The Flaming Pines label this week released Absence, a compilation curated by Iranian musician Arash Akbari collecting more than 70 minutes of all new music by artists involved in the experimental scene of Iran. Above, you can check out track three on the compilation, 9T Antiope’s ‘Venator’.

The compilation offers a snapshot of the music currently coming out Iran’s experimental and ambient music scene taking in work from 12 different acts. An introductory essay by Siavish Amini who also contributes music to the compilation says: “The tracks collected for this compilation are a perfect example of art that is not "newsworthy". And in this way they act as a gateway to the ignored and overlooked landscape of experimental electronic music in Iran. It is helpful to listen to all of the pieces in this compilation in contrast to the established language of what is now an Iranian musical mainstream.

“This Iranian mainstream is not that disconnected from the global mainstream, and the philosophy, politics and the lifestyle this manifests. The mainstream in Iran is not only what the government endorses but it also consists of very shallow imitations of various musical genres, cleared of any signs of cultural or political resistance, backed and released by private labels and companies. 

“The artists presented here, including myself, are people who are constructing our musical language as part of our lives – a project which is no less of an experiment than the music itself. We are the voices who choose to be absent from the news and the musical mainstream (and in some cases from the city of our birth) in order to express the complex range of emotions and ideas which make up our lives, as honestly as we can.”

Absence is out now and can be purchased directly from Flaming Pines, via Bandcamp, here.