By Babak Khiavchi, Friend of the Center
On March 31, 2024, a solemn and large crowd gathered at the Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium in Washington, D.C., to celebrate and remember Iranian musician, Faramarz Aslani, who passed away after battling cancer. “Faramarz Aslani: A Celebration of Life” brought together many beloved fans, friends, and members of the Iranian diaspora community to celebrate this innovative and dynamic musician and performer. Celebrated Iranian musician, Babak Amini, a longtime friend and collaborator of Faramarz Aslani, confided in me that Aslani’s passing had completely changed his perspective towards life, and that the experience was extremely humbling for him.
Indeed, in our minds, our idols live forever, and in the case of Faramarz Aslani who transcended time and place with his genre-defying music and lyrics, his sudden passing on March 20, 2024, sent a huge shockwave throughout several generations of Iranians who were inspired to take up and learn to play the guitar because of Aslani’s songs.
Faramarz Aslani was always much more than the first Iranian singer, songwriter, and guitarist in Persian pop music. I first heard his music 40 years ago, and the sincerity in his lyrics and voice instantly attracted me like a moth to a flame. Twenty years later, in 2010, I was fortunate to collaborate with him on his first independent album release The Third Line and my admiration for him as an artist and humanitarian only continued to grow after that experience.
Although he was not considered a prolific artist among his contemporaries, releasing only six full albums and 12 singles over the course of five decades, my association and collaboration with him revealed the depth and breadth of his artistic and aesthetic creativity. He never compromised his artistic integrity, and never released “filler” songs or sought to produce just to keep up with musical trends.
Everything he wrote, he lived by, and believed in.
I fondly remember a late-night chat at 3:00 am in which I asked him why he was still awake, and to which he quickly replied: “A song woke me up and I had to finish it!”
Faramarz Aslani often stressed that he prioritized the power of words and lyrics over music, and that for him music was a frame to better portray the lyrics.
He also mentioned that he did not feel Persian lyrics could be set correctly to Jazz and Blues music without losing their true character, and that he had found the genre of Flamenco music a much better fit for Persian poetry.
Songwriters experiment and evolve throughout their career until they find their true voice, or their muse. While Bob Dylan initially wrote topical songs like “The Death of Emmett Till,” “Talkin’ John Birch Paranoid Blues,” and “Let Me Die in My Footsteps,” to raise awareness about specific social justice issues, it was not until the abstract lyrics of “Blowin’ in the Wind” that he achieved his universal appeal which allowed the listener to read their own concerns into the lyrics.
Similarly, Faramarz Aslani’s lyrics evoked a timelessness and often focused on the most common human emotions of love and nostalgia, rather than particular events.
However, after he met his second wife, Marjan Fakki-Aslani, the context of his lyrics transformed from portraying the anxiety of separation in “Ageh-Yeh Rooz Beri Safar” (If You Travel Away One Day) and the heavy loneliness of “Ghaleh Tanhaee” (Fortress of Solitude) to reflect his newfound inner peace and tranquility. In the song, ”To” (You), Faramarz Aslani addresses his muse and loved one as “My wings and feathers, my fellow traveler, my everything and more, you,” and “The warmth of our home, the passion of the poem, the text of the sonnet, you.”
Faramarz Aslani’s universal appeal was rooted in his deep humanity. He treated strangers and friends with equal respect and humility, and, even during the most stressful of times, he made the most humane decisions. He was as easily accessible as his heartfelt lyrics yet exuded a charm and confidence unlike any other. He was our Leonard Cohen, and his song “Ageh Yeh Rooz” remains the most performed Persian pop song at social gatherings.
I will never know what song woke him up at 3:00 am that night, as I never dared to ask him and intrude upon his creative privacy, but I do know that his loving memory will live on through his music which have become anthems for Iranians across generations and indeed across the globe.
Babak Khiavchi is a Seattle-based tech professional and music producer.
Photos courtesy of Ali Khaligh and video of courtesy of Bahram9821 on Vimeo.
With a Trace: Documenting and Sharing the Experiences of the Iranian Diaspora 