O-Hum
Encyclopedia
O-Hum is an Iranian underground rock
band fronted by singer/songwriter Shahram Sharbaf. Their style is what they call "Persian
Rock", combining rock with Persian instruments and modes
, together with lyrics drawn from the works of Hafez
, the esteemed fourteenth century Persian poet.
with Shahrokh Izadkhah on guitar
and Babak Riahipour on bass guitar
. Their initial plan was to simply record some demos at Shahram's home studio to document what they were playing at the time. Everything started with the first song Shahram and Shahrokh wrote on acoustic guitar and sehtar
, Darvish. Demo tracks soon leaked around via friends and a record company in Tehran asked the band to sign a deal to record a full album. Shahram, Shahrokh and Babak recorded the first album Nahal-e Heyrat in the summer of 1999. The album originally had twelve songs, but one of them, Pire May-foroosh, was later removed.
The record company took the album to the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance to obtain permission to release it, since all artistic activities require such permission in Iran. The ministry rejected the album a couple of times, describing O-Hum's music as "Western
", "cheap" and contrary to Islamic moral standards. Because of this, the record company broke off its deal with the band and canceled everything.
At this point O-Hum decided to launch its own website and make all the album tracks available to download for free. O-Hum.com was launched in March 2001, and in only a few months thousands of MP3
s were downloaded, making O-Hum well-known on the Iranian underground music scene. O-Hum played its first concert in March 2001 at the Russian Orthodox church in Tehran to an audience of nearly three hundred excited people. The show was planned to be held for private and foreign audiences but ended up with young boys and girls screaming and stage-diving all around the hall.
As the band kept trying to release its music and play official gigs, it was becoming obvious that the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance would not let O-Hum perform in Iran. O-Hum.com was another reason why the ministry was so angry with O-Hum, because it had enabled the band to promote and release their work through a channel outside the government's control.
The website also let O-Hum find a large fan base on the Internet, both Iranian and foreign. In February 2002 Shahram, Shahrokh and Babak went to the BAM studio in Tehran to record two singles, which later became known as Hafez in Love. The band recorded songs in two weeks and put the full songs online for Norouz
, the Iranian New Year. The singles were downloaded more than 15,000 times in the first week.
In early 2003 Babak Riahipour decided to leave O-Hum and continue his personal career. Later in summer 2003 Shahrokh also quit O-Hum and moved to Vancouver
in Canada
. Shahram decided to continue O-Hum as a solo project. He moved to Canada for a couple of months but then returned to Tehran, where he preferred to live and work. After a couple of months Shahram assembled a live band and travelled to Germany
for a couple of gigs in Berlin
, Hamburg
and Rostock
. O-Hum were well-received in Germany and played some memorable performances in the House of Culture in Berlin and Fabrik in Hamburg. These concerts established O-Hum as the pioneers of the Iranian underground scene, and the first Iranian rock band to perform abroad since the 1979 Iranian Revolution
.
Shahram began the recording sessions for O-Hum's new album in early 2004 and soon penned fourteen tracks for the album which later become Aloodeh. Kasra Saboktakin (bass) joined the band during the recording sessions of Aloodeh. Kasra Ebrahimi (drums) and Shahrokh Izadkhah (guitar) performed with the band, along with guest appearances by traditional musicians. Bamahang Productions
, a USA indie record company, released Aloodeh worldwide on 20 December 2005. Furthermore O-Hum gained wider fame through its appearance in Amir Hamz' and Mark Lazarz' music documentary "Sounds of Silence" that portrayed the ongoing struggle of underground musicians in Tehran.
In early 2007 Shahram reported that he is working on a remix collection of O-Hum's popular songs, mostly in dance, electronic
and hip-hop styles. Though the collection was supposed to be released in early 2008, it was delayed because of both technical and personal matters. in June 2008 Shahram moved to Berlin to play a couple of acoustic gigs and collaborate with some musical projects. Babak Akhoondi (guitar) and Heydar Sajedi (Kamoonche) joined him for a couple of shows the band played. Shahram also produced and engineered an album for Berlin-based band Debie Parker while he was in Berlin.
In 2008 Shahram finished the remix album in Tehran and released it worldwide. Shahram has also begun to write a new O-Hum album with his own lyrics, something the fans have been waiting for a long time.
On October 31, 2010 Shahrokh Izadkhah has announced his departure from the band via an statement written in the band's official Facebook fanpage:
"Dear o-humi friends, unfortunately and despite my true desire i have to quit the band because i don’t reside in Iran and other reasons. Shahram, with the help of great musicians inside Iran, will continue with o-hum and his solo work. i need to thank my dear friend and brother Shahram and also other great guitarists who contributed to o-hum like Babak Akhoondi, Babak Riahi, Arash Mitooyee, Ali Shokrani, Mani Safikhani and above all you dear friends and fans who supported us over the years. Please stay tuned for Shahram and o-hum’s future work as well as my own solo work. Love. [Shahrokh]"
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
band fronted by singer/songwriter Shahram Sharbaf. Their style is what they call "Persian
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
Rock", combining rock with Persian instruments and modes
Musical mode
In the theory of Western music since the ninth century, mode generally refers to a type of scale. This usage, still the most common in recent years, reflects a tradition dating to the middle ages, itself inspired by the theory of ancient Greek music.The word encompasses several additional...
, together with lyrics drawn from the works of Hafez
Hafez
Khwāja Shamsu d-Dīn Muhammad Hāfez-e Shīrāzī , known by his pen name Hāfez , was a Persian lyric poet. His collected works composed of series of Persian poetry are to be found in the homes of most Iranians, who learn his poems by heart and use them as proverbs and sayings to this day...
, the esteemed fourteenth century Persian poet.
Biography
The band was formed in 1999 in TehranTehran
Tehran , sometimes spelled Teheran, is the capital of Iran and Tehran Province. With an estimated population of 8,429,807; it is also Iran's largest urban area and city, one of the largest cities in Western Asia, and is the world's 19th largest city.In the 20th century, Tehran was subject to...
with Shahrokh Izadkhah on guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
and Babak Riahipour on bass guitar
Bass guitar
The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
. Their initial plan was to simply record some demos at Shahram's home studio to document what they were playing at the time. Everything started with the first song Shahram and Shahrokh wrote on acoustic guitar and sehtar
Sitar
The 'Tablaman' is a plucked stringed instrument predominantly used in Hindustani classical music, where it has been ubiquitous since the Middle Ages...
, Darvish. Demo tracks soon leaked around via friends and a record company in Tehran asked the band to sign a deal to record a full album. Shahram, Shahrokh and Babak recorded the first album Nahal-e Heyrat in the summer of 1999. The album originally had twelve songs, but one of them, Pire May-foroosh, was later removed.
The record company took the album to the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance to obtain permission to release it, since all artistic activities require such permission in Iran. The ministry rejected the album a couple of times, describing O-Hum's music as "Western
Western world
The Western world, also known as the West and the Occident , is a term referring to the countries of Western Europe , the countries of the Americas, as well all countries of Northern and Central Europe, Australia and New Zealand...
", "cheap" and contrary to Islamic moral standards. Because of this, the record company broke off its deal with the band and canceled everything.
At this point O-Hum decided to launch its own website and make all the album tracks available to download for free. O-Hum.com was launched in March 2001, and in only a few months thousands of MP3
MP3
MPEG-1 or MPEG-2 Audio Layer III, more commonly referred to as MP3, is a patented digital audio encoding format using a form of lossy data compression...
s were downloaded, making O-Hum well-known on the Iranian underground music scene. O-Hum played its first concert in March 2001 at the Russian Orthodox church in Tehran to an audience of nearly three hundred excited people. The show was planned to be held for private and foreign audiences but ended up with young boys and girls screaming and stage-diving all around the hall.
As the band kept trying to release its music and play official gigs, it was becoming obvious that the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance would not let O-Hum perform in Iran. O-Hum.com was another reason why the ministry was so angry with O-Hum, because it had enabled the band to promote and release their work through a channel outside the government's control.
The website also let O-Hum find a large fan base on the Internet, both Iranian and foreign. In February 2002 Shahram, Shahrokh and Babak went to the BAM studio in Tehran to record two singles, which later became known as Hafez in Love. The band recorded songs in two weeks and put the full songs online for Norouz
Norouz
Nowrūz is the name of the Iranian New Year in Iranian calendars and the corresponding traditional celebrations. Nowruz is also widely referred to as the Persian New Year....
, the Iranian New Year. The singles were downloaded more than 15,000 times in the first week.
In early 2003 Babak Riahipour decided to leave O-Hum and continue his personal career. Later in summer 2003 Shahrokh also quit O-Hum and moved to Vancouver
Vancouver
Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...
in Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. Shahram decided to continue O-Hum as a solo project. He moved to Canada for a couple of months but then returned to Tehran, where he preferred to live and work. After a couple of months Shahram assembled a live band and travelled to Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
for a couple of gigs in Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
, Hamburg
Hamburg
-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
and Rostock
Rostock
Rostock -Early history:In the 11th century Polabian Slavs founded a settlement at the Warnow river called Roztoc ; the name Rostock is derived from that designation. The Danish king Valdemar I set the town aflame in 1161.Afterwards the place was settled by German traders...
. O-Hum were well-received in Germany and played some memorable performances in the House of Culture in Berlin and Fabrik in Hamburg. These concerts established O-Hum as the pioneers of the Iranian underground scene, and the first Iranian rock band to perform abroad since the 1979 Iranian Revolution
Iranian Revolution
The Iranian Revolution refers to events involving the overthrow of Iran's monarchy under Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi and its replacement with an Islamic republic under Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the leader of the...
.
Shahram began the recording sessions for O-Hum's new album in early 2004 and soon penned fourteen tracks for the album which later become Aloodeh. Kasra Saboktakin (bass) joined the band during the recording sessions of Aloodeh. Kasra Ebrahimi (drums) and Shahrokh Izadkhah (guitar) performed with the band, along with guest appearances by traditional musicians. Bamahang Productions
Bamahang Productions
Bamahang Productions is the first independent Iranian Rock and Alternative Music record label currently based in Seattle , USA.Bamahang Productions is the leading record label and music production company dedicated to promoting Iranian alternative and underground music...
, a USA indie record company, released Aloodeh worldwide on 20 December 2005. Furthermore O-Hum gained wider fame through its appearance in Amir Hamz' and Mark Lazarz' music documentary "Sounds of Silence" that portrayed the ongoing struggle of underground musicians in Tehran.
In early 2007 Shahram reported that he is working on a remix collection of O-Hum's popular songs, mostly in dance, electronic
Electronic music
Electronic music is music that employs electronic musical instruments and electronic music technology in its production. In general a distinction can be made between sound produced using electromechanical means and that produced using electronic technology. Examples of electromechanical sound...
and hip-hop styles. Though the collection was supposed to be released in early 2008, it was delayed because of both technical and personal matters. in June 2008 Shahram moved to Berlin to play a couple of acoustic gigs and collaborate with some musical projects. Babak Akhoondi (guitar) and Heydar Sajedi (Kamoonche) joined him for a couple of shows the band played. Shahram also produced and engineered an album for Berlin-based band Debie Parker while he was in Berlin.
In 2008 Shahram finished the remix album in Tehran and released it worldwide. Shahram has also begun to write a new O-Hum album with his own lyrics, something the fans have been waiting for a long time.
On October 31, 2010 Shahrokh Izadkhah has announced his departure from the band via an statement written in the band's official Facebook fanpage:
"Dear o-humi friends, unfortunately and despite my true desire i have to quit the band because i don’t reside in Iran and other reasons. Shahram, with the help of great musicians inside Iran, will continue with o-hum and his solo work. i need to thank my dear friend and brother Shahram and also other great guitarists who contributed to o-hum like Babak Akhoondi, Babak Riahi, Arash Mitooyee, Ali Shokrani, Mani Safikhani and above all you dear friends and fans who supported us over the years. Please stay tuned for Shahram and o-hum’s future work as well as my own solo work. Love. [Shahrokh]"
Discography
- Nahal-e Heyrat (1999)
- Hafez In Love (2002)
- Aloodeh (2005)
- E-Hum: Remixes (2008)
Current members
- Shahram Sharbaf (1999-) - Vocals, Acoustic & electric guitar, Synthesizer
- Kasra Saboktakin (2004-) - Bass
- Kasra Ebrahimi (2004-) - Drums
Additional members
- Reza Abaee - Kamanche and Gheychak on 'Aloodeh' and 'Nahal Heyrat'
- Ali Rahimi - Daf on 'Aloodeh', 'Nahal Heyrat' and 'Hafez in Love'
- Pasha Hanjani - Nay on 'Aloodeh' and 'Hame Tazvir Mikonand'
- Moni Safikhani - Backing Vocal on 'Aloodeh'
- Nima Mohandesan - Tar on 'Nahal Heyrat'
- Moni Safikhani - Acoustic Guitar, Backing Vocal on 'Nahal Heyrat'
- Aynee Kayvanshokooh - Drums on 'Hafez in Love'
- Pedram Derakhshani - Baghlama on 'Hafez in Love'