REM: How did you get into music?

Rio: I grew up in an acapella church (all sounds made by mouth) and both my parents loved to sing so from a very young age, music was always something that has been a part of my life. I joined my first band when I was 15 and from then on I have consistently either been in bands or performed acoustics.

REM: What is the state of rock music in Australia?

Rio:Difficult question to answer, there’s a lot of high quality talent here in Australia but the support for rock music is rather fragile. We are quite a laid back culture so if something is good we appreciate it and get into it but from a promotion and booming standpoint, rock music is way down the food chain which is why most of Australia’s best rock acts go overseas.

REM: How hard or easy is it to hold a concert in Australia?

Rio:It’s not that difficult really. It all comes down to promotion. 

 REM: Do people really enjoy rock concerts in Australia?

Rio:I feel like they do, however, rock music is not at the top of the food chain so options for seeing a good rock show in a good venue can be quite limited.

REM: What countries would you like to perform in?

Rio: I’ve been very blessed to perform in 12 different countries. I’m a big fan of seeing new sights and having new experiences so I’m always excited about going somewhere new but Brazil, Mexico, Japan and the Middle East would probably be top of my ‘to play’ list.

REM: Tell us about your new work.

Rio:My new material is much more expansive and in many ways more free. I’m really enjoying the process of creating this new record.

REM: What matters most to you in making your songs?

Rio: Authenticity. I have to feel like I’m being honest and it also has to be something that I feel like I’ll want to play for the rest of my life.

REM: How would you like to end this interview?

Rio:Thank you so much for your time, both to the interview but also to you as a reader. Wherever you may be in the world, I hope to see you at a show soon!

Edited by: Shereen G.

Tell us briefly about your experience.
I started taking picture of live shows in 1989, as I wanted to meet the Ramones, my idols, and I never stopped since. In the early days, it was a good hobby that later became my work of 15 years. I worked for major promoters in Italy and now I’m the official photographer of Virgin Radio Italy, the biggest music related platform in my country, which we partner up with for major rock events.

When did you start photography and how did you select rock music photography?

I stared taking pictures as I wanted to be part of music world but I was too lazy to start taking music lessons. Anyway, I’ve always been attracted to live photos and records artworks. Rock music is the genre I listen to so I love taking pictures during the shows of bands I like.

Who would you like to take photos of his/her concert?
I took pictures to everyone I wanted to. The only ones I missed that I wanted to shoot were David Bowie and Nirvana. I was not that big [of a photographer] in those days and they didn’t give me the photo pass but I had the pleasure to see their shows and also met them.

Which one of your photos do you like most?
I don’t have a shot that I love more than others, I can’t choose. I only can tell that I love taking pictures of some bands rather than others…. Depeche Mode is my favorite one at the moment

What are the hardships of this field of photography?
Digital cameras brought in the pit an army of young photographers who work for free. They only work for the likes on social networks.

Why did you choose rock music style?
I didn’t choose rock music but Rock chose me!

What advice do you have for rock music photography lovers?
Work hard and with passion so the results will come.

You’ve met many great rock stars in the world, have you ever exhibited these photos?
I’m steadily on the road with my exhibitions…. and I’d absolutely love that!

Photos are courtesy of  Henry Ruggeri.

Edited by: Zee Ismail.

Two of Reza Yazdani’s features that distinguishes him are his unique voice and his excellent performances. He also released 10 albums so far, and received many valid rewards for The Best Album and rock piece in Iran.

• How do you evaluate Iranian Rock music compared to worldwide Rock music?

The Iranian rock music is new to the market compared to worldwide Rock music, and it has a lot to add and also Iran’s Rock music is far from the world’s Rock music. People like me or Kaveh Yaghmaei started to do that years ago.I started this kind of music with “Shahre Del” and “Parande bi parande” in 1999, Kaveh started Rock music with “Matarsak” simultaneously.I remember exactly when I recorded “Shahre Del” album in studio Saba in 1999 and Kaveh was recording “Matarsak”album.We started in those years, but if many bands want to exist and work, they could. In recent years, small bands have worked, held small concerts, and were very good and had a great potential for good things in this genre of music, but I think they are far from the distance from the famous international bands because they started this a long time ago and went and tried and and lived with it, but there are also good things happening here.

• Reza Yazdani is the first Iranian Rockstar to enter the Cinema & television as an actor and singer.It’s interesting to know since what age did you start playing music and how did you get to the professional scene of acting?

I started the genre of music at the age of 18 and professionally began compiling “Teatre Dadgahe Janjal Bar Angiz” in 1998 and published my first album in 1999.Last year I also released my 10th album named “Darham”. It has been 20 years since I started my career in Rock music, and this year we have tours with “Reza Yazdani”, we started the tours off from Tehran touring to various cities of Iran.I have read the most title credits of cinema with more disparity than other colleagues. I’ve sang twenty or some years give title credits of cinema and about 9 TV title credits.The first television opening and ending credit I sang was the TV series “Marge Tadriji” directed by Mr. Fereydoun Jirani. Regarding title credits of cinema, I began with “Hokm” by Massoud Kimayi’. I sang 5 title sequences of cinema for Mr. Kimiae and I have also been present in front of the camera twice as an actor.I also played the main role of television series. Thank god I’ve worked with great directors over these years and since I was interested in cinema, it made be become an actor. I also played several main roles and participated in at least one movie almost every year.But my main profession is not acting, music is my life and love and everything, but I also like cinema.

• You are one of the most successful Rockstars in Iran, what is the reason behind your success?

The success I gained in this genre of music in Iran is that I have tried to use minor scales and make this music Iranian, and to make it sound closer to the taste of the Iranian audience, I also have worked in Pop-Rock music, as well as soft Rock and Hard Rock;Each of these involves a favorable gender for the audience and makes the broader range of audiences be involved with us.Another reason why this happened and brought success has been the nostalgia in my reading; this nostalgia had an impact on our tracks such as “Shomal”, “Laleh Zar”, “Kooche Melli”, “Carton”, “Navar” I have a lot of nostalgia and people go on with that theme. For example, in 2006 when “Shomal” was released in the “His” album, 12 years has passed since then, however many people still send messages on the way to North saying “we are going to north and listen to Shomal”. This shows that this work does not expire and has gained popularity, and this is a code for success.

• When will your new album be released and What is the atmosphere of this album?

We’re trying to release this album with the help of Ali Oji -the producer of the album- in 2019. It has a very different atmosphere in comparison to my other albums, in addition a number of the works are close to those in the trio album of Saatha and Khaterate Mobham. I think it’s an album that people would love very much. We worked very hard on it. We have been working on it for nearly 2 years. There is a number of new things happening, and a number of new people were added to the album with respect to composing. Of course, most of the compositions were up to me as usual, but a few others were added to the adjusting process who were not in the previous albums, two or three composers participated in the composition of two or three tracks, the guys were very talented!

The album is very nice and I loved it so much, we worked very hard on it and I think it’s going to be nice. Music videos are being made, two of which are made by Ali Oji and they will be released as soon as we release the album.

• What countries will your concert tour be held in? And what country do you like the concert to be held in?

I had concerts in Canada last year at Vancouver, Montreal and Toronto. The concerts were held at Sydney and Melbourne in Australia also at Gothenburg and Stockholm in Sweden during the past two or three years. Concert tours are going to be held in Germany, specifically at Cologne, Dusseldorf , Hamburg; and in Austria and Vienna; Also at Netherlands in Amsterdam.

I would like to have a gig in Canada again because it was both; very good and very welcoming, despite the fact that it was a big arena, tickets were quickly sold out. I thank my fans for this great welcome in Canada, and we hope we can get back to Canada, and also hope we have a successful European concert tour this year.

• How do you see the future of Rock music in Iran and Does the Iranian Rock music have the potential of globalization?

As I answered in the second question, it’s progressing and good things are happening. Iran has the potential of globalization, but I cannot predict when and at what level this will happen. It’s a bit hard to predict.

• Do you have a new idea to create new tracks, or could you change your route?

Yes, I’ve always had new ideas and I always do. I always work with thoughts and contemplation, and much obsession, and I dedicate writing albums and work hours everyday on what I do, whether in the field of music, cinema, theater or television. We are always full of ideas, the supervisor of a group that is with me is Ali Oji; each of the other guys who work with us use idealization, and we discuss and talk about them. Regarding the video clips, as well as video arts that are broadcasted on concerts on LEDs. All of our tracks have video art of which are full of meanings, they take a lot of efforts and creativity. There are always new ideas and I try to use them in my tracks, and I’m one of the singers who try to not repeat themselves in albums and always try to provide my audience with something new. Maybe my lasting key of success for all these twenty years I’ve worked on while still at the first level of music in this country, is effort dedication and working hard.

Now, as the first one will hear this news and publish it, because we don’t yet want to make it out to the media, is that I along with a band of the best musicians and composers in Iran called the “52 Hz Whale Band” are doing a new project in Iranian rock music with impressive set of tracks we have collected and a whole different new genre of Rock music in Iran that we will present.

We invite you to watch “Mixed” (Darham in Persian ) music video of Reza Yazdani:

Edited by: Amged Mahmoud.

Reza Yazdani‘s special concert was held with an enthusiastic reception by the audience as it was extended for the second time due to the call of the audience who failed to attend the concert because the tickets sold out fast.

As all concerts by Reza Yazdani,The final piece of this performance was “The Persian Gulf” piece that the audience song along while standing up in order to honor our beloved country.

In this concert, which was particular to the Reza Yazdani‘s 20th year of work in the field of rock music, a selection of his 10 released albums was performed with a great performance.
This popular singer’s domestic and foreign concert tours will start again at the beginning of 2019 and his new album, which, according to him and its producer, Ali Oji, will be a different and unique album will also release very soon.

Reza Yazdani, born in 1973, is an Iranian singer, actor, composer, music arranger, guitar player and songwriter who has enjoyed a lot of popularity since he entered music, where for many years he has been considered as one of the two top Iranian singer in Rock style.
His unique voice and excellent performance can be pointed out as features, which distinguish him from others.

While in Iran, most of the rock music fans are young people, Reza Yazdani has fans of all ages from child to elderly people, and for years, he has been standing at the position of the topmost and most popular rock singers in Iran.
He has so far released 10 albums called vague memories, duel in the mirror, at 25 o’clock, forgetting hour, clocks are sleeping, personal cell, heart city, nostalgia, hiss and Tangled. In his work record, he has acting, composing and singing for several films, as well as composing and singing for many theaters, which make him a record holder in this regard in Iran.

Reza Yazdani has also received credible music awards in Iran for the best rock album and music piece.

Recently, the rock star Kaveh Afagh was performing in a concert at Milad Tower International Convention Center and managed to improvise a piece of music after comprehending that his audience are repeating his song “Shawl” very precisely.

“When the people started reading the song “Shawl” (the most famous piece of Kaveh Afagh), and I saw how good and correct this song was, suddenly it struck my mind to make melodies with the audience, and this piece also will appear in my next album,” he said.

Check out more images from the concert, through here.