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Amir Koushkani and his percussionist partner Houman Poumehdi are part of the young generation of Iranians who have brought their Sufi-influenced classical tradition of instrumental performance and song to the west, and who are also making contemporary music that links with other cultures and styles. (Seasoned ears may recognize certain influences here from Indian classical music, Turkish music, Spanish flamenco, etc., although the basic forms of the pieces and for the most part the way they are elaborated is in accordance wth Persian musical practice.) Koushkani's instrument, the long-necked six-stringed lute called tar, is in his hands a subtle tool for evoking shifting moods of longing, grief, hope, and joy - feelings also strongly expressed in his singing (lyrics and English translations are included in the booklet). Employing the tombak (goblet drum) or the daf (frame drum), Pourmehdi's percussion threads itself though Koushkani's melodic lines and embellishments as together they realize a musical quest for enlightenment. As Amir comments about the process of recording,"I made the body, but the soul of the body, we made in the moment." n extemporized music-making such as this, as disciplined and highly structured as it is, there sometimes comes a point when the performers are immersed so deeply in the music that it can take them where it may, and it starts flowing through them. (Jazz improvisors also refer to this transcendent musical experience.) Listeners too may find that Amir's music opens a door they perhaps never knew was there.

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