Tehran-born Mahdyar began his career at just 16 after classical training, immersed himself into the then-nascent Persian hip hop scene as a producer, and went on to become a formative figure in the country’s now bountiful culture of extraordinary electronic music.
He was blacklisted by Iran’s Ministry of Culture in 2009 and left Tehran for Europe, and has since worked in film composition and with institutions like Paris’ Centre Pompidou and Sweden’s National Theater Riksteatern.
It’s not until now, however, that Mahdyar has come up with a full-length debut LP. That record, Seized, is out via Kowloon Records on Friday, February 23, but you can hear it streaming in full exclusively with tQ below.
Says Mahdyar of the record: "I’m pleased to be able to share my debut album with you. The debut album is always a unique thing since it can sometimes be a lifetime in the making and this is certainly true of Seized. Creatively speaking, I have been working on it intermittently for quite a long time, I brought certain elements of the recordings with me from Iran, other parts were added at periods of inspiration during my journey through Europe and the whole process culminated in me beginning to piece everything together towards its final shape over the past year or so.
"My previous experiences juxtaposed against current events had a big part in deciding the overall theme of the album, 2 things that have really been on my mind recently are the problems the world is currently facing from all forms of extremism as well as the greed for power that seems to be infecting all of humanity. Something has been seized. It can be peace, love, thoughts, culture, life, privacy, freedom, media, borders, world… it’s not necessarily clear. It’s up to the listener to decide what has been seized."
To pre-order Mahdyar’s new record, click here
