Iranian musician Kayhan Kalhor is used to jamming with other artists. He's worked with the Silk Road Project. That's a program that encourages multicultural collaborations between artists. Kalhor's latest collaboration is with a Turkish musician. The World's Marco Werman has today's Global Hit.
Kayhan Kalhor first heard of Erdal Erzincan through a friend. The friend suggested that Kalhor travel to Turkey, to meet Erzincan and study Turkish music. Kalhor says the time spent studying paid off.
“Basically, I'm a classical musician from Iran. On the other hand Erdal comes from eastern Turkey, you can call it folk tradition with a Sufi background that's more of religious music. They certainly are two different kinds of music, but I thought we have something in common. We could produce something that just comes from our hearts. And this is they way music usually should be.“
The CD that Kalhor and Erzincan recorded together is called The Wind.
It's a 12-part suite based on Persian and Turkish music. Kayhan Kalhor plays the kamancheh or spike fiddle. It looks like a long necked lute with four steel strings and is played with a bow.
Erdal Erzincan plays the Turkish baglama. That's an instrument that looks like a pear shaped lute. The musicians don't speak each other's language. So, they let the instruments do the the talking.
“After a couple of sessions we didn't even need a translator. He just came to my hotel room, he tuned his instrument, and he played something and I said this is good. It's a very, very basic form of connection.”
Kayhan Kalhor's decision to record with a Turkish musician was a deliberate one. He wanted to use music as a way to understand a country that borders his own -- Iran. On his last CD he recorded with a sitar player from India -- again to explore a country that is geographically close to Iran.
Kalhor says musical collaborations such as these, push artists to become their country's cultural ambassadors.
“I think whether or not we feel that way we are those. This is something that is very inevitable. I've been mostly studied or judged because of politics. Wherever I go in my interviews, "how is the politics in Iran, you know?" So we grow up to be half politicians too. So, I think that's very important to show people that it's not only politics and this is the music from a very, very rich and old culture that we're trying to promote and it sounds nice too.”
Kalhor knows that the politics are at the forefront when westerners think of Iran. But as an Iranian musician, he says he's looking for ways to transcend political differences.
Kayhan Kalhor first heard of Erdal Erzincan through a friend. The friend suggested that Kalhor travel to Turkey, to meet Erzincan and study Turkish music. Kalhor says the time spent studying paid off.
“Basically, I'm a classical musician from Iran. On the other hand Erdal comes from eastern Turkey, you can call it folk tradition with a Sufi background that's more of religious music. They certainly are two different kinds of music, but I thought we have something in common. We could produce something that just comes from our hearts. And this is they way music usually should be.“
The CD that Kalhor and Erzincan recorded together is called The Wind.
It's a 12-part suite based on Persian and Turkish music. Kayhan Kalhor plays the kamancheh or spike fiddle. It looks like a long necked lute with four steel strings and is played with a bow.
Erdal Erzincan plays the Turkish baglama. That's an instrument that looks like a pear shaped lute. The musicians don't speak each other's language. So, they let the instruments do the the talking.
“After a couple of sessions we didn't even need a translator. He just came to my hotel room, he tuned his instrument, and he played something and I said this is good. It's a very, very basic form of connection.”
Kayhan Kalhor's decision to record with a Turkish musician was a deliberate one. He wanted to use music as a way to understand a country that borders his own -- Iran. On his last CD he recorded with a sitar player from India -- again to explore a country that is geographically close to Iran.
Kalhor says musical collaborations such as these, push artists to become their country's cultural ambassadors.
“I think whether or not we feel that way we are those. This is something that is very inevitable. I've been mostly studied or judged because of politics. Wherever I go in my interviews, "how is the politics in Iran, you know?" So we grow up to be half politicians too. So, I think that's very important to show people that it's not only politics and this is the music from a very, very rich and old culture that we're trying to promote and it sounds nice too.”
Kalhor knows that the politics are at the forefront when westerners think of Iran. But as an Iranian musician, he says he's looking for ways to transcend political differences.