Hello friends,
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I’m excited to be writing again to you all, with updates and meandering thoughts, trying to get a routine around writing again. It’s come in bursts, which feel too few so far. As we settle into the colder months of this hemisphere, I’m loving the clouds and soup season, especially when it’s accompanied by updates from friends in lushous sunshine and rolling green hills. I sat on the couch for a few days with a tummy bug, and it’s been amazing so slow down enough to watch my body go through its recovery process. I’ve never felt as present with flavour as the first bite of a carrot boiled in chicken broth (thanks Sofia) that I had the other night. I realise in the rush and tumble of this hustle city, even the most beautifully carved out moments sometimes don’t feel enough because we whizz past them and we equate their recency or their frequency with their value. Maybe that’s an impression I’ve gotten, but I’m seeing how in trying to tune into the thoughts I want to articulate, I need to smoothly slow down the fuss and fuzzle (don’t tell me it’s not a word).
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I went to CCRMA in late May/Early June for 2 concerts. First was a solo show entitled Frames of Reference, (watch here) from which I learned so much. It was the first set I’d played after my WAAPA Ocean, Again show, (listen here) which was probably some of the most beautiful way I got to play that music yet, but this time things didn’t go as planned. I’d rushed a sound check and was playing with floors I had left with my friends for ages, and I missed the big auditorium room. I realised how much I crave a large space to give me the dynamic range to play my layers of sound. It’s intuitive to so many of my acoustic musician friends, but new to me to feel my capacity connect to the room, its layout, its prep, its affordance for playful feedback. Nonetheless, I cherish that gig so much, because I needed it to find a creak on the floor of The Stage at CCRMA, and though I play the Floors, I hadn’t played the floor before. I write this because we don’t talk enough about stuff when it breaks or not functioning, and though I’d been so pumped for playing that gig, I felt a little fragile from not being able to do what I felt I could.
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Then came the week residency that followed. I met and hung out with some incredible artists who brought so much energy to me and inspiration and whose work is astounding. I’d recommend everyone check out Terry Berlier and Sasha Leitman’s work. They were both so kind to give me their time and expertise; Sasha prototyped a tabletop equivalent of the Floors with me that I’ve been playing since I got back, and Terry lent me their Pan Lid Gamelan, which I was delighted to get to know a little with short plays through the week (and which makes an appearance in our concert (below).

During that week, we go to do something special I’ve wanted to be able to get to for ages: working on the music of other composers with me and my floors as a player of it. I love this instrument and I have grown with it musically, but much of what I do with it is my aesthetic and compositions, my ideas, my voice. It feels like that limits to an extent both my musical life and its musical journey, and I’ve been keen to make it happen to have others compose for me. The closest thing to that is David Moran and I’s co-composed project, Diametric Convergences, which itself was such an important step, and an ongoing development with Charlie Sdraulig, which has been developing over a longer time. Celeste Betancur, Nick Shaheed and Mike Mulshine, all wrote beautiful pieces which we rehearsed and performed on June 7th. I feel so much more expanded from that experience and have a new burst of inspiration to follow. (watch here). Luna Valentin brought a new beautiful dimension of real and virtual acoustics into the space, and it was electric. I had never sung into the floor by a cup, and it was beautiful to play with Nick , Celeste, Luna and Mike. Old and new shapes of new and old songs, all developing into multiple directions like the vines of my slowly propagating plants! HA!

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The sound of rain on the street outside a new neighbourhood and writing again at the start of a few weeks of rest, I’m excited about a couple of fun gigs and heading to Adelaide on the train for the first time, cleaning my backyard and reading a little.

Melbourne Friends, I’m playing at Make it up Club with Jassy Robertson this Tuesday 2nd July (link here). I’ve finally got a way I can play up the stairs without hard luggage, and I’m excited to play with Jassy (after her stunning New North set the other night!) - It starts at 7:30 I think.

Adelaide Friendosss

Seb and I are going to do some fun making, and I’m there to present the second of two curated gigs I was so excited to be asked by COMA (Wheatsheaf Hotel) to do. The fist is Monday night 1st July! Lovely to have Bowerbird Collective (ADL) at COMA with Ollie Cox (MEL). Listening to both of them has been such a joy for me, and I’m just ever so excited to have Ollie hang out in Adelaide!! Having finally had the chance to chat and work with Bowerbird at Monash last year after Simone and I only rarely getting the chance to chat in earlier years, both at different parts of Adelaide following sound, I was even more excited to be able to put these friends in a room together! COMA on 1st July and 15 July! (Mel and other friends livestream here)

I’m playing with my dear oldest collaborator David Moran on July 15 at COMA, and Sofia Carbonara and Andrew Saragossi, beautiful metal duo of saxophones and vibraphone, will be playing the first set! I can’t wait to hang out in Adelaide and to have this beautiful night of music, TRAVELLING LIGHT! This is going to be fun honestly and I’m so e…..x…c.i.t.e.d.I

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I’ve been resting on the couch sick, and watching the world slowly, has brought me some new appreciation for being in it, again.

Sending love to friends near and far,

from my cosy winter self,

Iran xo
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