Abbass Mehrpouya - Mehrpouya Sitar

8.0 – Iran – 1976

Not unlike some similar Turkish releases from this time, this album from one of Iran’s top sitarists lurches between more traditional Eastern forms and more modern Western styles, skilfully blending the two into a fascinating fusion of cultures and flavours. In general, the instrumentals tend to the more Western, funky side of things. “Soul Raga” and the eleven minute “African Jumbo” are both excellent examples of this unusual, psych-flavoured orientalist groove. The vocal tracks sound more like what you would expect to hear in a pre-Revolutionary Teheran coffeehouse, but the juxtaposition is not jarring, The blend of heavy drums, funky hornlines, and slinky wah-wahs with the Eastern flutes, jangling sitars, and droning harmoniums recalls the work of India’s Ananda Shankar, except that Mehrpouya’s work somehow feels more authentic (Ananda Shankar just feels a bit... touristy...).

Further discographic note: it seems my version of this record is sourced from the unofficial 2009 CD release. The sound quality is rather poor and muffled indicating a cassette source. The album was also reissued along with a number of 45s from the same period as a triple LP set called (to add to the confusion) Soul Raga by Pharaway Sounds in 2012. I can’t vouch for this, but my understanding is that the sound is much better on that edition.