25
December. Hamburg, Germany
Darya Sings for his Country's
Children
As always the show-hall was full and there wasn't a single spot
available. All seats were taken and a large number of people were
standing, some were sitting on the hallways and on the ground.
Farhad
Darya has a unique and different style in inaugurating every different
concert. The whole hall was looking on the stage as the musicians
started playing the famous "Kabul Jan", and the crowd
started taking a heartening reception. Darya's voice started coming
and he started singing from a corner of the hall from the last seat
rows. As he visually appeared he sung:
"Let
me sing limitless songs
Limitless songs for the agony of the Afghans
For my homeless wandering people
Let me sing from Iran down to Pakistan"
This
was a surprise for Darya's fans and they were really excited. They
all stood while giving him a full round of applause and led him
to stage as he was singing "Kabul Jan" with full passion.
Darya's eyes were feeling blurry due to the heavy follow spots and
camera flashlights. He had his smile on his face just to offer a
gratitude to his audience and his fans' love and appreciation.
This
appreciation and love didn't surprise Darya at all. He acknowledged
that his people adored him as well, the people that he loved more
than his eyes. He was walking on the hallway in the same manner
as he would walk in his own house, the house of confidence and love.
The
first part of the show was dedicated to Darya's new works, with
his sweet voice coloured with Blues music, which was absolutely
comforting to Darya's all time listeners. This colour was added
to his rainbow by adding a new electronic guitar performed by Leander
Reinigung, a creative German guitarist from Berlin. By the end of
the show, everyone acknowledged that Darya came out much better
and stronger than his earlier concerts. At the end of the show while
everyone was moving towards the exit doors of the hall, a young
man who had been Darya's fan from childhood, defined the reasons
for Darya's enhanced performance as:
"
the
love which exists in Darya's heart for his land and his compatriot,
has encouraged him to sing. Even if he was on an illness platform,
but was required of him to sing for Afghanistan's suffered children,
Darya will hit the roof with his voice!". Everyone laughed
and acknowledged, as the young man wisely identified the reason
for Farhad Darya's even better performance.
The
proceeds from this concert were also donated to the committee of
Hamburg senate to deliver aid to Afghan children. Darya personally
mixed with the crowd and encouraged them to participate in this
humanly cause. As a result a good amount of funds was collected.
This
concert ended in the heart of the night, and as always loud rounds
of applaud and appreciation had occupied the atmosphere. Only Darya's
smile was there to respond to this unlimited love that he was receiving.
22 December 2001. Hamburg, Germany
"A Loud Night" Dedicated
to Silence!
The
"Grosse Freiheit" hall has always been a witness of the
biggest German and European rock concerts. On the evening of December
22nd, it again became a witness of a marvellous concert between
some of the most famous rock and pop stars, namely Peter Maffay,
Farhad Darya, Nena, Udo Lindenberg, Kurze Hosen and others.
That
night was truly loud in its terms, and rock stars hit the threshold
of loudness in music that it was virtually impossible to hear someone
talking. The calmest and most comforting music and voice was that
of Farhad Darya. Before performing, when Farhad Darya's turn came,
he took a moment and said to his audience "my music is not
as loud as the ones you have heard this evening so far. In order
to grasp the true meaning of my music, it is important to listen
to my music by your heart's ear and not only by auditory senses".
This
statement created a level of interest in audience and all of them
very carefully attended to Darya's music and offered all their admiration.
Farhad
Darya also had the a few moments to speak with Peter Maffay and
Udo and discuss some future joint projects. All the proceeds of
that night were donated to international bodies such as UNICEF and
would be delivered to Afghanistan's children.
20 December 2001. Hamburg, Germany
Press Conference
The
Patriotischen Gesellschaft hall, senate of Hamburg is a significant
and a long-term holder of honour to display legends of politics
and art throughout history. A large number of German and Afghan
media poured in to listen to Darya's messages, as he was scheduled
for a charity performance in the magnificent AudiMax hall in Hamburg
to raise funds for the needy children of Afghanistan. This concert
was organized by Taal Music & Film Entertainment GMBH. All the
proceeds of this evening's program were donated to deserving needy
Afghan children through the senate committee of Hamburg and "Afghanistan
In Not" (Afghanistan in Emergency) account. This concert is
also part of Darya's world tour of "I am cold!" which
will continue for next few months. At the end of this gathering
Darya had individual interviews with several different TV and radio
stations.
December 18th, 2001. Cosenza, Italy
"A Bridge Between the Stars"
On
this particular evening highly renowned stars had gathered from
almost all corners of the world to show their musical miracle and
perform in this program to help Afghan children. Alex Britti, Farhad
Darya, Romina Power, Harlem Gospel Jubilee, Almame Greite, Andre'
de la Roche
and a large number of other famous artists, along
with Nelofer Pazira, who holds the central character in the movie
"A trip to Kandahar", participated to represent the Afghan
cause. Farhad Darya also took a few moments to respond live on stage
to a question by Mara Venier in regards to censorship and restrictions
on freedom of music in earlier years in Afghanistan. Each attendee
artists performed one or two pieces of their art. Darya performed
his songs (Siamo wa Jalaali and Kabul Jan), and was warmly received
by the present audience. The show titled "A Bridge Between
the Stars" was broadcast on January 5th through RAY TV's national
station across Italy and several neighbouring countries. Darya has
been requested to perform again in Italy, and he will be performing
in Palermo and other Italian cities besides travelling to other
countries on his next tour titled "Seven Cities of Love".
He will be performing solo with his music team in Italy this time.
December 17th 2001. Cosenza, Italy
Press Conference
On
17th of December at 12 in the afternoon, an interesting press conference
was held in the ancient and beautiful theatre of RENDANO, concerning
the extraordinary show, which was scheduled to be co-ordinated by
Italy's National TV "RAY" on December 18th. A large number
of journalists and media representatives were present. Farhad Darya
and Romina Power, a popular Italian artist from the participating
group of artists, and the promoters of the show were present and
responded to questions posed by media.
In
response to the question posed by a Sicilian journalist of why Muslims
and Christians don't call each other religious brothers, Farhad
Darya responded: "Islam is the younger brother of Christianity,
and both have faith in the only God and it's single existence. I
would never feel the need even to "call" them brothers,
since even bringing up this title will create distance and difference
between these two close brothers."
After
the press conference, Darya and his music team continued their rehearsal
in the above named theatre with their popular songs such as "Kabul
Jan" and "Siamo wa Jalaali", which were supposed
to be performed the following day. At around 7 PM Darya had a face
to face interview with RAY TV, and at the end of the session he
performed his "Kabul Jan" (beloved Kabul) on stage without
any accompaniment or music, where the crew were busy while working
to arrange the stage for the next day.
November 30, 2001
Music - - - this Unique Hope
So
many things have happened to the people of Afghanistan since 1979.
They have lost every single mania except their hope and faith. The
current events brought both suspicion and hope to the world. Afghans
worry a lot because of their past experiences. Meanwhile, they are
trying very hard to unify and to approach peaceful stages in their
frustrated and destroyed lives.
One
of the most prominent hopes for peace and brotherhood in Afghanistan
could be approached through music today. The current situation is
offering a huge opportunity to the Afghan music world. The rest
is up to the Afghan musicians if they could take the needed and
desired advantage to help their exhausted nation to survive.
One
of these hopes is Farhad Darya, who has devoted his life to his
beloved people. Early on the morning of November 13th, as is customary
for him, he went to his computer to surf the web and to seek news
about his homeland. Instead of finding the usual list serve e-mails
and news, his mailbox was full of e-mails from thousands of fans,
international journalists, and other non-Afghans focused on his
career and his music. From the barrage of e-mails, he learned that
on that same day when the opposition forces captured the city of
Kabul, after a recitation of holy Quran, and before any official
announcements one of his songs was broadcasted from the radio Kabul.
The
journalists were demanding interviews. They were curious to find
out who he was and why his song was the first one on the radio.
In less than a week, he was interviewed by hundreds of major international
media agencies such Time Magazine, London Times, National Post-Canada,
Le Temps-Switzerland, BBC, ABC, SBS, French Daily Liberation, RAI,
CBC, Radio Capital to name a few. He is still quite busy with the
press.
As
a pacifist artist, Darya believes that this opening has been gifted
to him, that he could voice his people's extinguished hopes through
this medium to all other nations. His music can be one of those
unique modems for the world to know Afghanistan through its expressing
waves. Therefore, he must be very cautious of what he says and what
he presents to the rest of the world.
Today,
stronger and more faithful than ever, Farhad Darya has decided to
stand up once again for the Afghan people. He cannot take another
step further without the support and collaboration from his people.
He needs their encouragement to continue his mission and God given
gift - - his music.
November 2001
Is "GulAroos" there?
Darya
has typically spent at least one to two years creating a CD. With
the stirring anticipation for this new CD he wanted to have it completed
within a daunting two months. To achieve this goal hard work and
many sleepless nights ensued. Darya had to change his entire life
and daily routine. And so he did, successfully. For more than a
month, Darya spent between 18 to 30 hours in front of the computer
in his home studio working on this creation. He would lose track
of time and often go without eating for days. He would sleep for
3 or 4 hours and then continue to work diligently in his studio.
Despite the achievement of this project, it took its toll on Darya
who lost 22 lbs in the process.
In
Summer 2001, before Darya could finish his new album, he was called
away to perform in four European countries. The Afghan artist returned
home with a sense of accomplishment and joy. The events that occurred
currently shocked the world. As a pacifist artist, Darya was deeply
touched by these catastrophes and was unable to do much more than
watch and listen to the news.
After
a few weeks of mourning and recollection, he decided to close his
recent album and forced himself to move on. "GulAroos",
Farhad Darya's new chef-d'oeuvre, was arranged using a series of
new sounds and instruments. As Darya's fans already know, it is
quite normal for each piece of Darya's music to vary from the previous.
This is also the case with "GulAroos". In this album,
Farhad Darya has been concentrating on beats and is using a range
of batteries, especially percussion. A nice combination of precessions
such as Tabla, Daf, Jambe, Dohl, Tumbek and electronic drums played
by diverse artists has been used to intensify the mood of this new
album and to give it a very unique sound. A situation that Darya
ran into was choosing the order for the songs on the album. It is
worth mentioning that by the time Darya had finished the album,
he had changed the list of songs many times over. But that's an
old habit Darya affectionately keeps. As a result, the final version
responds well to the expectations of his followers. The album itself
has not been released yet.
Darya
has more than 800 unrecorded new songs composed and written especially
for him. Choosing between the 800 of what he refers to as his "children"
is the most painstaking step.
October 2001
Concert Project in the Middle
Eastern Countries
For
the last two years Darya has been working to perform in the Middle
East and other Asian countries, such as Iran, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan,
Dubai and Russia. Due to political issues for the last two decades,
Afghan artists had no occasion to perform in these countries. Since
millions of Afghans are currently living in these countries, Darya
had decided to break the ice and to perform for his patriots living
in countries other than Europe, the United States, Australia, and
Canada.
September 30, 2001
World-Music-Motion
Welt-Musik-Bewegung
By
Yama N. Yakmanesh
TV NOI. Hamburg, Germany
For
those in the West curious about Afghani music, the full picture
was unclear for many reasons. Despite being unwilling, Afghan
music has not been totally unknown to them. Having access to
a good sample of Afghan folk music doesn't seem that hard in
these countries. As a matter of a fact, westerners paint the
whole image of Afghan Music into a folk exterior. They mostly
define this music through its traditional face.
In
the last two decades of immigration, the Afghan nation has been
spread all over the world. These two
decades gave Afghan musicians the opportunity and |
(left
to right): Siar Hashemi,
Ustad Sattar Tari Khan, Darya, Khaled Kaihan. |
sufficient
time to experience the unrevealed capabilities of their music to approach
the new and eminent stage of values. While the opportunities for introducing
the entire package of Afghani Music to the western world was not possible
or feasible, these chances were not sought by this society of Afghan
musicians. They had sufficient time, but did not use it to their advantage.
In
that process, one person stood out discovering and tasting every
unexplored era and unique platform of Afghan music. This elegant
and graceful Afghan celebrity is Farhad Darya who shines as a unique
presence in the world of modern Afghan music.
Afghan
people find a perfect crystallization of their musical heritage
mixed nicely with global music experiences. Farhad Darya encompasses
the amorous language of the current Afghan population. Afghans scattered
all around the globe experience such a miracle in Darya, which can
treat, moderate, and hunt hearts.
Farhad
Darya's current performance experiences prove that his music is
capable of crossing borders and addressing more people regardless
of their geographical locations. The people of Afghanistan are determined
to pay back the debt it feels after experiencing Darya's music and
his global reach around the world. "Welt-Musik-Bewegung"
arranged on September 8th in Hamburg, was one of the most important
steps taken in the history of Afghan Pop Music abroad.
These
artists and groups were supposed to perform in that concert and
mini festival:
Well- known Reggae singer, Jamaica Papa Curvin; German pop star,
Heinz Rudolf Kunze; a multi-national percussion band from different
middle eastern countries; a southern Indian dance group; and finally,
the most outstanding and impressive singer and composer from Afghanistan,
Farhad Darya.
In
an interview, Jamaica Papa Curvin said: "Afghans told me that
I am known in their country. They have seen my videos with Bony
M. It made me interested to travel one day to Afghanistan. Even
though I have never had this opportunity, I am very happy to perform
next to an Afghan."
Farhad Darya in this regard said: "I don't sing only for my
people, but for the whole of humanity. I speak to every fellow in
this universe. I am coming from Maulana Rumi's territory who was
the friend of all human beings from Kabul to Washington. Without
being a linguist, I speak all languages through my music. All humanity
shares the same agitation and sorrow. If I could reflect a slight
notion of this sorrow through the help of my music, why do I have
to keep quiet? I am a simple hearted son of little known Afghanistan.
The soil, which doesn't have any, fund but love. Why don't I share
this love as Rumi did? Let every one listen and admire the love
which is not a product of one, but every one's property."
Two
weeks prior to the concert, Radio NDR in Hamburg announced: "The
main attraction - Das Houptattraktion - of this night is Farhad
Darya, the Afghan celebrity".
The open-air concert was supposed to be performed in the Stadt Park
(City Park) in Hamburg under a starry sky. But the sky over Hamburg
looked sad, as if it didn't understand the music's words. It rained
restlessly and thundered the whole week. Due to Hamburg's rainy
sky, the performance the audience of many countries was expecting
to attend, didn't take place.
The event, which took several months to be organized, was very interesting
for Afghan people. Seeing their superstar in the audience and listening
to the star coming from a far and exotic place in the universe with
millions of fans was curiously interesting. Especially when he was
introduced through European Media as the main attraction, where
the stage had to be shared by the well-known European stars too.
Even
though this mini festival was not performed, we will be attending
this and other appearances by Darya in some other time to get his
message and his words through amorous music.
September 28, 2001
Qahar Asi's Commemoration
Seven
years ago, on September 28th, the legendary Afghan poet Qahar Asi
lost his life. He was the victim of a skyrocket in Kabul. Usually
on this date Darya gets together with some of Asi's followers and
celebrates the eternal life of this nobleman. As some of Darya and
Asi's fans may recall, on September 28th 2000 Darya performed in
Canada to commemorate Asi's life and raised money in order to publish
one of his books. But this year instead on the 28th of September
Darya was in his studio working on one of the songs from his new
CD "GulAroos". The title of this song translated in English
is "We Are All Brothers". This particular song has a very
significant message to mankind, a message that Asi shared.
September 22
Autumn
Days of Maturity- my Season- my Anniversary
Today,
the first day of fall, the season of giving and sharing love, the
colorful season of Darya's dreams and loves, is also the day that
Darya opened his eyes to the world. Today is his birthday. He celebrated
his birthday alone with his lovely wife and his son, just the way
he wanted it.
September 21, 2001
"Chorasan Musik"
Lost the Court
One
of the bootleg copies largely distributed was Darya's video from
his European 1998-1998 tour. "Chorasan Musik" in Hamburg
published this video. It was time for Darya to react. He took "Chorasan
Musik" to the court in Hamburg, Germany. The process took several
months but in the end Darya won the lawsuit against them. As a result,
the company lost their license and today "Chorasan Musik"
is no longer in business.
September 14, 2001
Darya Postpones his Tours
Darya
announced the cancellation of his lengthy tour in Europe and California
because of the current critical situation. The Afghan singer communicated
the postponement of his tour through the well-known Afghan journal
"Omaid".
September 8, 2001
Press Conference in Hamburg
On
September 8th 2001, a group of Afghan journalists coming from different
TV and radio stations in Germany got together and listened to Darya's
ideas. Darya was supposed to perform that night as the featured
artist at an open-air concert along with other bands coming from
around the world. The movement was called "Welt-Musik-Bewegung,
World-Music-Motion" and was supposed to take place in Stadt
Park Hamburg. The organizers were expecting more than 5,000 people
at this show. Due to bad weather, Darya decided to postpone the
show till the 29th at the CCH in Hamburg. Afghan TV in Europe broadcasted
a detailed report about the concert explaining that it was to represent
a large movement of world music, intending to bring different cultures
together.
September 4, 2001
Darya's Home or a Dating Dome?
Very
often the names of celebrities are misused. This happens in every
country and very frequently. Again Darya's name has been targeted.
People Darya doesn't even know have registered his name without
his knowledge to use the web site as a dating area. Thanks to Darya's
name this site is one of the most visited sites on Internet by Afghans.
Yet, it is important to note that Darya has nothing to do with this
site.
August 26, 2001
Visiting Immigrant Camps
Darya
was invited to visit the Afghan immigrant camps near Copenhagen,
Denmark. Afghans living in these camps have never had the opportunity
to see Darya perform. He intended to go to these camps, along with
his musicians, to pay a visit to his fellow Afghans. Among the celebrities
accompanying Darya were Zahir Howaida, Samay Hamed, Yama Yakmanesh,
as well as Darya's entire European touring team. A group of journalists,
along with the founder of the "Neda-e-Watan" radio and
TV channels in Copenhagen were to be present on this trip as well.
Unfortunately, the night before the visit Darya and his band learned
that the visit was cancelled due to an argument between two groups
of immigrants from two different countries. One person was killed
in this uprising.
August 25, 2001
"Can you Stop the Birds
Singing?"
Darya
met with Marie Korpe, the Executive Director of "Free Muse"
at the night of his show in Copenhagen. Even though this meeting
was too short, it was very effective with regards to current music
censorship issues. Afghanistan is known as one of the most prominent
countries losing their entire treasury and heritage of traditional
music. Darya is invited to represent Afghan artists on the Music
Censorship Conference taking place in Denmark in 2002. He will be
one of the main speakers at this conference speaking on the present
state of music in his country. "Free Muse" is a large
Danish Association founded in 1999. The main objective of Free Muse
is to fight against music censorship and to protect the emancipation
of musical expression.
August 25, 2001 Copenhagen
Best Singer Award
By
K. Taighoon
It
was August 25, 2001 and was considered a warm day by the residence
of Copenhagen. But for those who came from other countries nearby
and afar, it was just a nice day. The hall was full of eager
faces. It was rumored that approximately 1200 were in attendance.
The Afghans in Denmark have never before witnessed a gathering
of this magnitude. From the stage a man was looking at the eager
faces of the audience that were unable to contain their excitement.
He was looking at them as if through the lens of a camera focused
on the crowd. The faces looked familiar. Does he recognize any
one? Is he looking at a familiar face? It looks like he
does recognize them. Yes! He knows these faces very |
Ceremony
of "Best Singer Award"
Farhad Darya with Malek Sitez, the founder of
"Neda-e-Watan" Radio and TV |
well.
These faces are as clear to him as water and closer than air. He has
seen them before. He has also seen them in 1989, the year he was chosen
as the singer of the year.
For
a moment, he is awash with great memories. In 1989 at the Intercontinental
Hotel in Kabul, he was recognized and selected as the singer of
the year in front of these same faces and the in presence of other
great and famous musicians and artists of that time. It was said
that he was a great choice. That was one of the reasons, that everyone
had tried their best in organizing a great event. The video of that
night had been copied and watched by the people over and over again
inside and outside of the country.
Now
he knows why he recognizes these faces, it was August 25, 2001.
The hall was not very large, yet the crowd was larger than the hall.
It looked like the roof and the walls of the hall were reinforced
to contain the power of emotions and applause of that night. It
was the night to choose the 2000/2001 best singer/artist of Afghanistan.
For more than one year, the Afghan foreigners in the small country
of Denmark utilized a lot of effort to choose their favorite musician.
This effort was undertaken by Malik Setiz the anchor for "Nida-e-Watan"
Radio and Television Program in Copenhagen. Nida-e-Watan contacted
Afghan organizations and Afghan literary figures all over the world.
They as well agreed with the choice of the Afghan residents in Denmark.
The date to announce this choice was set for August 25, 2001.
Aside
from the announcers and representatives of the social and cultural
societies, Zahir Howaida, Head of Afghan Artists Union in Europe
and one of the well-known and respected names in the Afghan world
of music and culture spoke on the topic of this selection. Ms. Maria
Korpe Executive Director of "Freemuse", an international
society fighting against the music censorship around the globe was
a guest speaker and introduced Mr. Darya with a gift from the society.
The
crowd was wild with excitement, and continuously applauding. From
the stage, he was again looking at the emotional and excited faces
of the crowd. That night he heard his name repeated again and again
by the speakers, the announcers and the crowd of the people who
choose him, Farhad Darya
..Farhad Darya
He
wanted to respond to the love that was bestowed upon him by the
people. He said, "by honoring me with this title, you have
not just appreciated me, but have given respect and appreciation
to the music of Afghanistan". I am but just a reason, and then
he sang. He sang with passion, it looked as if the emotions and
excitement of the crowd was flowing towards the stage and was being
incorporated in the music of Darya. The heartbeats of the crowd
became his musical rhythm and he kept on singing.
In
Afghanistan, everyone did not have the chance or means to listen
to or play music. Outside Afghanistan organized musical talent improvement
and encouragement was rare. What was seen was a handful of individual
talents. The most effective talent search was the worldwide Afghan
people selection of favorite music artist on August 25, 2001 where
Farhad Darya was once again chosen as the musician of the year.
Even
though Afghans rarely agree with each other, this was one instance
that they came together and selected their choice musician. Today,
Darya is a musician that widely travels from one country to next
and from one continental to the other in search of Afghan music
lovers. He is searching for the heartbeat of the Afghan music lover
in each and every city that he visits or lives in.
Whatever
mistakes Afghans may have made, by choosing Darya the most favorite
and talented signer was not one of them.
August 2001
Darya's Band on the Rise
Lately
Darya has been showing a growing interest in a combination of rhythms
and percussion. He is gradually intensifying this feature in his
music. Darya is not only focusing on this aspect in his albums,
but also in his live performances. As a result, Darya's band is
growing. New professional musicians are now joining Darya in his
shows.
Classical
Tabla will be performed by Ustad Sattar Khan Tari, one of the two
most creative and well known Tabla players among Indian and Pakistani
musicians. The talented young Afghan Tabla player Siar Hashemi will
play Tabla and Tumbek as well. He masters not only the classical
Tabla rules, but he also plays Afghan traditional and pop music.
Another of Darya's band members, Khaled Kayhan, was raised in a
family surrounded by music. At the age of 6, he started playing
keyboard and amazed music lovers. Last, but certainly not least,
Quraishi, a Downtown Manhattan, NY resident, known for his love
for Rabab (short necked, plucked lute) will play this typical Afghan
instrument to give Darya's music a more Patton touch. Ashraf Khan,
a well-known Pakistani sitar player, has performed on Darya's last
three albums. Since Darya wants to keep the originality of his music
and to perform on stage with the same quality of that on his CD,
Ashraf Khan will accompany Farhad Darya on his tours.
Two
other popular Afghan musicians are touring with Darya in the US
and Canada. Abdullah Qasimi is an experienced keyboard player and
the grandson of Ustad Qasim Afghan, the legend of Afghan music and
culture. The youngest band member with Darya is Mustafa Sameyee
who plays Tabla and mixes the Afghan traditional way of playing
Tabla with a more contemporary flair of pulse and tempo.
On
his recent tour in Europe, for the first time Darya started playing
percussion in addition to the keyboard and Harmonium that he usually
plays. He plays "Bangra", a kind of Punjabi Dohl with
his fingers and palm, which is normally played with two sticks.
He is continually inventing and experiencing a new use for these
instruments. All these various percussions give Darya's music a
new and amazing aura.
June 2001
Flying with Efficient Technology
These
days Farhad Darya wants to update his studio where he sequences
and arranges the music of his own CDs and the CDs of other artists.
Darya is upgrading his equipment to a new generation of sound sources,
sound modules, software and computer equipment. Part of his music
is arranged electronically and for this part he would like to use
the latest technology. This process may take weeks.
June 2001
Let me Voice my Word!
Darya
decided to reduce the number of interviews he agreed to with various
TV channels, radios and newspapers. The Afghan musician was not
always happy with the editing that some journalists performed on
his interviews. Often this editing was so poorly done that it completely
changed Darya's intended words and what he wanted to communicate
to his fans. A second objective of Darya is to avoid repeating himself.
May 2001
Movie Sound Track
After
working on the soundtrack for the Afghan movie " In Foreign
Land", produced in California in 1998, many Afghan moviemakers
asked Darya to work with them. None received a positive answer from
him. Among other projects, Darya was asked to produce the music
for the motion picture "Nilofer Dans La Pluie" created
in France and Pakistan. Since Darya wasn't happy with his previous
experience in the Afghan movie world, he rejected the proposition.
"In
Foreign Land" has been on market for three years. A large enticement
in the selling of this movie in the Afghan market was Darya's music.
The sound track of this movie with three new songs was a huge success
for Farhad Darya. One could say that this CD is among one of Darya's
hit albums.
May 15, 2001
Business is not Everything
Since
early 2000, many bootleg copies of Darya's audio and videos were
produced and distributed in different European countries and in
the US. Some of Darya's fans; unhappy with the quality of these
copies, came to Darya to complain. Some people even thought that
these copies were distributed through Darya's agreement and that
he would financially take advantage of this selling. In order to
clarify this misunderstanding, Darya arranged a broad scope of interviews
with the Afghan media such as "Omaid" weekly journal.
He let his fans know which editions were legally distributed with
artist's approval and which were the poor quality bootleg publications.
April 28, 2001
"Bedel" Conference in
"House of Mirror"
For
the first time, on April 28th 2001, "House of Mirror"
organized a broad conference to celebrate Bedel's word and his chef-d'oeuvre
in Virginia. More than 120 Afghan intellectuals, poets and writers
coming from different American States and European countries attended
this conference. They came to talk about and to analyze the mysterious
words of this great Farsi poet.
Darya,
one of the founders of this organization, was responsible of putting
together this conference, and intends to publish some of the lectures
held at the conference.
April 2001
Darya's Fans
"Don't
forget us, Darya!"
A
very time-consuming project that Darya undertakes is the preparation
of CDs for other artists. Darya composes the songs, often writes
the lyrics and does the entire music arrangements. As a result,
Darya cannot publish his own projects and albums in a time frame
he would like to. A lack of new songs and the need of a compositor
such as Darya have been very significant in the last two decades
in Afghan culture. As a result of this demand, Darya has decided
to reduce his collaboration with other artist and concentrate on
his own productions.
February 2001
"Here, No One Sings a Song"
Qahar
Asi's new book is ready to be published in early 2001. Asi, one
of the most gifted Afghan poets of its anguishing decade, was killed
by a skyrocket attack on September 28, 1994. For years Darya has
been working, unyieldingly, on a volume of Asi's chef-d'oeuvre,
which the poet didn't get the chance to publish when he was alive.
Darya's intention is to bring out a new album consisting exclusively
of Asi's unpublished work. In addition, the album will contain a
reading by Asi that was recorded shortly before his sudden death.
The
expenses for this album were collected from a concert in Toronto
to commemorate Asi's life and death.
Asi's
work will soon be published in an English language version. Dr.
Sharif Faez, an Afghan intellectual professor, is currently working
on these translations. Darya is poised to write the preface for
this book.
January 2001
A House of Mirror
As
much as Darya loves music, he loves lyrics. Before converting to
the music world, he first started as a devoted poet. In the beginning
he discovered his natural talent for creating verse. With his devotion
to the ascension of Farsi's classic poet Mirza Abdul Qader Bedel,
in Fall 2001 Darya joined a group of scholars familiar with the
difficulty and secrecy of Bedel's poetry. They founded an intellectual
society called "House of Mirror". Bedel is considered
one of the most challenging Farsi poets of all times. "House
of Mirror" became a professional research center of Bedel's
work. This group of scholars tries to interpret the great poet's
aphorism in a contemporary context with respect to the actual norms
and standards. House of Mirror's meetings are every Thursday night
from 9pm to 3am.
In
these research sessions they try to decode and clarify the secrecy
of the great poet, philosopher and Gnostic. Some knowledgeable academicians
such as Prof. Ishaq Negargar, Prof. Rahim Elham, Dr. Samay Hamed,
Prof. S. Ghoryani, and others join the "House of Mirror"
either via phone or in person.
In his first years of exile to Germany, Darya discovered new melodies
in Bedel's words that hadn't been experienced by other musicians
in his culture. Farhad Darya has written 45 new songs in this new
wave of Bedel's chef-d'oeuve. After having further explored Bedel's
mysteries, thanks to the researches within the "House of Mirror",
Darya is hoping to be able to record and publish this special edition.
January 2001
Darya and Ustad Vilayat
Khan
These
days Darya travels once a week to New Jersey to take advantage of
the vast knowledge of the greatest Indian music professor and sitar
player Ustad Vilayat Hosain Khan. It was the fall of 2000 when Darya
met Ustad for the first time and officially became his scholar.
Farhad
Darya started playing Afghan and Indian classical music 23 years
ago. He intends to expand his knowledge in this domain as much as
possible. Most of Darya's vocal exercises are in accordance with
the rules of Afghan-Indo classical music.
January 2001
New Breeze
2001
has brought a new wave of discovery in Farhad Darya's artistic
life. In the coming decade, Darya seeks a stimulating and passionate
course for his music. One significant event, worthy of mentioning,
was his meeting and new companionship with one of the greatest
Afghan poets, Samay Hamed.
The first gathering between the two artists took place in Hamburg
on October 1st, 2000. This date marked the beginning of a new
revolution in music and poetry in Afghan culture. Shortly after
their first meeting, Hamburg witnessed the full success of the
popular
Afghan musician with his performance at Audi Max.
Nothing unusual for Darya! More than 2000 people |
August
2000, Denmark (left to right):
Samay Hamed, Darya, and
Yama Nashir Yakmanesh. |
enjoyed
Darya's music that night and relaxed to the voice of their beloved
artist. The friendship between Darya and Hamed developed into a great
bond, but this cultural and artistic union was not complete. There
was another person whose ideas and instinctive knowledge have served
Darya as a guiding light throughout his career. Yama Yakmanesh, another
Afghan intellectual, is the third person in this union of souls. Yakmanesh
is the founder of "Noi" TV in Hamburg and the Director of
"Cheraagh", a literary criticism magazine.
After
these three met, a spiritual companionship evolved. Soon thereafter
Darya came back to Virginia, Hamed went back to Copenhagen and Yakmanesh
went back to his normal life in Hamburg, where he resides.
Time passed and the three artists decided to establish their association
and to name it "Gardoona-e-Ayiaran".
"Gardoona-e-Ayiaran"
is determined to create a greater future for Afghan music and it's
culture.
The
new album "GulAroos" will be the first collaborative project
for these artists. Hamed will be working on some of the lyrics for
this album, as Yakmanesh will contribute to it too. They hope to
work together for many years creating and influencing the music
of their country.
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