga Ramin Torkian.
Recording information: Nandi Studios, Montreal.
Loga Ramin Torkian cut his teeth as a member of the groundbreaking Axiom of Choice before becoming one-third of the highly acclaimed Niyaz. It's taken quite a while, but he's finally put out his first solo album, although fellow Iranian singer Khorso Ansari is a vital part of the sound here -- there are others involved, but the disc essentially revolves around this pair making Torkian's vision real. Quite a vision it is, too, grounded in Persian music, whether it's the delicacy of "Through the Veil" or the relentless, hypnotic Carmen Rizzo remix of "Your Bewitching Eyes" (and if you don't believe Persian music can rock, listen to this), and all shades and moods in between. What's especially striking is the way Torkian makes his instruments sound, at times at least, like programming. It works, in a weird and twisted way, giving a contemporary sheen to a classical-based sound, making it something fully realized, complex, and immensely satisfying. ~ Chris Nickson