Beyond Denial by Axiom of Choice

ALBUM INSERTS:

1. Vale 4:07
2. Pulse 0:58
3. Rhythm Riddle 4:48
4. Kaef 5:27
5. Desert Storm 12:51
6. Whisper 8:40
7. Panj 5:18
8. Kashmir 2:27
9. Moon Light 1:33

Item # CD 1002-2

I have become a fugitive from the body, fearful as to the spirit;
I swear I know not - I belong neither to this not to that
J. Rumi

PERSIAN EMIGRE ARTISTS ROOTED IN RADIF TRADITION RISK GOING BEYOND THE FAMILIAR TO CREATE NEW HAUNTING MELODIES OF THE DESERT STORM WITHIN.

Mamak Khadem: vocals
Ramin Torkian: quarter tone guitar, vocal nylon string guitar, tarbass
Pejman Hadadi: daf, tombak, nagada
Yussi P. Wenger: nylon string guitar
Shahram Hashemi: tar, tarbass, vocals
Mohammad Mohsenzadeh: tombak, synthesized bass
Steven Graham: drums

Producer: Ramin Torkian
Co-producer: Aldoush Alpanian
Executive Producers: X DOT 25 Music
Art Director: Babak Torkian
Cover Design: Babak Torkian
Text: Ellen Sinatra
Photography: Fereshteh Saghafi & Carla Cummings
Recorded at: Scotland Yard & Studio 42nd Studio
Recording Engineers: Yousef Shahab & Mark Hermann
Digital Processing: Silent Sounds
Mastered at: Rocket Lab
Mastering Engineer: Paul Stubblebine

Special Thanks to: Valdez Guitar Store Steve Harvey Ellen Sinatra Kamran Fallahpoor Fereshteh Saghafi Jalal Fatemi

Axiom of Choice:

There is an exciting and profound artistic value in the mathematical principle, Axiom of Choice. The mathematician has the right to choose elements without explanation. In a world where everything must be explained, these choices are voluntary and do not need explanation. As a group of émigré artists, we choose to express ourselves in music, no longer bound by the traditions of Persian music. Yet in its very depth, our music comes from that tradition.

"Beyond Denial" is the first project in the Axiom of Choice series. We have risked altering techniques of sound production to create new sounds. The vocal expressions capture emotions such as agony, fear, tranquillity and modesty, usually not expressed with such force. Quarter-tone frets were added to the guitar, widening the range and making it possible to play the Persian Radif in new ways. The Tar is played with spontaneous rhythmic structures and melodic integrity, to freely express the emotions and thoughts evoked by images. It is in these ways that this work is also an expression of young contemporary Iranian artists in the Western community.

Quarter tone guitar:

As a guitarist, I found the nylon string guitar to have the warmth and haunting sound required for the middle eastern music. Quarter tones are part of the Persian modal scale and therefore cannot be played by simply bending the strings. The value of the quarter tones and the half tones (in special cases) would change from one modal scale to another. This meant, in this case, that the fixed frets normally found on the guitar were too limiting. I decided to replace the steel frets with gut frets, adding twelve more to produce the quarter tones. Therefore, it is a special feature of this guitar that the modal scales can begin from any note, without changing the tuning.

There is a wealth of techniques for guitar available that can be used in Persian music to produce new textures and sounds. One includes finger picking, which allows the player to play different drones, which results in a wide range of overtones. By letting some notes ring, new intervallic relationships are created which embody new tensions and new energies.

I am excited about the possibilities of this new instrument. I hope that it will be adapted to other forms of Middle Eastern music.

This project began over three years ago by myself and M. Mohsenzadeh. The first prototypes were the result of series of long discussions, research and extensive experimentation. It quickly became clear to us that this project was very promising, yet it required more research and experimentation to become mature. We laid out the principles important in the direction of this project:

1. We would use simple, artistic concepts -- not Western harmonies. We felt that randomness and chaos in confined form could generate harmonious patterns in melodies and sound.

2. Music becomes bold and effective when stated in a direct manner. In order to achieve that, we decided to reduce the ornamentation and emphasize the main structures.

3. Musical texture must be rhythmically dynamic, which means it must have at least two levels of complexity, from gross to subtle. It must feel natural, yet be challenging and coherent.

4. Melodies should not only sound Persian, but in their very depth, should come from the Radif (the repertoire of the classical Persian music.) 5. We are committed to capturing the vision within the music, not the melodic structures of the Gusheh (melodic structures within the Radif.) That meant we altered these melodies where necessary.

6. The poetic images inspired and assisted the musicians in the creation of these compositions. It is our hope that these images are captured in the music, and then transmitted to the audience.

"Desert Storm" is a central piece in the project which captures the fierce images and intense emotions of this horrible occurrence. The war was the climax of the destruction that had taken place in the region for the last twelve years -- an extremely tragic and fearful event which touched me deeply. The poem "Hast Shab" is modern form of the poetry in Iran, with desert imagery that presents powerful metaphors for death and destruction. As the musicians internalized these images, their contributions transformed the composition. As such, the piece became a dynamic reflection of our shared experiences.

"Mitaravad Mahtab" is the result of three readings of the poem, randomly superimposed upon one another. It is my own inner rhythms that bind them together. In this process, the phrases were distorted, creating an unexpected emphasis on certain words and a re-creation of the poetic images. I hope that this freshness will penetrate into deeper realms, bypassing rational interpretations.

This project became complete with contributions from all the musicians, who brought with them their distinctive knowledge, techniques, and creativity. They were willing to take chances and risk going beyond their usual musical expectations.

For many of us, the Gulf War was a brief, disturbing blip on the radar screen of our nation's history. Axiom of Choice, a group of Persian immigrants now living in California, are here to remind us that for those who lived through it, that first month of 1991 was cataclysmic - the culmination of more than a decade of senseless bloodshed in the region.

The principal members of this talented 7-member band are all well-versed in classical Persian music, and though the melodies and rhythms of Radif - the Persian classical repertoire - saturate their brooding, deeply moving disc, they are by no means slaves to tradition. Call it experimental Near Eastern art music, infused with overtones of Sufism, not to mention ripping percussion. Leader/guitarist Ramin Torkian plays a nylon-stringed classical guitar, retooled with movable frets, so he can approximate the untempered intervals of Persian music. The effect is utterly beautiful, as is the voice of Mamak Khadem, which rings out through the album like a crystalline bell of despair and pain. On the opening track, "Valeh," she's multitracked over Torkian's descending arpeggios, her "voices" hovering and quivering like unquiet souls suddenly released from this troubled plane.

Beyond Denial is a fine first effort - a chronicle of armed conflict in both the inner and outer worlds. It's heavy stuff, though the group does lighten it up a bit on "Rhythm Riddle," a sort of Brazilian Jazz meets Eastern classical romp. Again, Mamak Khadem's voice shines here like a rare, precious stone. I look forward to hearing more from Axiom of Choice and other artists on the curiously-named XDot25 label.