Habib Meftah Boushehri (
Persian
Persian may refer to:
* People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language
** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples
** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...
: حبیب مفتاح بوشهری) (Born: 10 February 1978) known professionally as Habib Meftah (a.k.a. ''Habiboo''), is an Iranian Percussionist,
singer and
composer
A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music.
Etymology and Defi ...
. This self-taught sound artist was born in
Boushehr
Bushehr, Booshehr or Bushire ( fa, بوشهر ; also romanised as ''Būshehr'', ''Bouchehr'', ''Buschir'' and ''Busehr''), also known as Bandar Bushehr ( fa, ; also romanised as ''Bandar Būshehr'' and ''Bandar-e Būshehr''), previously Antioc ...
and currently resides in
Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
. Habib Meftah is one of the most well-known Iranian percussionists world-wide, who has collaborated for years with numerous artists around the world such as
Le Trio Joubran
Le Trio Joubran ( ar, الثلاثي جبران) is an oud trio playing traditional Palestinian music. The trio consists of the brothers Samir, Wissam, and Adnan Joubran, originally from the city of Nazareth, now dividing their time between ...
, Adnan Joubran, and
Titi Robin
Thierry "Titi" Robin (born 26 August 1957 in Rochefort-sur-Loire) is a French composer and improviser. His style combines Western culture, Mediterranean world including Romani (term), Romani, Oriental and Culture of Europe, European cultures.
He ...
,
Azam Ali (
Niyaz), etc. At the age of 10 he had already started playing traditional
flute
The flute is a family of classical music instrument in the woodwind group. Like all woodwinds, flutes are aerophones, meaning they make sound by vibrating a column of air. However, unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is a reedless ...
s and then he started playing
percussion
A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Exc ...
instruments. His versatility is based on the traditional musical culture of his southern Iranian origins. He debuted as a solo artist in 2005 with the album 'Deyzangeroo'. Habib Meftah released his 2nd solo album 'Shibaali' on 22 November 2020.
Early life
Habib Meftah was born in Boushehr, a southern port in
Iran
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
. At the age of 10 he started to learn flute by himself and then was guided by his father. He studied
Architecture
Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and constructing building ...
at high school. At the age of 23 he went to Paris following the invitation of French
dance
Dance is a performing art form consisting of sequences of movement, either improvised or purposefully selected. This movement has aesthetic and often symbolic value. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...
company 'Montalvo-Hervieu'.
Career
At the age of 16 Habib Meftah along with Mohsen Sharifian established 'Lian' musical group. At his 22, he started a collaboration with the
Shanbezadeh Ensemble, in which together they were invited to play at several international festivals such as Romaeuropa Festival. In 2001 he was invited to play with the French dance company Montalvo-Hervieu, touring the world yet again. Always looking for new inspiration, he moved to Iran (2005) and debuted as a solo artist with the album 'Deyzangeroo' and worked with many different Iranian fusion artists such as Manushan, Peter Soleimanipour and Darkoob. On 2008 he went back to Paris continuing his work with renowned musicians such as
Le Trio Joubran
Le Trio Joubran ( ar, الثلاثي جبران) is an oud trio playing traditional Palestinian music. The trio consists of the brothers Samir, Wissam, and Adnan Joubran, originally from the city of Nazareth, now dividing their time between ...
, Adnan Joubran,
Titi Robin
Thierry "Titi" Robin (born 26 August 1957 in Rochefort-sur-Loire) is a French composer and improviser. His style combines Western culture, Mediterranean world including Romani (term), Romani, Oriental and Culture of Europe, European cultures.
He ...
,
Azam Ali (
Niyaz), Trio Azarin, Rumi Ensemble, Impure Dance Company, etc.
In 2017, Habib Meftah sheds light on the essence of his atypical journey through his new project, Native. A dance-oriented electro-folk show that links traditional Iranian music with the dynamics of today's music scene and uses electronic music, looping, video projection and light automation.
Currently he's working as duo with Nicolas Lacoummette as sound designer, and Zak Cammoun is their
sound engineer.
Mohsen Namjoo,
Ali Azimi, and
Shahin Najafi are among other Persian artists he has worked with through years.
Shibaali – Project and Album (2015 – 2020)
"Shibaali" as Habib Meftah himself says, is the musical diary of his life. He started working on the project since 2015, holding several tour concerts with the same name while working on the project. Eventually the album was released on 22 November 2020. 'Shibaali' was recorded in his personal studio 'Hejleh'.
"Itʹs a kind of musical diary of my life. Iʹve worked with impressions from my childhood and youth and my adulthood. For example, when I came home from school at noon, as a child, my grandmother would often surprise me with a little present, a coin or a sweet. These things were always hidden under a thin white scarf, which older women in southern Iran still use to cover themselves. And "Shibaali", the title of the project, means "underneath the clothing" in our language. The idea is to produce lots of little surprises for the audience as the concert goes on – just like my grandmother did in our garden". ''Habib Meftah''
The official music video
Salmaan from the album 'Shibaali' is produced b
United Voice
Style and influence
The foundation of his work is traditional southern Iranian music from Abadan, Bandar Abbas, Boushehr and other places. He like to put it in contemporary clothing so that people who arenʹt normally interested in traditional sounds listen to it. He simply play folk music with its sound adapted to the present day. On having a master to learn instruments Habib Meftah calls his music "all hand-made" and asserts:
"That kind of thing wasnʹt usual where Iʹm from. I drank music in through my heart, as they say. I just listened to and watched the older men playing – and didnʹt ask anything". ''Habib Meftah''
Innovations
Dom Dom is Habib Meftah's innovative instrument which is an instrument almost like Dammam but with only one side covered.
Performances
The most renowned venues Habib has performed at are:
-
Théâtre de la Ville
(meaning the City Theatre) is one of the two theatres built in the 19th century by Baron Haussmann at Place du Châtelet, Paris, the other being the Théâtre du Châtelet. It is located at 2, place du Châtelet in the 4th arrondissement.
Inc ...
(Paris)
-
Théâtre national de Chaillot
The Théâtre National de Chaillot (English: Chaillot National Theatre) is a theatre located in the Palais de Chaillot at 1, place du Trocadéro, in the 16th arrondissement of Paris. Close by the Eiffel Tower and the Trocadéro Gardens—the Th ...
(Paris)-
Louvre Museum (Paris)
-
New Morning (Paris)
-
Alhambra
The Alhambra (, ; ar, الْحَمْرَاء, Al-Ḥamrāʾ, , ) is a palace and fortress complex located in Granada, Andalusia, Spain. It is one of the most famous monuments of Islamic architecture and one of the best-preserved palaces of the ...
(Paris)
- Theater Antique (Lyon)
-
Barbican Centre
The Barbican Centre is a performing arts centre in the Barbican Estate of the City of London and the largest of its kind in Europe. The centre hosts classical and contemporary music concerts, theatre performances, film screenings and art exhi ...
(London)
-
El Rey Theatre (Los Angeles)
-
Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall ( ) is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City. It is at 881 Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh Avenue, occupying the east side of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street (Manhattan), 56th and 57th Street (Manhatta ...
(New york)
Discography
''Singles''
'''Deyzangeroo' (2005)''
'''Shibaali' (2020)''
'''Unbalanced' (2021)''
Filmography
''"It Was 5 in the Morning" by
Mostafa Heravi (2018)''
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bouchehri, Habib Meftah
Living people
Iranian percussionists
People from Bushehr
1978 births