Marjan Vahdat & Tord Gustavsen
Longing for a homeland and paradise you cannot visit
In a country with strict restrictions on women singing in public, Iranian Marjan Vahdat has learned from the masters of Persian music. She has had to leave her Persian garden and paradise; Iran, and now lives in exile in California. Through the songs on her third album, Our Garden is Alone (2022), she conveys the deep longing for her homeland, with all its cultural treasures of poetry, music, images and textiles, in addition to unique cultural landscapes and stories from a deep and lush cultural tradition. The longing for the people who live there is also great, those she grew up with, but whom she no longer gets to meet. Our Garden is Alone , received top reviews and topped the international album charts when it was released in 2022.
Marjan Vahdat is a well-established international artist, known for her expressive and vibrantly clear voice. Together with her older sister, Mahsa Vahdat, Marjan has performed on stage under Førdefestivalen a couple of times before, but now she comes for the first time with her own project. With her she brings one of our most famous and popular jazz pianists, Tord Gustavsen, and a stellar team of musicians: Ertan Tekin on duduk, Rune Arnesen on percussion and Gjermund Silset on double bass.
Marjan Vahdat - vocals
Tord Gustavsen - piano, electronics
Ertan Tekin - duduk
Rune Arnesen - percussion
Gjermund Silset - double bass