Translating this dual perspective to his artistic practice, Sote’s most recent album, the critically acclaimed Sacred Horror In Design, brings his advanced synthesis techniques into dialogue with traditional Persian instruments. In this rapidly evolving scene, Ata Etbekar aka Sote occupies a somewhat unusual position having lived in Germany and the US for most of his life and released on labels such as Warp, Sub Rosa, and Morphine, the now Tehran-based artist is familiar with the realities of music making both inside and outside of Iran. Some restrictions are still in place, but because electronic music is largely wordless, it is widely perceived to be less of a corrupting influence on the youth of Iran and so electronic musicians are afforded a certain degree of freedom to perform, organize festivals and even tour outside of the country. Obtaining and listening to music from outside the country was difficult and at times dangerous and only in the last decade or so have Iran’s citizens – thanks largely to widespread internet access – been able to freely follow and participate in worldwide developments in music.
From the 1980s onward, traditional folk and classical music were the only officially approved forms and pop and rock musicians went underground, forced to perform well outside the view of censors.
After the revolution of 1979 transformed the country into an Islamic Republic, political tensions, economic sanctions and cultural isolation all kept the country’s music culture turned squarely inward.
Iran is probably not the first place that comes to mind when thinking about modern electronic music.
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