A “progressive” musician knows no border; but it seems that Salim Ghazi Saeedi’s ancestors enjoy hunting him down in his veins!
Iran, Tehran – Salim grew up in Iran; a country too proud of its ancient art. Nevertheless Salim from his early childhood, barely followed Iranian traditional music. But interestingly enough, now after 5 years of music composing and releasing 4 albums mostly in progressive rock, Salim is constantly receiving notions about his Middle Eastern themes and using Persian influences.
The oriental mystery within eastern musical themes along with their dance elements versus raw energy restrained in western rock could result in a thrilling experience. Meanwhile to Salim’s own surprise: “My music listening habit has mostly been focused around jazz, blues and modern rock. I’ve never studied eastern music or dedicatedly listened to such records! Actually if there is any eastern influence discernible in my works, it has happened involuntarily.”
In this regard, one may conclude that as a musician, no matter which genre you prefer or what listening habit you adopt, sometimes you cannot elude your ancestors, who may have hunted you in your veins for centuries! The following speculations on Salim’s latest release, Iconophobic, may testify the eastern lore within Salim’s veins while his ears dignify western tradition:
– “It mixes classical, rock, jazz and Persian music to create a mish mash of pain, longing and anger.” –Stave Magazine, Christy Claxton, Aug 2010 [more]
– “Equal parts fusion, classical, heavy rock, and Persian” –Spiritual Prog, Oct 2010 [more]
– “You do hear the definite eastern sound mixed in with most of his songs.” –ProgNaut webzine, Lee Henderson, Oct 2010 [more]
– “We can appreciate the writing skills of Salim and his great imagination to create images and sounds to merge styles that are located in the middle of far apart East and West” [In Italian] –Arlequins webzine, Jessica Attene, Oct 2010 [more]
– “There are definitely some Middle-Eastern sounds…” –Music Street Journal, Issue 85, Gary Hill, Dec 2010 [more]
– “With his one-man band, the artist also detour into areas such as fusion / jazz-rock and oriental music.” [In German] –Babyblaue Prog, Siggy Zielinskim, Oct 2010 [more]
– “Asian-Iranian folklore patterns combined with Western rock music.” [In German] –Progressive Newsletter #70, Volkmar Mantei, Nov 2010 [more]