Ehsan Matoori Releases 'Nostalgia' Single

Iranian santoor virtuoso and composer Ehsan Matoori has released a new single from his upcoming global full-length album, The Voices and Bridges today, entitled "Nostalgia," sharing, once again, a vibrant and stunning video from director Omid Aeenehchi. Watch via YouTube. The track features vocals from GRAMMY-nominated, American artist Celia Woodsmith and famed Iranian artist Alireza Ghorbani, who provides vocals throughout the record. The Voices and Bridges will arrive July 16 via Bright Shiny Things. Pre-order the album here.

Discussing the inspiration behind "Nostalgia", Matoori stated, "I wrote 'Nostalgia' when I watched a video of Syrian men and women drowning in the Mediterranean Sea. People who left their homeland because of the war. The nightmare of drowning has haunted me for a long time. But there was nothing I could do, except to make music about the death of immigrants who were looking for a peaceful land.

When you leave your homeland, you leave behind family, friends and memories. Every news story, every picture you see of your homeland reminds you of everything you left behind, and nostalgia sets in. Suddenly a desire to return builds up inside you. You have no actual motivation to return, except for reconnecting with those you love, once in a while. This is how you feel, but you no longer belong to your homeland. However, you still do not feel at home where you live now! Someone migrating from a homeland in turmoil is always looking for comfort and peace in the new place they find themselves. And they will breathe the memories of their homeland forever."

Matoori continues, "The poems featured in "Nostalgia" were woven together to help me create a brand new story. A story in which all my efforts are put to shouting for peace and humanity.

When Ali Montazeri (my co-arranger on The Voices and Bridges) and I decided to bring our message of peace to the world through the unique voice of Alireza Ghorbani (Iranian singer who could be described as a true ambassador of Iranian art and culture) and my favorite American singer, Celia Woodsmith, we couldn't imagine how it would exceed all of our expectations. But now through these two powerful and expressive voices, with Omid Aeenehchi's gorgeous video, we are able to complete what we had hoped to express with our music.

'Nostalgia' is dedicated to all who lost their loved ones in migration. I wish no one had lost their homeland."

The original works on The Voices and Bridges, composed by Matoori, are anchored with performances from an international group of accomplished musicians, with linguistic and academic advice offered by Dr. Sadaf Munshi. The lyrics for the project are pulled from some of the world's most renowned poets... Rudaki, Jorge Luis Borges, Nima Youshij, Pierre Riverdy, William Shakespeare, Allama Iqbal, Lal Ded, Rabindranath Tagore, Nazim Hikmat, Maram Almesri, Forough Farokhzad, and Rumi are all brought together to create a multicultural landscape that is both unique and universal.

Persian, Spanish, Arabic, English, Turkish, Bengali, Urdu, Kashmiri and French languages are interwoven throughout to create a new narrative that erases the borders between nations and celebrates different musical and cultural traditions.

Matoori is joined by acclaimed Iranian vocalist Alireza Ghorbani throughout The Voices and Bridges, with Celia Woodsmith, Bombay Jayashri, Qaiser Nizami, Michael Kelly, Solange Meridinian, Maya Hobeika, Olcay Bayir, Mike Block, Edward Perez, Raman Kalyan, Greg Eliss and more than 60 musicians from around the world.

His love of learning about cultures and feeling their melodies, has inspired his musical compositions which represent these cultures and bring new words to the world. Exploring these diverse musical and poetic traditions led Matoori to creating The Voices and Bridges. Matoori hopes that The Voices and Bridges will spread the word of peace through music and poetry, as a transformative tool that heals and connects people.

Watch the video here:

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