ghobar
client: ali haghshenas
TASK: music cover
TIME: september 2023
based on kadkani's poem
It was a wonderful experience to be commissioned to create the music cover for Ghobar. A long time ago, I had shared my love for the poem “Goun” by Shafiei Ghodkani on my Instagram story. Mr. Haghshenas, who saw this, asked me to collaborate on a piece called Ghobar, which is based on this poem. And what could be better than working on a project that you are passionate about from an intellectual point of view!
Mohammad Shafiei Kadkani is an Iranian poet, translator, researcher, and university professor who was born in Sabzevar in 1939.
Kadkani, one of the most famous Persian poets, is one of my favorite poets not only for his beautiful poetry but also for his humility and generosity.
the poem
«به کجا چنین شتابان؟»
گَوَن از نسیم پرسید
«دلِ من گرفته زینجا
هوس سفر نداری
ز غبار این بیابان؟»
«همه آرزویم، اما
چه کنم که بسته پایم…»
«به کجا چنین شتابان؟»
«به هر آن کجا که باشد به جز این سرا سرایم»
«سفرت به خیر! اما، تو و دوستی، خدا را
چو ازین کویرِ وحشت به سلامتی گذشتی
به شکوفه ها به باران
برسان سلامِ ما را»
What is the rush and where are you going to?
The desert flower asks the breeze!
I am depressed here, replies the breeze!
This desert and its sands and you should also leave!
I wish I could, stuck in the ground are though my feet!
So where are you rushing to?
Anywhere except here to be!
Have a safe journey from this awful desert and please!
Give my regards to blossoms, rain and trees!
?what was my story
After listening to the piece and receiving the song brief, and getting closer to the collective vision of the group that produced this music, I started working. My idea was to show a desert that represents this conversation between “Gon” and the wind. A desert full of dust, full of sand. In the background of this piece, I brought the four instruments that I had a role in producing, and placed them behind this dust. A reference to the current atmosphere of Iranian society where arts are condemned to be behind the dust.
used the ‘Neyriz’ script for the font, which was developed by Ahmad Neyrizi. This script, in addition to its classical characteristics that resonate with our traditional music, has unique Iranian features that distinguish it from other Naskh scripts.