PANDA women #5: Iran

In the organizer's words:

This event is part of the PANDAwomen 2025 Festival.

Curated by ethnomusicologist and filmmaker Dr. des. Yalda Yazdani, this evening explores the richness and multiplicity of Iranian music today — from classical roots to diasporic experiment. With musicians from Iran, Germany, the Netherlands, and the UK, the program opens space for tradition, technology, improvisation, and personal expression.

Programme:

Workshop: Ableton & Iranian Music

with Cee, Parisa Saeednezhad, and Yalda Yazdani

A live demonstration and interactive introduction to the intersections of traditional Iranian music and digital production. Participants explore how electronic tools can accompany or transform classical forms.

Live Set – Jazz/Indie

Sanam Maroufkhani

Vocalist and multi-instrumentalist based in the Netherlands. Her set blends Persian musical modes with jazz harmony, storytelling, and improvisation — exploring themes of migration, identity, and inner space.

Panel Discussion

A moderated conversation with participating artists on music, diaspora, and creative resistance.

Traditional Iranian Ensemble Performance

with Parisa Saeednezhad, Roshanak Rafani, Sahar Zibaei, Pouyan Biglar

A set of traditional Iranian music performed by master musicians of tar, santur, percussion and setar. Rooted in radif and modal structures, the ensemble creates a meditative and dynamic acoustic soundscape.

Electronic Live Set + Visuals

Mahtab Sabetara & Baharan Eghbalzadeh

A contemplative set bridging ambient electronics and poetic visuals. Sounds move between minimal techno, Iranian tonalities, and spatial abstraction.

Tehran Contemporary Sounds

Behrooz Moosavi & Janna Maria

Closing the evening: an immersive audiovisual performance combining analog synthesis and live generative visuals. A collaboration shaped by distance, memory, and modular systems.

Curated by Dr. Yalda Yazdani

Dr. Yalda Yazdani is an Iranian ethnomusicologist, filmmaker, and curator based in Berlin. Her PhD research focuses on female voices in West Asia and North Africa, and her curatorial projects include Female Voice of Iran, Qashqai Female Voices, and Female Voices United. Through research, performance, and dialogue, she creates spaces for unheard stories in music.

Artists:

Sanam Maroufkhani

Originally from Tehran and now based in the Netherlands, Sanam is a vocalist, pianist, and guitarist whose work weaves together classical Iranian music and jazz. Beyond performance, she is also involved in community-based music education and intercultural projects.

Parisa Saeednezhad

A performer of tar and setar, Parisa explores the depth of traditional Iranian music while engaging in dialogue with contemporary and electronic forms. She lives in Germany and frequently collaborates with artists across disciplines.

Roshanak Rafani

Trained in Persian percussion, Roshanak works with instruments like the daf and tombak to explore rhythm as a narrative form. Her performances often move between traditional structures and more experimental improvisation.

Sahar Zibaei

Based in London, Sahar is a santur player with a deep connection to Persian classical repertoire. Her artistic focus lies in the subtle emotional dynamics of microtonal sound and its role in diasporic expression.

Pouyan Biglar

A tar soloist and composer whose work balances preservation and experimentation. Pouyan draws on classical traditions while also creating new compositions rooted in modal heritage.

Mahtab Sabetara

An electronic musician from Tehran whose sound is shaped by ambient textures, minimal rhythms, and Persian tonalities. Her practice extends into installation and live audiovisual environments.

Baharan Eghbalzadeh

Working at the intersection of film and digital art, Baharan’s visual language blends abstraction with symbolic and poetic references drawn from Iranian culture and mythology.

Behrooz Moosavi

A composer and performer using analog synths to explore layered rhythms, tonal ambiguity, and modular repetition. His live sets are immersive and structured like sonic meditations.

Janna Maria

A media artist whose generative visuals respond to sound and environment in real time. Her work is grounded in research and often emerges through collaboration with musicians and performers.

Admission: 20 euro online  |  25 euro doors