DISCOGRAPHY
Braids of Innocence
"When they came to the prison and met her uncle who was sitting behind a glass wall with some tens of other prisoners, the mother managed to surreptitiously show the uncle Mahsa’s braids, and for the imprisoned men the glimpse they had of the braids was like a ray of freedom."
Lullaby of the Sea
“Lullaby of the sea” is a duet with Norwegian singer Solveg Slettahjell. The lullaby is inspired by the tragic story of Artin Iran Najed and many refugees like him in the world who have lost their lives
in the sea and mountains searching for justice, freedom and a better life.
Enlighten the Night
Enlighten the Night is arranged and composed by Atabak Elyasi and melodies are composed by Mahsa Vahdat. Three Norwegian musicians; pianist Tord Gustavsen, bass player Gjermund Silset
and drummer Kenneth Ekornes have all taken part in previous albums of Mahsa Vahdat, and on her new album. they form a poetic and beautiful soundscape around Mahsa’s strong and expressionistic voice. Iranian Shervin Mohajer appears with his kamancheh on one track.The recording was done in Kulturkirken Jakob in Oslo, Norway by Martin Abrahamsen and produced by Erik Hillestad together with Atabak Elyasi. Texts belongs to contemporary and classical poets
from Iran.
Placeless
Placeless is the first collaboration between the San Francisco–based Kronos Quartet and Iranian singers Mahsa and Marjan Vahdat. Placeless has 14 melodies that Mahsa Vahdat composed to classical poems by Hafez and Rumi and the works of contemporary Iranian poets Forough
Farrokhzad, Mohammad Ibrahim Jafari and Atabak Elyasi. Composers Sahba Aminikia (Iran/US), Aftab Darvishi (Iran/Netherlands), Jacob Garchik (US) and Atabak Elyasi arranged the songs for string quartet.
Traces of an Old Vinyard
The album contains Mahsa’s own melodies to poems by the classical Persian poets Khayyam, Hafez and Rumi. The musical idea of the album is to develop the beauty in Persian poetry and the vocal tradition within the framework of a playful meeting between Iranian contemporary instrumental music and a jazz pianist.