Susan Roshan
We’re not luddites, we just feel you deserve better than some unsatisfying algorithmical advice when it comes to music. This is the sixth edition of our Low Culture subscriber’s newsletter, Organic Intelligence, which features tQ’s favourite people taking a deep dive into their record collections to offer you DJ bag gold, Discogs bargains and all-back-to-mine nuggets. This month musician and writer Mariam Rezaei unearths five gems from the world of Iranian pop on Caltex Records. You can listen to the sixth Organic Intelligence playlist on Spotify, Apple and Tidal (and remember that all your monthly playlists, as well as your exclusive essays, can be found on the Low Culture Quietus page). To get access to the Organic Intelligence newsletter, you need to sign up to our subscriber system via the Steady checkout below.
Listen to the Organic Intelligence Iranian Pop On Caltex Records Playlist on Spotify, Apple Music and Tidal
Growing up mixed heritage in 1980s Gateshead was isolating. My brothers and I were part of a small minority of people of colour in a school of over 300 children, and we felt it every day. My Iranian Dad arrived in the UK at the start of the 1970s to study in Newcastle. He met and married my Mam before they moved to Aberdeen and then Tehran, until she was sent back to Gateshead with my elder brother who had just been born. This was due to the unfurling Iranian Revolution.
I arrived, along with my twin brother, during the mid-80s in Low Fell, Gateshead, pre-Angel Of The Nor…
