Mohsen Namjoo

Iran's Bob Dylan, founder of Achaemenid-blues genre Mohsen Namjoo, brings his unique music blending rock and jazz with traditional Iranian music to Zorlu PSM Main Theater on 1 February! Iranian lyricist, singer, music scholar and setar artist Mohsen Namjoo is described by The New York Times as "Iran's Bob Dylan." A visionary figure representing Iran's youth to the world, Namjoo combines the classical Persian setar with electric guitar; rock & blues vocal techniques with Avaz (Persian singing technique). Namjoo was born in 1976 in Torbat-e-Jam, a city in northeastern Iran known for tar artists, but grew up in Mashhad. He began engaging with traditional Iranian music following his father's death, who had a profound influence on him. He began his music education in courses organized by the Mashhad Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance, learning traditional Iranian songs (avaz) under the supervision of Nassrolah Nasseh-Pour. After six years, having completed the Iranian traditional song repertoire, Namjoo entered the conservatory in Tehran in 1994 and studied theater. A year later, in 1995, he enrolled in the music department at Tehran University and during this period became acquainted with Western music and musicians who would later have a profound impact on his work: Jim Morrison, Chris Isaak, Mark Knopfler, The Doors and Leonard Cohen were among these figures. Namjoo began composing songs in the early 1990s. With nearly 100 compositions to his name, nine of which he released on his debut album Toranj, the musician, despite being a successful lyricist, drew primarily from the poetry of Hafez, Mevlana and Sadi of Shiraz on this album. After moving to the United States in 2011, Namjoo teaches at America's most prestigious schools while performing concerts worldwide whose tickets sell out days in advance. Following his latest album "Voices from the East" with Nederlands Blazers Ensemble in 2017, Mohsen Namjoo takes the stage at Zorlu PSM Main Theater on 1 February for his first Istanbul concert!