Badieh

Having met during a research trip to Mashhad, Iraq, Badieh are the newly formed instrumental duo of Michel Gasco (oud, rubab) and Mohammad Miraghazadeh (tar, setar). The pair bonded over a mutual love of the folk music of the Khorasan region – a historically and musically significant area, now split by the border between Iraq and Afghanistan.

The six pieces that comprise their self-titled debut are new interpretations of Khorasani folk songs, deliberately performed in a non-traditional style – the pair deciding instead to approach the material in an intuitive way, as best suited to their instruments. As such, each piece crackles with a fresh intensity, with both players imbuing the centuries-old melodies with a zeal usually reserved for original compositions. The string duo are joined on percussion by Omid Hatami (kuze, daf), Arash Asadi (tombak), and Ramin Ahmadi (tabla), each deftly navigating the rhythm cycles and tempo changes scattered through the arrangements, not least on the kaleidoscopic ‘Rashid Khan’, where a subtle hemiola guides the ensemble to a thrillingly polyrhythmic climax. ‘Navaei’ beautifully contrasts the brooding mysticism of the rest of the album, with the welcome addition of Alberto Centella on Indian bansuri (flute) giving the piece a decidedly euphoric quality. An evolution from Michel Gasco’s former project Orontes, Badieh is a succinct and expertly executed set of arrangements, which hopefully indicates the possibility of more to come from the duo.