ABJEEZ
Stockholm, Stockholm, Sweden | Established. Jan 01, 2005 | INDIE
Music
Press
"Eddeaa is a satirical revelation of the paradoxes and contradictions between tradition and modernity within Persian culture."
- Tribeca Film Festival (NY)
"The Farsi based band has taken both the region and the West by surprse with their pop-indie culture. Transforming conventional Iranian music & style to something hip, trendy and avant guard." - Brownbook (Dubai)
Abjeez spelning gav mersmak ”Det är rena glädjen att höra så skickliga musiker på en liten scen i Östersund”, skriver ÖP:s recensent.
Abjeez spelning gav mersmak
Musik. Reggae, flamenco och ett och annat scratch var bara några av rytmerna som vibrerade på Storsjöteatern i lördags.
Gruppen Abjeez hade sin enda offentliga konsert under tvåveckorsturnén i Jämtland.
Och släppte samtidigt sin nya skiva.
– Vi kallar den nya skivan för Perfectly displaced för att vi inte riktigt vet var vi hör hemma. Men vi är ändå perfekta, ler gruppens ledare Safoura Safavi under konsertens inledning.
Gruppen, vars deltagare i vanliga fall är spridda över hela världen, verkar mycket glada för att få spela på sin hemmascen i Östersund.
Och lika glada är publiken!
Abjeez har förberett ett generöst dansgolv framför scenen som är fyllt av dansande människor under hela konserten.
De flesta låtarna kommer från den tre år gamla skivan som de har turnérat med i både USA och Sverige.
Det har verkligen hänt mycket med grupp ens utstrålning och spel sedan jag hörde dem senast för några år sedan.
De spelar tightare och framförandet är mer avslappnat. Det är rena glädjen att höra så skickliga musiker på en liten scen i Östersund.
Gästmusikerna i form av en blåssektion, som också spelar på nya plattan, lyfter ljudbilden ytterligare. Gustaf Hyléns trumpet förflyttar publiken till en mild fjälläng om sommaren. Det behövs sannerligen i den trista snösmältan som skvalar runt fötterna på gatorna i Östersund.
Men, jag hade ju velat höra mer musik från den nya skivan! De få nya låtarna som gruppen spelade var spännande. De anger en ny och mer intensiv ton jämfört med det äldre materialet. Safoura Safavis nya kärleksvisa på spanska med flamencosång var utsökt.
Det starkaste intrycket av kvällen är att Abjeez är ett smittande musikaliskt liveband.
Katarina Franck
Johan Axelsson
johan.axelsson@op.se
- Östersunds Posten
“the sisters are part of a different Iranian world that struggles for visibility behind the headlines: a flourishing underground music scene, both at home and abroad, which has remained resilient despite rigid theocratic restrictions on musical expression.”The New York Times (Feb.8, 2012) - New York Times
Discography
*ABJEEZ debut album "HAMEH", early 2007
*REMIX CD "Who's Yo' Daddy?", late 2007
*Single release "Barab Barab Featuring P-danjelsa" 2008
*ABjEEZ latest album "Perfectly Displaced" 2009
Photos
Bio
ABJEEZ (slang for ‘sisters’ in Persian) are the acclaimed music band founded by Iranian-born sisters Safoura and Melody Safavi in Sweden in 2005—the younger ABJEE Safoura is a creative-director/composer/sound-designer and the composer of the songs in the band. started making her own music at the age of 13 and began her music studies at Hvitfeldska Music School in Gothenburg in 1998.
After collage Safoura decided to pursue her dream of studying flamenco in Granada- Andalucia/Spain and moved to Seville, 2001, in order to further her studies at the renown Fundacion Cristina Hereen, where she had the opportunity to study with some of the world's most prominent flamenco artists such as Manolo Franco, Miguel Angel Cortez and Niño de Pura among others.
After her return to Sweden, Safoura enhanced her academic education by taking Entertainment law and Film Music courses at the University of Växjö and Stockholm.
In May 2015 she received her Bachelor's Degree in Sound design from Stockholm University of the Arts. Safoura's multilingual skills and life experience in countries such as Iran, India, Sweden, USA and Spain have made her found her own multidimensional sound and natural expression.
The older ABJEE Melody writes the band's lyrics in Persian. “The way Melody writes, it’s very easy to understand and it uses a lot of humor,” Melody’s sister Safoura says. “We like to enlighten people to difficult issues in our culture with humor.” Traveling and living in colorful and varied landscapes such as in India, Norway, UK, Spain, and North America, Melody is considered the resident gypsy of the band. Melody has called the US home for many years now and when she’s not touring with Abjeez, she works as a journalist/ TV producer in New York City.
ABJEEZ have been described by various commentators as one of the most successful Iranian music groups of the 2000s. They were subjects of a 2009 documentary film titled "Systrar (Sisters)" by Swedish film-maker Henrik Perälä. Their lyrics often carry humorous and subversive cultural and political messages, and the most consistent subject matters voiced by ABJEEZ are issues related to youth and gender.
Their debut music video Eddeaa (meaning "Pretension" in English) was nominated in the short film category at Tribeca Film Festival in New York in 2007. It was also selected as the best music video of the year at Link TV’s world music channel in 2007. The band has performed at sold-out concerts and festivals across Europe and North America, including at the legendary Roxy Theater in Los Angeles, California and the Rotterdam Film Festival in the Netherlands.
Band Members
Links
