Golden Raisins

A collaboration rooted in history that goes back centuries, Golden Raisins is the brain child of Bansuri player Gandhaar Amin, and Setar player Mehdi Rostami. Persian and Indian music has always had a lot in common, thanks to a shared  cultural history through empires and colonization.

 

Gandhaar and Mehdi met at an artist retreat in Canada, which is halfway around the world from both their homes, and instantly saw these similarities in the two seemingly distinct forms of music. They were also lucky to play instruments that sonically make up of each other’s limitations beautifully. Thus, Golden Raisins was born out of an early morning jam session in a cabin in the woods.

 

This is improvised music at its heart, borrowing from the rich melodic vocabulary of Indian classical music, and the expressive presentation style of Irani music. This music will take you on a journey around the eastern world, showing the similarities of improvisational music that use different forms of presentation. Golden Raisins is the expression of two distinct cultures coming together, in a place that is far away from the home of either of those cultures.