The Series of Music for Young Adults: Iranian Folk Songs

Originally released in 1976 by Iran's Centre for the Intellectual Development of Children and Young Adults as part of a series aiming to teach young Iranians about national music, this is far more than an educational curio. Pari Zangeneh trained as an opera singer, but her career suffered a rupture when she lost her sight in a car accident in 1972. Unwilling to let the disability affect her, she immersed herself in Iranian folk music, becoming an emblem of determination.

What's interesting here is that this album arrived at a time when Iranian music was incorporating influences from the West – typical of the album's arranger, Varoujan Hakhbandian – and will undeniably appeal to fans of psych folksters like The Incredible String Band and Vashti Bunyan. ‘Mastom, Mastom’ is incredibly evocative, a spirited blur of flutes, strings and percussion with free-styling bass and Zangeneh at her most urgent. ‘Asmar Asmar Djan’ stretches her voice further as it builds to a mantric conclusion, while ‘Do Beh Do’ is pastoral folk, with organ and flutes giving it that unmistakeable summer-of-love frisson. This is a fine document of a time when Iran and the rest of the world were not at odds, the revolution still to come.