Kayhan Kalhor

One Of my Faves of 2023 Kayhan Kalhor, known for his mastery of the Iranian Kurdish kamancheh and setar has had 3 Grammy Award nominations for Best Traditional World Music Album. Additionally, as a member of the Silk Road Ensemble, Kalhor received 2 nominations and won 1 Grammy Award for Best Global Music Album here with Toumani Diabaté, one of the most expressive musicians of our time. realworldrecords.bandcamp.com

"The Sky Is The Same Colour Everywhere" is a duo recording featuring Iranian musician Kayhan Kalhor and Malian musician Toumani Diabaté. Released on May 5, 2023, the album blends their respective traditions of kamancheh and kora, taking listeners on a captivating musical journey with elements of minimalism and trance. It marks Kayhan Kalhor's first collaboration with an African musician, resulting in a unique and spiritual musical experience.

Recently released just a few days ago, The Sky Is the Same Colour Everywhere is a spiritual meditation - best listened to in one sitting - by two master musicians and culture bearers of centuries-old musical traditions sharing modes based on Persian and Malian repertoires on kamancheh (spike fiddle) and kora (harp/lute). Kayhan Kalhor and Toumani Diabaté are both well-known soloists in their own right, but this duo recording is something special taking us on an improvisational musical journey into new landscapes. “It’s like this music was already there waiting for us,” says Toumani. “And it’s like the two of us knew each other before - in another life.” Kayhan Kalhor, from Iran, is the leading player of the kamancheh, the Persian spike fiddle. Played kneeling down, Kayhan says it’s “like riding a wild horse”. It has four strings played with a short bow. He’s collaborated with Yo-Yo Ma’s Silk Road Ensemble, Kronos Quartet, Shujaat Khan, Erdal Erzincan, the Rembrandt Trio and many others. Toumani Diabaté, from Mali, is likewise the leading player of the West African kora, a 21-string harp-lute and a sublime creation of gourd, cow skin and fishing line. He’s won three Grammys and recorded with Ballaké Sissoko, Taj Mahal, Ali Farka Touré, Björk and the London Symphony Orchestra. This is Kayhan’s first collaboration with an African musician. “The qualities of minimalism and trance that I like in Persian music are also there in Toumani’s,” says Kayhan. “That’s how I like to think and tell a story. That quality in African music has always attracted me and I think Toumani does that really well.” The idea for the duo came from Michael Dreyer, director of the Morgenland Festival in Osnabrück, Germany where Kayhan had frequently played in several other collaborations. The preparation was minimal, not even a discussion about scales or structure, but just a sound check in which they “checked certain things” and then simply played about 90 minutes of music. That performance was in September 2016 and they followed it with a short European tour to a few other venues, although Kayhan says the shape of the piece didn’t really change. They recorded it in Paris after the final concert in Brussels. realworldrecords.bandcamp.com

Kayhan Kalhor is a Kurdish kamancheh player from Iran, composer and master of classical Kurdish and Persian traditional music. He has a wide range of musical influences, uses several musical instruments, and crosses cultural borders with his work, but at his center he is an intense player of the Kamancheh. In his playing Kalhor often pins Iranian classical music structures to the rich folk modes and melodies of the Kurdish tradition of Iran.

Kayhan Kalhor is an Iranian Kamancheh player, composer and master of classical Kurdish and Iranian traditional music.

On I Will Not Stand Alone, Kayhan Kalhor debuts a new instrument, the shah-kaman, designed especially for him. He is accompanied by Ali Bahrami Fard, on the rarely-heard bass santour. The album is a meditation on one of the most difficult stages in his life, where darkness and violence seemed to be taking over yet through music and his connection to the people, hope rises. Its message is a bittersweet reflection on love, life and country.

Kayhan Kalhor was born in Tehran. He began studying music at age seven. By age thirteen he was playing in the National Orchestra of Radio and Television of Iran.

Iran. Kayhan Kalhor is an internationally acclaimed virtuoso on the kamancheh (Persian spiked fiddle). He began his musical studies at the age of seven. At thirteen, he was invited to work with the National Orchestra of Radio and Television of Iran, where he performed for five years.