The santur is an ancient stringed instrument, a dulcimer, with 72 strings that can be dated to 500 BC. Assyrian and Babylonian stone carvings show the instrument back in 669 BC. The instrument spread widely in the Middle East and later further afield where it morphed into the hammered dulcimer, the qanun, cimbalom, Indian santoor and even the Thai classical instrument, the kim.
Santur master Amir Amiri was born in Tehran, Iran, and moved as a refugee to Canada in 1996. Since then he has pushed the musical boundaries of his instruments, through different ensembles and collaborations.
His work with Ensemble Kimya combined early Western Classical music with music from the Middle East and India, and his duo with viola player Richard Moody, Perseides, brought together Western and Eastern traditions. With his Amir Amiri Ensemble he performed at the world music trade show WOMEX in 2021.
Since he left Iran, Amiri has gone on to become one of the world's top santur players. As he explained in liner notes: "Music saved my life. It was my ticket out of Iran as I was forced to leave my homeland as a refugee. Fundamentlists from the regime broke my left wrist in 1995 as a warning to never play the santur in the Islamic State." He studied with master Mehran Ghaleae, who said Amiri instilled in him "the visionary understanding of music as a means of bringing people together".
The Amir Amiri Ensemble has just released Ajdad – Ancestors, Echoes Of Persia on the Canada-based label Latitude 45. Ajdad, according to the blurb on the cover, brings together seven musicians from Iran and the region to explore the centuries-old connections between Persian and Middle Eastern music.
The music on the album showcases the brilliant skills of these music masters. So far, my favourites include the title track Ajdad, Baran (Rain), which seems a perfect fit to the end of the rainy season here, and the moving Yadegar Doust (Memory Of Friends). The seven-member ensemble features santur, ghaychack, viola, oud, tombak, dayereh and daf. The album comes with excellent liner notes and a beautiful cover art painting by Marjane Saidi. Recommended.
Fans of Southeast Asian funk should look out for the latest compilation from Soundway Records, the label that released the Sound Of Siam series (compiled by DJ duo Maft Sai and Chris Menist) and more recently the brilliant Padang Moonrise: The Birth Of The Modern Indonesian Recording Industry (1955-69). The label's new compilation Ayo Ke Disco: Boogie, Pop & Funk From The South China Sea (1974-1988) features dancefloor fillers from the funk era of the 70s and 80s.
The name of the compilation -- Ayo Ke Disco means "let's go to the disco" in Indonesian and refers to the nightclub scenes in Indonesia, Malaysia, Papua, the Philippines, Singapore, Hong Kong and Thailand during that time. The emerging modern musical identities of each country can be heard on the first singles, Pinoy Funk by Regalado and Mangge Mangge by the Black Brothers. The latter track was recorded by the Black Brothers, a Papua based band that blended rock, reggae, jazz and funk with local styles, often singing about politics in both Indonesian and Tok Pisin (English creole).
The one Thai track on the album is an old favourite, Aew … Phu Chai by luk thung queen Pongsri Woranut, but heavier funk-influenced molam and luk thung tracks from other artists like Chai Muang Singh are not included. And I'm not sure which part of Thailand is in the South China Sea.
Veteran producer and world music pioneer Joe Boyd wrote and released a new book recently, And The Roots Of Rhythm Remain: A Journey Through Global Music (Faber & Faber, UK), an epic 900-page book that covers his amazing career during the rise of so-called world music. This tome follows his autobiography, White Bicycles – Making Music In The 1960s (Serpent's Tail). I will write a full review once I have finished what is a fascinating book on musical connections and their importance to contemporary culture.
John Clewley can be contacted at clewley.john@gmail.com
