Atash is a truly international band, from band members to musical influences to tour dates. Appropriately, the Live Music Capital of the World is where they call home. They were originally an acoustic "world" music collective called The Gypsies, formed in Austin in 1996, and were known for their film and theater scores. From the start they were titled "Austin's best-kept secret" by the Austin Chronicle.
In 2001, five of the Gypsy members evolved into the band Atash, a word in the Persian language of Farsi that translates to "fire"-- or more specifically, the fire of live-giving forces, the fire of eternal truth. Heavy stuff, enlightening vibe.
The events of September 11, 2001 only clarified the purpose and path that the band was already on. Their music contains a range of international influences, but it is founded in Middle Eastern and Indian melodies. During a time of international conflict, still raging today, Atash sings songs of peace.
Tonight they opened with an extended violin and viola duo, the players Robert Riggio and Dan Moon beautifully weaving their melodies around each other.. later to be joined by Middle Eastern-style finger picking on guitar.. eventually leading to the addition of a drum kit (guest drummer Noah Mosgofian from Tres and O Positivo) and stand-up bass played by Dylan Jones-- the kit and bass bringing a USA-based jazz flavor . A good amount of time passed before the heart of Atash took center stage, the vocals of Mohammad Firoozi. Mohammad, born in Iran, began singing azzaan (the Muslim call to prayer) at the age of 7. He has since developed his vocal style to blend flamenco, Arabic, and Persian Gulf folk. Atash's song lyrics are in Farsi, and Mohammad's vocals ride the undercurrents of the mystical melodies.. evoking an atmosphere of prayer and mystery. At a club in downtown Austin on Saturday night? Yes.
Later Alseny Sylla joined the stage, playing the West African djembe, adding a West African tribal tang to the ongoing music, which eventually led to an extremely adept flamenco dancer who took the entire dance floor for herself (and deserved a spotlight)--this is a style of dance marked by heeled shoes that basically play percussion with the band. She wore a traditional flamenco ensemble printed with white and red polka dots-- a fitted sleeveless bodice and multi-layered ruffled skirt to the ankles-- the ruffles easy to grasp, wave, and flaunt. The strings continued their duo while hands clapped, heels stomped, skirt twirled, djembe pounded.. and in case you lost track we went from Iran to the USA to Guinea to Spain.. and were brought back to the Middle East with a second dancer who belly-danced center stage.
Their two CDs are entitled Republic of Love and Global Harmony. The earlier album title is taken from a Rumi quote: “I have never believed in governments; only when Love came to rule me, did I become a citizen of the Republic of Love.” (Rumi, 13th century) The title of their second album, Global Harmony, comes from the Austin-based concert series Atash created in an effort to constantly collaborate and create with artists from around the world--> to promote world peace.
To Atash's credit, they join forces with other international artists regularly (Indrajit Banerjee, Christian Fernandez, Subrata Bhattacharya, and many more). Atash's music is based on composed pieces, but the spirit of improvisation quickly takes over, including the vocals and dancing. Their performances are a seamless showcase of truly talented musicians and performers-- whether permanent band members or guest artists-- and the smooth presentation leaves you wondering what was rehearsed, what was improvised . Although not present this particular evening, Atash also includes players on sitar, balafon, oud, tabla, mridangam.. Go look all of those instruments up, because there is going to be a quiz at the end of this post. The band members hail from Mexico, Iran, Guinea, USA.. Atash has played in Taiwan, Spain, China, USA.. they really do bring you around the world.
And for an unknown reason-- it was not like the band busted into a Waylon Jennings cover-- halfway through the show, Mohammad proclaimed: "I loooove country music." (???) (Love it!) In his accented English, he quoted a George Jones song: "If drinkin don't kill me, memories will" [sic]. Perhaps Mohammad was confirming his love for the country of Texas. In these troubled times between countries, we're lucky in Austin to have peace-promoting Atash make their home here. They are proof that music knows no human-made borders...
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