Middle Eastern (album)

2019 studio album by Mehdi Rajabian

Middle Eastern

Studio album by

Mehdi Rajabian

Released| 15 March 2019
Recorded| March 2018, in different studios in Middle East
Genre| Classical, Traditional Middle Eastern Folk
Length| 40:12
Label| Sony Music Entertainment
Producer| Barg Music by Mehdi Rajabian

Middle Eastern is an album by the Iranian musician Mehdi Rajabian, along with a hundred musicians from twelve countries of Middle East, released by Sony Music Entertainment in March 2019. The idea for the album came to Rajabian while he was imprisoned due to his musical activities, and the album has not been released in Iran due to restrictions on him. The album is in classic and Middle Eastern form and focusses on Middle Eastern sounds, featuring traditional instruments. It has 11 tracks and is 40 minutes long.[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8]

## Publication

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This album was published worldwide in March 2019 by Sony Music Entertainment.[2] It was available on both physical and digital markets (such as iTunes) to buy. This album hasn't been published Iran due to the restrictions Rajabian is facing.

## Painting for pieces of music

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Zehra Doğan, a Kurdish painter, has started her first collaboration with the album "Middle Eastern" after her release from prison. Zehra has painted for all the musical pieces of the album, each painting tells a story. For the first time, Artnet,[9] Sky News,[10] Financial Times[11] News Agency has published a number of his paintings. [12]

## Performance

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Helia Bandeh, an Iranian-Dutch Dancer, performed a dance for one of the album tracks with the story of life and death as one of the guest members in the group. Her dance has been published exclusively by ABC[13] News Agency.[14][15]

## Cover

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The cover of the album is a photograph by Reza Deghati. As he claimed in one of his interviews with Al Jazeera, the photograph was shot in Iraq.[1]

## Musicians' Condition

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The melodies of this album were created in the middle of war, vast water (as one of the musicians was a refugee escaping his country on a boat), in prison, poverty and under bombardments. Rajabian himself was in prison for two years due to his musical activities, and he wrote the initiative idea for the album then. The message this album carries is about tyranny, oppression, human rights, war, peace, and freedom.[16]

## Reflection in media

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News agencies such as Washington Post, Euronews,[3] ICI,[17] MSN,[4] Al Jazeera,[1] Newsweek,[2] BBC World, etc. did cover the album. Washington Post mentioned this that music can talk about suffering and human rights, and not just for fun and politics. Newsweek labeled this album as one of the greatest albums of Middle East.

## Arrest

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Mehdi Rajabian was arrested once again on August 11, 2020 for publishing his latest album Middle Eastern. Later on, Fox News reported that he was temporarily released on bail until his court date.[18] As Reuters reports, Rajabian "was arrested following media reports that his latest project will include women singing and the publication of a video of a woman dancing to his music".[19] Al Jazeera also reported that he will be on a home arrest until the court date.[20] Music,[21] paintings,[22] dancing,[23] photography,[24] and book writing were the elements of Middle Eastern project. Musicians from all over the Middle East have participated in this project. Due to his arrest, this project was also left unfinished, just like the last ones. As for the music part of the project, the album was released by Sony Music in 2019.[18][19][20][25][26][27][28][29][30][31][32]

## See also

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* Concept album
* Album

## References

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1. ^ a b c "'No to war': Middle East musicians collaborate on a 'peace album'". www.aljazeera.com. Retrieved 17 March 2019.
2. ^ a b c "Middle Eastern". Sony Music Turkey. Retrieved 17 March 2019.
3. ^ a b Matamoros, Cristina Abellan (20 September 2018). "Middle East musicians send united message of peace in new musical collaboration". euronews. Retrieved 17 March 2019.
4. ^ a b "Risquer sa vie pour faire de la musique en temps de guerre". www.msn.com. Retrieved 17 March 2019.[permanent dead link]
5. ^ "'No to war': Middle East musicians collaborate on a 'peace album'". Your Middle East. 16 March 2019. Retrieved 17 March 2019.
6. ^ "Iran,"Medio Oriente di pace", il nuovo album di Mehdi Rajabian". Arabpress (in Italian). 10 August 2018. Retrieved 17 March 2019.
7. ^ "Mehdi Rajabian was sent to prison for making music - but he says that won't stop him". BBC.com. 10 August 2019. Retrieved 17 March 2019.
8. ^ "The songwriter tells us about his new 'Middle Eastern' album and his passion for artistic freedom". thenational.ae. 16 September 2019. Retrieved 16 September 2019.
9. ^ "I Could Be Arrested at Any Moment': Dissident Musician Mehdi Rajabian on Collaborating With Artists for His Risky New Album". Artnet. Retrieved 17 April 2019.
10. ^ "Jailed Iranian musician: 'We need human rights". Sky.com. Retrieved 6 August 2019.
11. ^ "Mehdi Rajabian: songs of sorrow and liberation". Financial Times. 9 December 2019. Retrieved 9 December 2019.
12. ^ "Messages for Peace: Iranian Artist Imprisoned for Music Releases New Album". Mei.Edu. Retrieved 6 May 2019.
13. ^ "Helia Bandeh performs for the Middle Eastern Project". ABC.net.au. Retrieved 23 March 2020.
14. ^ "When dance gets dangerous: the perils of free expression in Iran". Financial Times. 20 August 2020. Retrieved 23 November 2020.
15. ^ "Iranian artists jailed for defying government restrictions on women singing and dancing". FT.com. Retrieved 23 November 2020.
16. ^ "'No to war': Middle East musicians collaborate on a 'peace album' - RocketNews". RocketNews | Top News Stories From Around the Globe. 16 March 2019. Retrieved 17 March 2019.[permanent dead link]
17. ^ ICI.Radio-Canada.ca, Zone Arts-. "Risquer sa vie pour faire de la musique en temps de guerre". Radio-Canada.ca (in Canadian French). Retrieved 17 March 2019.
18. ^ a b "Iranian musician rebuffing ban arrested for allegedly encouraging women to dance and sing". foxnews.com. Retrieved 12 August 2020.
19. ^ a b "Iranian musician faces jail over women dancers and singers". Reuters.com. 28 August 2020. Retrieved 28 August 2020.
20. ^ a b "Iran: Musician faces jail for working with women dancers, singers". Aljazeera.com. Retrieved 28 August 2020.
21. ^ "Middle Eastern Album Music". sonymusic.com.tr. Retrieved 15 March 2019.
22. ^ "Dissident Musician Mehdi Rajabian on Collaborating With Artists for His Risky New Album". news.artnet.com. Retrieved 1 May 2019.
23. ^ "performs for the Middle Eastern Project". abc.net.au. Retrieved 17 March 2019.
24. ^ "Middle East musicians collaborate on a 'peace album'". aljazeera.com. Retrieved 16 March 2019.
25. ^ "Iran Threatens Musician With Jail for Encouraging Women to Sing, Dance". Newsweek.com. 13 August 2020. Retrieved 13 August 2020.
26. ^ "Iranian musician Mehdi Rajabian arrested for working with women". Bbc.com. 26 August 2020. Retrieved 26 August 2020.
27. ^ "Iranian musician's complete prohibition' after allegedly helping women sing". thenational.ae. Retrieved 18 August 2020.
28. ^ "Iranian artists jailed for defying government restrictions on women singing and dancing". abc.net.au. Retrieved 23 August 2020.
29. ^ "When dance gets dangerous: the perils of free expression in Iran". Ft.com. Retrieved 17 August 2020.
30. ^ "Iranian musician faces prison for women dancing, singing". alarabiya.net. Retrieved 28 August 2020.
31. ^ "Iran, rischia la prigione il musicista che fa cantare e ballare le donne". corriere.it. 27 August 2020. Retrieved 28 August 2020.
32. ^ "Iran, arrestato il musicista Mehdi Rajabian: collabora con donne. L'accusa: "Incoraggia la prostituzione"". repubblica.it. Retrieved 28 August 2020.