Pallett

During my time in Iran, Pallett was the most talked about band on the music scene. So it was much to my delight (and the envy of my friends) that I was invited to  their concert on my final night in Tehran. The setting was magnificent: a concert hall hidden below the famous Azadi tower, itself positioned in the centre of a traffic-soaked roundabout; its unexpectedness seemed to encapsulate everything about my experience in Tehran.

Pallett is a six piece band comprising the somewhat unusual set up of double bass, guitar, cello, accordion, clarinet and voice (with a variety of additional instruments played by guests through the night). Their music is clearly inspired by European folk music traditions, particularly evident in the clarinet and accordion figures, however the vocal style of singer Omid Nemati ties the band to Iran. Nemati makes use of both vocal techniques and lyrical styles common to Iranian classical music, particularly echoing the heavy use of symbolism and metaphor often found in the poetry of Hafez:

I tell you to the wind, the wind moans you

I pour you to the clouds, the clouds rain you,

oh love: your blue face is not visible,

I tell you to the flower, the flower smells you

I tell you to the night

(Pallett – Waltz no.1)

Unfortunately I have no photos of the concert due to a no photography rule fiercely implemented by an over zealous security guard and his torch. If I did, however, they would not be able to convey the sense of innovation and excitement that pervaded the evening. We were treated to a whole range of superlative Iranian musicians as well as singing in Arabic, Farsi and Turkish. Video backdrops featured homemade videos of Tehran shot from the back of a motorbike careering through the narrow streets. And all the while the young, mixed-gender audience clapped, clicked, sang and danced along as much as a seated concert can allow all under the watchful gaze of the ever present portraits of Ayatollah’s Khomeini and Khamenei.

Below is the track ‘Triangle’ taken from Pallett’s album Mr Violet