Touch of Freedom

Exiled from his native Iran for a song denouncing the Islamic regime, Arya Aramnejad now makes his music in Stockholm. From there he has been able to produce the album Touch of Freedom, a highly political collection of songs reflecting the adversity he has experienced for speaking his mind. Nasrin Sotoudeh, an Iranian lawyer and human rights activist, is honoured with an eponymous ode in which Aramnejad imagines a lullaby Sotoudeh might sing to her children explaining her struggle and endurance. This is followed by another wistful song that dreams of love after the oppression of the regime has been swept away. Other songs confront the transgressions of the state more directly such as ‘The Wrong Address’, which deals with the ways in which the Islamic Republic exploits feelings of nostalgia to generate obedience and jingoism.

Delivered with a soulful, and at times pained, tenor voice, these songs are one man's attempt to convey feelings that many struggle to put into words. The songs are ostensibly pop ballads with a serious tone, and are complemented by backings from some excellent session musicians.