Baghiri, Amir

Artist:  Amir Baghiri + Rüdiger Gleisberg
P:  2001 / 2016
LAUDANUM are Amir Baghiri & Rüdiger Gleisberg and with this CD album they offer 77 minutes of dark, cinematic compositions as taken from a Film Noir. Amir's spacious drones and tribal rhythms are the perfect companion to Rüdiger's neo classical arrangements, resulting in a dramatic soundtrack of emotional electronic music where organic sounds, machines and celestial vocals join together into a beautiful whole.
REVIEW
My wish for an extended version of Amir Baghiri’s & Rüdiger Gleisberg’s EP that saw the light of day in 2001 has finally come true. The original, quiet-atmospheric 21-minute recording of sacred minimalism has been expanded to an almost 77-minute aural work with more dynamics.It’s full of secret gothic mystic, vibrant tribal rhythms, vocal samples along assorted medieval and oriental elements while flashes of Gregorian chant fly by. This time around, its sonic perfume feels even darker, more disorientating, hallucinating as being a kind of shaman-ritual, as it turns up the psychedelic alley quite regularly.There are also introspective momentums though, such as the mesmerizing "Vinolentia" and cool-atmospheric turmoil of the 17-minute "Secretum". The harmonic, silent-meditative nature of the concept ep (the three opening tracks of the full-length) is left behind from time to time, and followed-up by feverish, dramatic, contemporary sounding and further mind-expanding excursions with some neo-classical edges. The enchanting "Beatitudes" and "Inhians", encountered at the end of the journey, come closest to the sound and impact of the original.Still, "Laudanum’s" celebratory, highly imaginary but also far more adventurous outcome needs several listening sessions to discover its deeper layers, intrinsic magic and grab its full impact eventually. (Bert Strolenberg)

Artist: Amir Baghiri + Wee Bandits
P: 2007
On "A Brief History Of Light" Amir Baghiri and guests mix mesmerizing floating textural electronica and high tech chill-out/down tempo music. The CD kicks off with the dynamic "Falling Star", which featured quite a heavy dance beat,before we move into the great sequencing and soundscapes of the engaging "Cosmic Axis". More floating textures follow in the very nice tracks "Ghosts of the Dark Wood" and "Between Shadows and Fog", which beautifully realm in sort-of Steve Roach territory. The ten minute "Origins of Light" is another atmospheric outing with mesmerizing, deep sound worlds, fx's, vocal samples and a slow sequence, in which more trance rhythms pop in halfway. "Asphalt Wolf" is next, a four minute trance dance track with lots of fx's, moving into "Princes of Light", which has
some vocals. The realm in this and the following tracks is overall chill-out.

Artist:  Amir Baghiri
P:  1998
LTD 1000
Autumn features nine fragments of seducing natural sensations. Filled with fascinating colors of a wood in October, where a lonely soul can find the tranquility of the deepest meditation,Skirling dust-devils start slow on 'Last Heat', but then pick up speed and dirt and brownish leaves to create the tribal, spiraling frenzy of the seasons beginning. Then, like that very time of year, it creeps down into a slow, going-to-sleep drone of woodwinds and played bowls, distant birdcalls for the track 'Flying Gees', as beautiful and subtle powerful as sunset over naked trees in the mountains.

Artist:  Amir Baghiri
P: 2000
LTD 600
Bluebox Collection is an ambitious four-CD set from Amir Baghiri, a talented and quite heroic artist. There are few, if any, interrelationships between the discs. Each disc is, however, quite strong and has its own thematic and sonic integrities. The CDs are, chronologically, "City," "Live," "Night," and "Sleep." Baghiri maintains that his typical electro-tribal style is closely related to the modern art style associated with the urban lifestyle. So, he combines the two styles. "City" is a gritty fusion effort that leans heavily on Baghiri's subtle rhythms and hints of desert ambience and tribal grooves. He intersperses some harder rhythms and edgy electronics. The disc scores high in the experimental arena as well. The metallic textures give the electro-tribal ambience some diverse atmospheres. A didgeridoo drone is the ultimate incongruity.
Baghiri is, by all accounts, a prolific and excellent concert performer. "Live" is exactly what it says: a live performance with no overdubs or studio processing. He recorded the set on a two-track digital tape deck. He covers the wide girth of his expertise in many styles. He performs dark minimalism, electro-tribal grooves, and hot desert ambience. It is a strong showing of his flexibility. "Night," as the title implies, is a set of deep atmospheric minimalism with gentle and unsettling timbres. Baghiri juxtaposes dark ambience with radiance. The music speaks to the fear of night's darkness and the rejuvenating powers of its calmness. The unique sound design has these styles playing to and off of each other simultaneously. It is not a restful CD. That comes next. "Sleep" is an amazing disc and -- perhaps -- the strongest of this set. Baghiri's sense of minimalism and its healing nature set this CD on a different pedestal. (By itself, this CD would rate nine stars and a "pick.") The smooth atmospheres generate the powerful healing forces of ambient music. The timbres are mild, and the organic textures have overtone and mesmeric qualities. Baghiri's humility is clear on this disc. He demands nothing and offers everything. Beyond Baghiri's signature style there are no connecting threads between these discs. That is not necessary. Baghiri's genius and humility have allowed him to create these four soundscapes. His generosity presents them in one package. ~ Jim Brenholts

Artist:  Amir Baghiri
P:  1997
"Cages" is a professional piece of work, in which Amir "cries out" all his personal experiences and emotions within various cultures, and the departing from his homeland Iran.
At the start of the album, one almost immediately gets the feeling one is listening to an album from Steve Roach, who has been an important inspiration for Amir’s sonic excursions, but there’s far more to it.
Within the 76 minutes contained on this disc, Baghiri moves through an adventurous and varied landscape in which synthesizers, ethnic percussion, didjeridoo and lots of great sampled sounds come together in daring soundscapes (the German magazine Keyboards called them "Archaische Klanglandschaften"), in which minimal and sometimes even static rhythms are prominent.
Beside this, there are also smooth, textural ambient passages to be found on the album.
 

Artist:  Amir Baghiri
P:  2002
Dark Ambient and Ambient Tribal are the styles we gonna hear on this release. It is released worldwide at the Neuronium Label by Michel Huygen.

Artist: Amir Baghiri
P: 2005
A mixture of masterful, spooky alien soundscapes and fluid textures by one of ambient music premier electro-tribal sound designers.
"Exophere" offers ten tracks making up 68 minutes of music continuing the fine tradition of space & tribal ambient which Baghiri is known for. The album starts off quiet but after a few minutes a slow and later on accelerating and prominent sequence shows up which is reminiscent of the extended track "In the Heat of Venus" on Steve Roach’s album "Western Spaces".

Artist:  Amir Baghiri
P: 2004
After his 2003 "Yalda", Vivo puts out his new album, which turn out to be very percussion-focused overall. Some instruments used are: khaliji drums, persian tumbak, egyptian dumbak, liquid drums, bendirs, azerbaijan frame drum, surdo, mahogany pro djembes, tamborin and persian zarb & dohol drums. rababa, ouds, saz, kamancheh, panjab clay flute, native iranian ney and sipsi stone flute and various chimes, shakers, rainstick and some other forgotten objects. To that you'll have to add additive fm and analog synthesizers, processors & subliminal nature sound programming, groove programming & multidimensional ambient creations. The use of electronics in this album is remarkable becase it is mixed in subtly and yet makes for a fundamental element of the mixture. The balance between the percussive grooves and the digital rhythmical structures is so skillfully achieved that sometimes it's actually hard to tell whether or not it is in and in what percentage. The field recordings come from near eastern desert ambience and nature atmos, all recorded by amir baghiri on a sony DAT recorder in different places around asia & north africa. More technical info (such as software, hardware etc) can be found in the beautifully packaged trifold digipack. Vocals are to be found as well, but mostly as added ear candies or quasi-sampled recursive patterns, rather than lead parts. The middle eastern flavours are strong and intense in this record, you can almost smell it. Overall its grooves are pretty uptempo, which makes it easy to listen to and enjoyable.
Finally the album features some guests, including: Reza Ardalani (addtional zarb and ney), Malek Halime (distant azan, nohe khani and spoken words) and zhale mikhaili (tar, setar, additional spoken vocals as sample foods).

Artist: Amir Baghiri
P: 2011
Amir Baghiri is back after 5 years with a spacious ambient release, dedicated to Star Trek fans from all over the world.
Transforming space and time into ambient drones and subtle tribal rhythms, pushing space music to its highest level.
Welcome back to the deep, emotional and mystical soundworlds by one of the ambient music world's premier tribal ambient sound designers.

Artist: Amir Baghiri
P: 2006
Amir Baghiri's new album Orbital repose takes you on a 67 minute hypnotic trip through the masterminds dream world
Peaceful and relaxing, yet rich and complex long drones.

"Did you ever wake up from a dream and wondered : where was that, who were those people ?
I often see these places and people when i fall into sleep while composing and performing music .
Orbital repose is an attempt to "translate" the emotions and complex dimensions i experience during these dreams, into music .
With the release of Orbital repose I hope to share my dreams with you.... "
Amir Baghiri

Artist: Amir Baghiri
P: 2006
Inspired by the exotic astrophysical phenomena of the 10th planet. A mixture of masterful, spooky alien soundscapes and fluid textures.
It’s an in-depth ambient turmoil of 76 minutes, blending deep soundscapes with sequenced pieces (in Amir’s words: "multidimensional ambient & groove creation") and environmental sounds.
A certain touch of Steve Roach’s music still can’t be missed, but again Amir shows he’s has found his way in the genre by exploring his own musical pathways over the years.
In a way it’s a pleasant dream flight with some more active passages, but in no way background music. This highly atmospheric and well produced recording certainly deserves both thumbs up.

Artist: Amir Baghiri
P: 1998
Gradually drifts from light sequencer pieces to quieter, ambient sound-worlds.
A mixture of Roach/ Rich tribalisms and gorgeous shapelessness.

Here the last copy of the first Arya Label Version!

Artist:  Amir Baghiri
P:  1999
For "Winterscape", Amir again has chosen the ambient-oriented path in which he succeeded in reminding me of some tribal/soundscape material of Steve Roach’s "Dreamtime Return" in some parts. "Winterscape" has an overall organic feel, beginning with thrilling sequencers and catchy soundscapes, before moving into deeper dwellings and darker atmospheres, in which most percussion is moved further and further into the background. Next to the fine mix the album breaths a lot of space and contains lots of peculiar details, such as how the floating tapestries come together with didj, bullroarer and spiritcatcher. The fifth track "In the Guts of the Earth" was already heard at Baghiri's live-concert in Cologne in spring 1999. All in all, "Winterscape" is something very special, which can best be enjoyed in winter's evening hours. It has the ability to capture the mind of the listener, taking it on an inward voyage to unknown sound worlds and visionaries, but at the end you’re always put back into reality.
 

Artist:  Amir Baghiri
P:  2003
"Yalda" is Persian for the longest, darkest night of the year, in which various religious ceremonies take place. Amir himself describes the album as "a new trip in the mystic and hidden world of the modern experimental Middle-east soundworlds".
So it won’t be a surprise the music is filled with lots of ethnic influences, which unfortunately leaves very little room for synthesizers and electronic sounds .
No, fact is this is melting pot of ongoing, complex and fierce tribal rhythms, grooves and ambient sounds, which one might consider this a European "counter point" to Steve Roach’s "Trance Spirits" on composition and sound.
The nice atmospheric passages of electronic origin are just ink spots on this non-electronic music cd…

Artist: Mathias Grassow, Rüdiger Gleisberg & Amir Baghiri
P: 1996 / 2007
Reissue of a notable collaboration album originally released on Arya/Amplexus in 1996. Grassow's meditative drone-ambient meets Baghiri's hypnotic percussion and Gleisberg's cosmic electronics. Also features Klaus Wiese on singing-bowls. The reissue contains two bonus tracks and all new artwork by Markus Vogt, includes several insert cards as well. Recommended for all tribal-ambient music lovers!

Here the last copy!

Artist: Mathias Grassow, Rüdiger Gleisberg & Amir Baghiri
P: 1996
This is a notable collaboration album originally released on Arya/Amplexus in 1996. Grassow's meditative drone-ambient meets Baghiri's hypnotic percussion and Gleisberg's cosmic electronics. Also features Klaus Wiese on singing-bowls.  Recommended for all tribal-ambient music lovers!

Artist: Oöphoi,Mathias Grassow & Amir Baghiri
P: 2007
Upuaut is the unique, over 65 minutes long composition recorded by the Italian drone-ambient musician Oöphoi featuring Amir Baghiri and Mathias Grassow, who back in 1999 joined as guests during one special private concert. Since then it’s been circulating around the world as hard to find and poor (often bootlegged) cd-r releases only and now Upuaut is finally
officially and properly released. Fully re-mastered, repackaged, including the Great pyramid chamber updated diagram and the liner notes from the Egyptologist Dr. J.J. Hurtak,
Upuaut is one of the most profound, magical and sonically improved releases
from Oöphoi's extensive discography.

Artist:  Amir Baghiri
P: 2005
This Solo CD of Amir Baghiri is named Seele (means "Soul" in english language), a Hypnotic Soundtrip through technoid soundscapes and ambient noise blends into energizing tracks that will hit the floor with maximum of musical structures and emotional impact.
Project by Amir Baghiri and Stefano Gentile. 
Techno-noise and deep ambient... industrial sounds and triphop... This album is simply our postcard from Berlin... heart and soul.