'A special language': This Iranian musician is in Australia to connect Indigenous traditions
Iranian bagpipe musician Mohsen Sharifian performs with the aim of 'keeping Bushehri and Iranian folk music alive'.
Indigenous didgeridoo artist William Barton says the two countries face similar challenges in preserving culture. Mohsen Sharifian, a musician and composer from the port of Bushehr in Iran, will be performing in Australia alongside Indigenous artists William Barton and his mum, Aunty Delmae Barton, in a tour called Harbour to Harbour. Sharifian's folkloric ensemble, Lian Band, and the First Nations artists will come together to blend the ney-anban (Persian bagpipe) and didgeridoo, traditional Iranian and Indigenous instruments.
While their music may sound different, there is a common purpose among the artists from Iran and Australia. "This is a special language that can bring us together, make us talk and connect our cultures to each other. When cultures and music connect, other things get closer," Sharifian told SBS Persian.
"This is happening so we can talk more with each other, discuss our concerns, and pour our hearts out. "All of our passion is for the music of our motherland. A type of music with a rich historical background that is also the storyteller of many parts of our society and the Australian Indigenous community."
Sharifian's home is the city of Bushehr, in the south of Iran, located beside the Persian Gulf. As one of the country's most important commercial ports, the city's population has been shaped by people from diverse cultures and countries over the past hundred years. According to Sharifian, this had a significant impact on Bushehr's music. "Music grows from culture, and wherever it is based on their culture and geography, they have their own type of music," he explained. "Bushehr had different connections with people from different countries, and its music now has a poly-national shape ... All of these have given Bushehr's music a special and unique shape."
Sharifian started his musical activity with Lian Band in 1993, with the aim of "keeping Bushehri and Iranian folk music alive". However, Iranian musicians must go the extra mile to save their music. While music and concerts are generally permitted in the Islamic Republic of Iran, music production and distribution face strict regulations, as women are not allowed to sing and musicians need permits from the Ministry of Guidance and Culture.
"There are many issues in front of Iranian music, and no one can deny it, (including) strictness in giving permits to concerts," Sharifian said. "There are some people in Iran who have their own concerns, and don't vibe with music and have their own stance. We respect them, but this will not make us forget our duty. "Since ethnic music needs more support, a lack of that frustrates many musicians as they need more attention."
Thousands of kilometres away, here in the other harbour in Australia, while music might not face similar restrictions, Batron said that he and Sharifian both face "the strong parallel paths of keeping their culture alive". "It's the same thing where we have to sustain and nurture our culture through the performing arts," Barton told SBS Persian. "That's our ceremony, and so that's what we are, that's what's in our DNA."
Ceremonies are an important part of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures. There are ceremonies for every significant event, including coming of age, marriage, birth and death. Music is one part of these ceremonies, Barton explained. "Music is integral. It's very integral. It's integral to the day that you're born into this world as an Indigenous person ... It helps keep storytelling alive," he said. "Whatever it takes to help sustain that connection to Country, we do that through music."
Barton, a descendant of the Kalkadunga tribe, was born in Mount Isa, Queensland. The renowned composer grew up in a musical and diverse family and learned to play the didgeridoo when he was seven years old. The didgeridoo, also known as yidaki, is an instrument made by Aboriginal people at least 1,000 years ago. "Over time, [the didgeridoo or yidaki], intermarriages between different tribes, and it spreads ... and it has its own language to each landscape, and that's important to understand," Barton said. He will be playing this instrument alongside the Sharifian's ney-anban, a wind instrument which is commonly found around Bushehr.
According to Barton, the two instruments are played with a similar technique. "That's pretty amazing, because he (Sharifian) uses the circular breathing [technique] as well," he said. "My crossover technique on the didgeridoo or yidaki, as it's known, as well, is the circular breathing ... In and out through the nose, but we store the oxygen in our diaphragm, kind of like the bagpipe." But besides the meeting of two instruments, the artists share a mutual purpose in bringing their cultures together side by side, something beyond the sounds. Sharifian said: "We are distanced a lot from each other, and this distance is increasing day by day." "Let's get together and get away from all the sorrow and chaos that is in this world, and listen to music from far away. "Let's not lose each other in this world."
Share this with family and friends
Independent news and stories connecting you to life in Australia and Persian-speaking Australians. Understand the quirky parts of Aussie life.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
News.com.au
34 minutes ago
- News.com.au
Rebel Wilson accused of false allegations in new lawsuit
Hollywood actress Rebel Wilson is facing another lawsuit from the production company she accused of being 'absolute f**kwits' involving claims she falsely outed a young actress as a victim of sexual harassment. Just a year after she faced legal threats over her memoir Rebel Rising and was forced to redact an entire chapter containing claims about Borat star Sacha Baron Cohen, a new legal battle has erupted. The new lawsuit lodged in the NSW Supreme Court by the production company behind her directorial debut The Deb is alleging serious breaches of contract and director's duties, misleading and deceptive conduct, and injurious falsehood. Ms Wilson was sued for defamation in the United States last year by producers Amanda Ghost, Gregory Cameron and Vince Holden who allege she falsely claimed they had embezzled funds from the movie and had behaved with 'absolute viciousness and retaliatory behaviour'. That matter is ongoing. The new lawsuit in NSW has been lodged by Mr Holden's production company A.I. Film and is being handled by an Australian-based legal team – Patrick George, Jeremy Marel and barrister Sue Chrysanthou, SC. It accuses Ms Wilson of blocking the film's release though legal threats and making false claims that the lead actor in the film, Charlotte MacInnes, was the target of 'inappropriate conduct'. In the new legal submissions, A.I.'s legal team insist that Ms MacInnes denies she was ever harassed, and states that Ms Wilson's claims are baseless. The blow up follows a video Rebel Wilson posted on Instagram in July 2024, where she made a number of misconduct claims about the movie producers to her 11 million followers. '[T]o have the business partners that are involved in that movie turn around and say that no, the movie can't premiere, is just beyond devastating,'' she said. 'And so I said, reported, I guess you would say, their bad behaviour when I found out not minor things, big things, you know, inappropriate behaviour towards the lead actress of the film, embezzling funds from the film's budget, which we really needed because we're a small movie, you know? So kind of really important things. Since I reported that behaviour, I have been met with absolute viciousness and retaliatory behaviour. 'And yet every step of the way, these people who I complained about then tried to make my life hell. 'And this behaviour is absolutely vile and disgusting. Now these people you know, Amanda Ghost in particular, has a history of doing this kind of thing, mainly to music artists but also to people in the film business. So, the thing is, these people are forced to sign NDAs or, you know, otherwise threatened or bullied to not speak out. 'I will speak the truth, and, you know, warn people about these people in the industry. Who are just not behaving ethically ... if the movie doesn't play in Toronto, it's because of these absolute f**kwits.' Ms Ghost is now suing Ms Wilson for defamation in the United States. In the NSW lawsuit, the production company's legal team argued these statements conveyed that one of the producers had made 'inappropriate sexual advances to an actress in the film'. 'In fact, none of the producers had made inappropriate sexual advances to an actress,'' the legal documents state. The lawsuit alleged Ms McInnes categorically denied Ms Wilson's claims telling media outlets 'there is no truth to the allegations made involving me.' 'I love this film and I can't wait for it to be released. It would be wonderful if these proceedings can help make that happen,'' she said in a statement to She previously told media outlets: 'Making false accusations undermines real victims and I won't be the subject of a fabricated narrative.' After the actress was subsequently cast as Daisy in Florence Welch's musical Gatsby: An American Myth, Ms Wilson is alleged to have made the following statement on Instagram stories accusing her of 'changing her story.' 'When an actress on her first feature film is asked by a producer to stay in the same apartment as them, and then makes a complaint to me as the director saying said producer 'asked her to have a bath and shower with her and it made her feel uncomfortable' – what am I supposed to do of course I reported it,'' Ms Wilson said. 'There is no world where this is acceptable. The fact that this girl has been employed now by this 'producer' in the lead role of a production called GATSBY (ART Boston) and given a record label – should be all the proof you need as to why she has now changed her story.' During the Cannes Film Festival, Ms Wilson allegedly posted more Instagram stories, suggesting MacInnes had 'lied by denying the allegations of sexual misconduct by the film's UK producers'. 'Charlotte MacInnes in a culturally inappropriate Indian outfit on Len Blavatnik's luxury yacht in Cannes – ironically singing a song from a movie that will never get released because of her lies and support for the people blocking the film's release. So glad you got your record deal Charlotte at the expense of the 300 people who worked on The Deb and really wanna see it released.' In the new lawsuit, it is alleged Ms Wilson 'threatened the Australian distributor of the film that she would obtain an injunction to prevent its release, when the contractual documents plainly prevented her from obtaining an injunction.' No stranger to defamation battles, Ms Wilson won a record payout from Bauer media but was later forced to repay the majority of her record defamation payout from a magazine publisher. Ms Wilson had received A$4.7m in damages and interest from Bauer Media over articles that she said portrayed her as a serial liar. But a court reduced the sum to A$600,000 following an appeal by the publisher. She was then ordered to pay back A$4.1m and A$60,000 in interest. A subsequent bid to have an appeal heard in the High Court of Australia was rejected, bringing her legal battle 'to a definitive end'.
ABC News
38 minutes ago
- ABC News
John Hewson says we should sack the NACC
Former Liberal leader John Hewson says after two years the National Anti-Corruption Commission has failed in its mission to properly investigate allegations of systemic corruption. Hewson takes issue with the lack of action over things like procurement contracts and political pork-barrelling. He says we need an integrity commission which is prepared to have public meetings and that without that it can't be effective. GUEST: John Hewson, professor at the ANU Crawford School of Public Policy and former Liberal opposition leader. John Hewson, professor at the ANU Crawford School of Public Policy and former Liberal opposition leader. PRODUCER: Catherine Zengerer
SBS Australia
40 minutes ago
- SBS Australia
Siang Lu just won Australia's most prestigious literary prize — more than 200 rejections later
Brisbane writer Siang Lu has won the Miles Franklin Literary Award for his novel Ghost Cities, after more than 200 publishers rejected the manuscript. The 39-year-old author said he was shocked to find out he had won the $60,000 prize after being shortlisted for the first time. "I just sat down and actually lost all feeling in my hands and legs, and I lost my voice," he said. "It was one of the first times in my life where I actually had to ask someone with complete seriousness, to just tell me that I wasn't dreaming." Australia's most prestigious literary award was announced at a ceremony in Sydney on Thursday night, at which Lu revealed that he finished the manuscript for Ghost Cities a decade ago in 2015, but it was rejected more than 200 times by publishers in Australia and overseas. Siang Lu accepted the $60,000 prize at an event in Sydney on Thursday night. Source: AAP / Jane Dempster "I used to print my rejections and Blu-Tack them on the glass pane between my office, and my bedroom. My youngest child, Madeleine, had just been born — she is nine now — and she would nap on that big bed while I worked and kept an eye on her," he said in his acceptance speech. "The rejections kept piling up. Eventually, they grew so numerous that I could no longer see through the glass, into the bedroom where my daughter slept." A 'landmark' in Australian literature Having finally been published by University of Queensland Press, the winning book has been described by critics as both intellectually ambitious and zany, and by the Miles Franklin judges as a "genuine landmark" in Australian literature. "Siang Lu's Ghost Cities is at once a grand farce and a haunting meditation on diaspora. Sitting within a tradition in Australian writing that explores failed expatriation and cultural fraud, Lu's novel is also something strikingly new," the judges said. "Shimmering with satire and wisdom, and with an absurdist bravura, Ghost Cities is a genuine landmark in Australian literature." Lu says his win changes things dramatically — not only financially, but in terms of recognition for the quality of his work. Ghost Cities was inspired by megacities built in China during the nation's real estate boom, many of which have been left uninhabited and falling into ruin. The manuscript for Ghost Cities was completed in 2015, but rejected more than 200 times by publishers in Australia and overseas. Source: AAP / Jane Dempster It weaves together multiple stories — including that of a young man who is fired from his job as a translator at the Chinese consulate in Sydney, when it is discovered he is monolingual and has been relying on Google Translate. There's also a chess automaton with a secret, and an ancient emperor who creates a thousand replicas of himself. Since his novel hit the shelves in 2024, Lu has found what he describes as a perverse joy in chatting to his readers, as they try to guess what Ghost Cities is actually saying. The answer is less complex than readers might imagine: "It is trying to be funny," he promises. Siang Lu's debut novel was 2022's The Whitewash, while his online tracking project The Beige Index — described as "the Bechdel Test for race" in the film industry — has found an audience worldwide. The 2025 shortlist was dominated by writers of colour, including veteran Brian Castro, who has made the shortlist four times, and two-time winner Michelle de Kretser. The six authors shortlisted for the Miles Franklin also receive $5,000 from the Copyright Agency's Cultural Fund.
