TEHRAN – Vocalists Salar Aqili and Fazel Jamshidi, and actor Parviz Parastui, members of the nationwide #Moshahonar movement, have released a song named “Mate”. 

They joined the movement launched by hundreds of Iranian artists to entertain people during the home quarantine for the coronavirus pandemic.

“We actually felt the need to keep the spirits of people and the healthcare staff up these days. COVID-19 is a tough virus and we are still battling with the disease. I know some may have suffered more financially these days, however, it is a matter of life and death,” Aqili told the Persian service of ISNA on Saturday.

He called the collaboration with Parastui and Jamshidi a good experience and hoped the song would be remembered by the Iranian people.

“Parastui enjoys a good voice and his participation as a singer was interesting for me,” he said. 

“After the song was released, I received many positive responses from people. I truly must thank the people who always support us. Jamshidi had a great role in the formation of this piece and was the first who proposed the idea. It was a great honor for me to have done this for the people of my country,” he added.

Aqili who performed part of the song said there was no opportunity to record his voice in the studio and that he made use of his cellphone to record his voice.

The song is written by Alireza Bahrami based on a poem by Persian mystic and poet Molana Jalal ad-Din Rumi.

Recording engineer Mohsen Gholami and musicians Alireza Ahmadi, Hossein Rudgar and Roya Baqerzadeh have collaborated in the performance, while calligrapher Esrafil Shirchi has cooperated in the project.

Hundreds of artists, including thespians, cineastes, painters, cartoonists and writers who launched the Moshahnoar movement, have announced that they would produce artworks to showcase on social networks for at least 100 days in order to make the stay at home almost tolerable.

Photo: A poster for the song “Mate” by vocalists Salar Aqili and Fazel Jamshidi, and actor Parviz Parastui.

RM/MMS/YAW