Rhythm of a Small Town
It refers to a seasonal wind that is believed to bring blessings to the locals. Seyed Mohammadreza Beladi is from the same region, and his music group is called Leymer.
Also known as Bandari, the energetic music of southern Iran is performed with wind instruments and drums.
Leymer is a Bandari music group of six musicians that has taken part in numerous international music festivals. Mohammadreza Noushzad, Esmaeil Bakhtiari Azad, Houshang Alisharafi, Abdorreza Akhlaqi, and Gholam Shokrifard are members of the group. Beladi, the leader of the group, said that they have been very successful at almost all the festivals that they have participated in. They won first prize at the 2001 Fivizzano International Folk Music Festival in Italy.
During July and August, Leymer performed live at festivals in Bulgaria, Croatia, Italy, and Germany. Following is an interview with Beladi.
Q: How were you received at festivals and concerts? A: The 5th Veliko Tarnova International Folk Festival in Bulgaria was for dance and folk music, but we took part in the folk music category only.
Despite the noncompetitive nature of the festival, we were awarded an honorary certificate and statuette because of our excellent performance.
The media covered our success with great interest and pleasure. We were also interviewed many times.
It was the same at the Solin Festival of Folk Music and the 36th International Folk Festival of Zagreb in Croatia. In Zagreb, officials told us that we could have won first prize if there was a competition section.
Q: What are the benefits of these festivals for our country? A: In one of the festivals, a man climbed onto the stage wearing a shirt with "America Is Terrorist" written on it. He pointed at us saying, "America calls these people terrorist. How can such people with artistic talents be called terrorists?" The incident happened out of the blue and we had nothing to do with it. But it sent a pure and simple message to the audience.
Q: You perform less in Iran. Why do you prefer foreign festivals and concerts? A: Sadly, Iranian officials responsible for music still have not prioritized folk music. We last performed at the Eshraq Cultural Center and were received very well by the music-loving public. It was unusual to have a large audience, but they showed a lot of interest in our future concerts as well. I know very well that I can better connect with my own people, but Bandari music groups are not very well known in Iran and are always isolated. Some governmental organizations invite us to perform at their religious festivals, but a very limited amount of time is given to us. We are always short of time.
More attention should be paid to folk music in order to encourage investment. Given the chance, this kind of music can do well in the market and can easily make a profit.
Organizing a live concert takes a lot of time and effort. However, it takes less effort to perform abroad. There are a lot of bureaucratic hassles in Iran, and this has always discouraged potential investors.
Q: How do you compare national and international music festivals? A: The Fivizzano International Folk Music Festival in Italy is an interesting one to mention. The members of the jury are all artists and they only judge the artistic performances of the competitors. Besides, there are various types of competitions. Such an arrangement makes it possible to judge different aspects of performances and not just one particular aspect.
They chose us as the winners because of our harmony, beautiful compositions, and good rapport with listeners. Any musician can understand these three parts of music, be it Bandari or Italian. I believe the same kind of standard should be adopted at our own festivals.
Q: How do you see Iranian music abroad in general? A: There is no clear understanding of Iranian music abroad. Each time we perform at a festival, we have to explain to the listeners that our music is Iranian and not Arab. They never know the difference and it is very frustrating. I always tell them, "Iran is a great country. It has an ancient civilization and there are numerous cultures within its borders. Each region is a world of music, literature, and art. We only play the music of a small town in the south of Iran."