''Oy'' is the third studio album by the Iranian singer-songwriter

Mohsen Namjoo Mohsen Namjoo ( fa, محسن نامجو) is an Iranian singer-songwriter, composer and musician. His style of music is influenced by blues and rock as well as Iranian folk music. Early life and education Namjoo was born on 4 March 1976 in Torba ...

after Toranj and Jabr-e Joghrafiyaei. Released on 6 October 2009 this was Namjoo's first album produced and published outside Iran. This also was the first collaboration between Namjoo and

Golshifteh Farahani Rahavard Farahani ( fa, رهاورد فراهانی; born 10 July 1983), known professionally as Golshifteh Farahani (), is an Iranian-French actress. She is known for her performances in ''M for Mother'' (2006), '' Body of Lies'' (2008), ''Abo ...

in which Golshifteh plays piano and also sings in some parts. In addition to drums, piano and

accordion Accordions (from 19th-century German ''Akkordeon'', from ''Akkord''—"musical chord, concord of sounds") are a family of box-shaped musical instruments of the bellows-driven free-reed aerophone type (producing sound as air flows past a reed ...

other

Iranian musical instruments Persian musical instruments or Iranian musical instruments can be broadly classified into three categories: classical, Western and folk. Most of Persian musical instruments spread in the former Persian Empires states all over the Middle East, ...

including

setar A setar ( fa, سه‌تار, ) is a stringed instrument, a type of lute used in Persian traditional music, played solo or accompanying voice. It is a member of the tanbur family of long-necked lutes with a range of more than two and a half octa ...

and

Tonbak The ''tombak'' ( Persian: تمبک), ''tonbak'' (تنبک), or ''zarb'' (ضَرب) is an Iranian goblet drum. It is considered the principal percussion instrument of Persian music. The tombak is normally positioned diagonally across the torso ...

are played within the album. Two Concerts were held in Italy, one in

Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 ...

on 11 September and the other in

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...

on 8 October and songs of Oy album were performed with Italian instrumentalists and Golshifteh Farahani playing the piano. Both concerts were

free of charge The English language, English adjective ''free'' is commonly used in one of two meanings: "at no monetary cost" (''gratis'') and "with little or no restriction" (''libre''). This ambiguity of ''free'' can cause issues where the distinction i ...

and served as a

promotion Promotion may refer to: Marketing * Promotion (marketing), one of the four marketing mix elements, comprising any type of marketing communication used to inform or persuade target audiences of the relative merits of a product, service, brand or i ...

for the album.

Production

After leaving Iran and nearly one year living in

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

he moved to

. There he got acquainted with

Babak Payami Babak Payami ( fa, بابک پیامی , born 1966) is an Iranian-Canadian film director, writer and producer. Biography Born in Tehran, Iran, Payami grew up in Afghanistan and Iran before leaving for Europe and subsequently Canada, where he ...

, the

art director Art director is the title for a variety of similar job functions in theater, advertising, marketing, publishing, fashion, film industry, film and television, the Internet, and video games. It is the charge of a sole art director to supervise and ...

of film and video section in Fabrica institute, a subset of

Benetton Group Benetton Group S.r.l. () is a global fashion brand based in Ponzano Veneto, Italy, founded in 1965. Benetton Group has a network of about 5,000 stores worldwide. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Benetton family's holding company Edizio ...

. Both concerts and the album production was accomplished by the Fabrica.

Track listing

# "Hammash" – 5:16 # "Shams" – 5:51 # "Dela Didi" – 7:41 # "Qashqai" – 5:55 # "Binazir" – 8:00 # "Khan Baji" – 7:44 # "

Cielito Lindo "Cielito Lindo" is a popular Mexican song '' copla'', popularized in 1882 by Mexican author Quirino Mendoza y Cortés (c. 1862–1957). It is roughly translated as "Lovely Sweet One". Although the word ''cielo'' means "sky" or "heaven", it is ...

" – 7:36 # "Gladiators (Faghih Khoshgele)" – 8:18

Quran sura singing controversy

In 2006 the

Iranian judicial system A nationwide judicial system in Iran was first implemented and established by Abdolhossein Teymourtash under Reza Shah, with further changes during the second Pahlavi era. After the 1979 overthrow of the Pahlavi dynasty by the Islamic Revol ...

sentenced Namjoo ''

in absentia is Latin for absence. , a legal term, is Latin for "in the absence" or "while absent". may also refer to: * Award in absentia * Declared death in absentia, or simply, death in absentia, legally declared death without a body * Election in absen ...

'' to a five-year jail term for allegedly ridiculing the

ash-Shams Ash-Shams ( ar, الشمس, "The Sun") is the 91st surah of the Qur'an, with 15 ayat or verses. It opens with a series of solemn oaths sworn on various astronomical phenomena, the first of which, "by the sun", gives the sura its name, then on ...

, a

surah A ''surah'' (; ar, سورة, sūrah, , ), is the equivalent of "chapter" in the Qur'an. There are 114 ''surahs'' in the Quran, each divided into '' ayats'' (verses). The chapters or ''surahs'' are of unequal length; the shortest surah ('' Al-K ...

of the

Quran The Quran (, ; Standard Arabic: , Classical Arabic, Quranic Arabic: , , 'the recitation'), also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation in Islam, revelation from God in Islam, ...

, in his song "Shams". The conviction took place in spite of his formal apology. Later Namjoo claimed that he will perform an orchestral version of this song in Venice. The song was also released as part of the album.

Allusions

*In final section of the first track "Hammash", parts of

Cher Cher (; born Cherilyn Sarkisian; May 20, 1946) is an American singer, actress and television personality. Often referred to by the media as the Honorific nicknames in popular music, "Goddess of Pop", she has been described as embodying female ...

Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down) "Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down)" is the second single by American singer-actress Cher from her second album, ''The Sonny Side of Chér''. It was written by her husband Sonny Bono and released in 1966. The song reached No. 3 in the UK Singles C ...

are sung by Namjoo in an

Iranian traditional music Persian traditional music or Iranian traditional music, also known as Persian classical music or Iranian classical music, refers to the classical music of Iran (also known as ''Persia''). It consists of characteristics developed through the cou ...

style. *"Dela Didi" is based on the poem "Yadegar-e Khoon-e Sarv" by

Hushang Ebtehaj Amir Hushang Ebtehaj ( fa, امیر هوشنگ ابتهاج; 25 February 1928 – 10 August 2022), also known by his pen name H. E. Sayeh ( fa, ه.ا.سایه, lit. ''Shadow''), was an Iranian poet of the 20th century, whose life and work span ...

. *"Khan Baji" is a Kurdish song and Hesen Zîrek already had song it. *"Qashqai" is based on the poem "Afsaneh" by Nima Yushijbr>1
*"

" which is a popular

traditional song Folk music is a music genre that includes traditional folk music and the contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be called world music. Traditional folk music has b ...

of Mexico, written in 1882 by Quirino Mendoza y Cortés is performed by Namjoo and within it some verses of

Molana Jalāl al-Dīn Muḥammad Rūmī ( fa, جلال‌الدین محمد رومی), also known as Jalāl al-Dīn Muḥammad Balkhī (), Mevlânâ/Mawlānā ( fa, مولانا, lit= our master) and Mevlevî/Mawlawī ( fa, مولوی, lit= my ma ...

and Shamloo are sung too. *The prelude of "Gladiators" is the poem "Faghih Khoshgele" (Pretty Faqih) by Namjoo which is a satirical praise of the

Supreme Leader of Iran The Supreme Leader of Iran ( fa, رهبر ایران, rahbar-e irān) is the List of heads of state of Iran, head of state of the Iran, Islamic Republic of Iran. The Supreme Leader directs the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran, executiv ...

Ali Khamenei Sayyid Ali Hosseini Khamenei ( fa, سید علی حسینی خامنه‌ای, ; born 19 April 1939) is a Twelver Shia ''marja and the second and current Supreme Leader of Iran, in office since 1989. He was previously the third president o ...

References

External links

Listen to the album
in iranising.com * in wordpatch.com {{Authority control Mohsen Namjoo albums 2009 albums Persian music Alternative rock albums by Iranian artists