Spaniranian: Shahin & Sepehr with "Persia"

Today's random tune has a distinct jazzy world vibe, and is performed by Shahin & Sepehr, an Iranian-American guitar duo out of Washington DC. Mixing elements of Spanish flamenco, soft rock, jazz and new age music with traditional music from Iran, the group has charted on Billboard, R&R and Gavin. They have released 8 CDs. This song, Persia, can be found on their 1994 album One Thousand & One Nights.

Listen to songs like this and more on the KUNM Global Music Show every Monday night from 10 pm - 1 am Mountain Standard Time. Live streaming, program information and the two-week digital archive can be found at http://www.kunm.org.

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shahin_%26_Sepehr

Someone Else: Kiran Ahluwalia and "Haath Apne"

Kiran Ahluwalia, a singer of ghazals (ancient Arabic poetry) and Punjabi folk songs, performs our random tune for today. Kiran Ahluwalia was born in India, raised in Canada and now lives in New York City. Kiran Ahluwalia immersed herself in Indian classical music and ghazals from age seven and spent a decade of deep and intense study with her guru in the 1990s. Her music has developed and provided innovation of the ghazal music genre, often through the introduction of non-traditional instrumentation and styles such as the Portuguese fado guitar, sub-Saharan percussion, Celtic fiddle, Pakistani qawwali vocals, Afghani rhubab and African blues. She has also collaborated with other world artists such as Rez Abbasi, Inuit throat singer Tanya Tagaq and electronica group Delerium. This song, Haath Apne, is from her 2007 release Wanderlust.

We Need Some: Mamak Khadem and "Varan"

Today's random tune is performed by Iranian vocalist Mamak Khadem. Mamak Khadem has been called "one of the wonders of world trance music" by the Los Angeles Times, and works from a base of Persian classical music and poetry to weave a sound steeped in ancient tradition but also completely new. While she continues to use Persian classical music and poetry as her foundation, she has widened the scope of her music to include rhythmic and melodic strains from other countries. Mehdi Bagheri is an Iranian kamancheh player and composer. You can find Varan (Rain) on Khadem's 2007 album Jostojoo (Forever Seeking). This video is a live performance from Texas in 2013.

A Window Through the Labels: Mamak Khadem and "A Call to Beginning"

A reminder that Iran cannot be completely summed up, as we Americans like to do, in religious fanaticism, nuclear threat and silly labels like "Axis of Evil" comes in the form of today's random song. An ancient and very literate society in the cradle of civilization, Iran (and its predecessor Persia) has a tradition of music and poetry that predates the Roman Empire - prehistoric Persian king Jamshid is credited with the "invention" of music in Persia and Alexander the Great was said to have been impressed by the music he found in Persia upon his invasion. While little is known of what that music sounded like or how it was produced in Alexander's era, subsequent Persian eras indicate that lutes, harps, flutes and bagpipes, among other instruments, were used to create the distinctive Persian style. After the Muslim conquest of Persia, the traditional music that we associate with Persia and Iran became to take shape.

Today's song, A Call to Beginning, is performed by an ensemble including Iranian singer Mamak Khadem, percussionist Benjamin Wittman, bassist Larry Steen, santoor player Hamid Saeidi, orator Fereidoun Farahandouz, setar player Kourosh Taghavi and saxophonist Ole Mathisen. A Call to Beginning is on Khadem's 2011 album A Window to Color which is Khadem's exploration of the intersection of Eastern and Western traditions. The album is inspired by the poetry and paintings of Iranian artist Sohrab Sepehri. Khadem has been called "one of the wonders of world trance music" by the Los Angeles Times, and works from a base of Persian classical music and poetry to weave a sound steeped in ancient tradition but also completely new.

Ancient Truckstops: Loreena McKennitt and "Caravanserai"

Today's song will take us to the east. Caravanserai is by Loreena McKennitt, a Canadian known for her soprano voice. She is a composer, harpist, accordionist and pianist who writes and performs world music with Celtic and Middle Eastern themes. She released her first album in 1985, and since then has gone on to release nine studio albums and five live albums which have sold 14 million copies worldwide. Her songs have also been featured in television and movies. The title of the song refers to way stops for caravans of goods traveling along the Silk Road. They were, in essence, protected ancient versions of the truck stop where the caravans could bring their camel trains and goods inside for the night to protect them from outlaws, and where other goods could be traded or purchased. Megan and I visited a rug shop in Kuşadası, Turkey that was located inside a former caravanserai and it was pretty cool - it looked like small walled castle - which it essentially was. Caravanserai is from McKennitt's 2006 album An Ancient Muse, in which she explores Celtic and Arabic musical elements as she imagines a journey along the Silk Road.