The holy tanbour may well be the reason why humans have a soul. Some Kurds say that, after the soul declined God’s demand to enter the unimportant yellow piece of clay that was Adam (the first man), God asked the Haftan (the Seven Beings or “archangels”) to get inside Adam’s body for a while and play the tanbour. Dazzled by the sound, the soul entered the body to unite with the wonderful melody and was trapped there until the end of time.

Arash Moradi is the son of the legendary Ali Akbar Moradi, the most renowned tanbour master of our time. The Yaresan tanbour tradition is his soul; London his home. Having performed extensively with some of the best musicians of Iran, the Middle East and Western Europe, Arash is now presenting his own composition work. Keeping his tradition – his essence as a person – at the same time he builds a Bridge to his life and musical experiences in the West. In this context, he has put together a musical arrangement that focuses on the tanbour – its modes, techniques and sounds – as a path to a new mystic experience, a Bridge from his origin to the World

The Bridge is composed of different chapters. The old tanbour maqam patterns remain strong, like deep roots nourishing long branches. One can still sense the vapours of Shalaan River on the young flowers.

Words: Yiannis Kanakis

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