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Miles Copeland, the maverick impresario behind the
careers of such artists as Sting, the Police and the GO
GOs, now puts his energy behind opening America to an
exciting new musical force - ANDY, Persia's legendary
music exile. Even though Andy's music is banned in his
home country of Iran, his albums sell into the millions,
though all are underground and bootlegged.
'And My Heart...' Andy's magical new album on Copeland's
Mondo Melodia label is a blend of east and west.
Somewhere between the mystery of an ancient civilization
and music that dates back 5000 years and the youthful
brashness of modern music Andy is making his own unique
place in music history. He has created a new fusion of
sounds that combine traditional Middle Eastern
instruments with Western world's drums, bass, guitar and
technology. His global sound embraces many exotic
influences. Aside from his Persian-Armenian heritage,
Andy combines lush Arabic melodies with African rhythms,
which he spices with Indian and Spanish flamenco guitar
licks, and European techno. Besides Farsi and Armenian,
his two native languages, Andy sings in English and
Spanish. On his new album, he sings in Urdu aided and
abetted by the Indian star Najma. He also tries his hand
with Arabic with the Lebanese superstar Ragheb Alane on
the duet "Yallah Ya Shabab".
Andy has become an international trailblazer forging a
new musical path that redefines traditional musical
borders. Andy plays to sold-out venues all over the
United States, Europe, Canada, Australia, Russia and the
Middle East. His touring schedule regularly includes
locales rarely if ever performed in by American-based
artists such as Uzbekistan, and cities Tashkent,
Samarghand, and in the Middle East Dubai, amongst
others. In the United States, he has played for the last
three years to critical acclaim at the Greek Theatre in
Los Angeles. In a gala ceremony at Universal Studios in
1994, he was named Persian Pop Male Singer of the
Decade. For three years in a row, he has received the
coveted Best Armenian International Singer, Best
Armenian World Artist and Best Armenian World Album
awards.
At first glance, it's the dance music side of Andy that
stands out. The driving high energy takes his listeners
on a magic carpet ride. But even while his husky Bryan
Adamish voice seems more West than East, his musical
roots are positively Persian.
As stated by US News and World Report: "One look at Andy
Madadian and one's sure he must be on God's A-list. His
body is pure Rodin, he has chiclet teeth and a jaw bone
so sharp it could open a soup can." you simply can't
take your eyes off him.
From his early childhood in Teheran, his life has been a
study in contrasts. His father built roads, yet the
family had no car. They were beyond poor - nine people
living in a small one-room house - but his mother's
careful management kept food on the table and enabled
his parents to put six children through school. Their
house was filled with love, laughter, and most
importantly for Andy, music.
As Andy was beginning to explore his musical roots, his
native land began to broil with turbulence. The Islamic
Revolution under the new religious leadership brought
civil war and Andy made the difficult decision to leave
Iran. The revolution has made it impossible for Andy to
perform in his native country because of the
governmental ban on pop music. Anyone caught listening
to his music there can be fined and jailed.
Besides the profound respect Andy has for Persian poetry
and traditional music, he developed an abiding love for
contemporary Western music. His musical icons include
the Beatles, Deep Purple, Ray Charles and the masters of
jazz, but mostly it is his love and respect for
Santana's chugging Afro-Latin rhythms that influenced
him the most. And like Santana, Andy invited some of the
world's famous musical artist to collaborate on his
latest album.
'And My Heart...' is the result of this unique blending
of rich talents. Soraya, Columbia's young singing
superstar dueted with Andy on a romantic ballad 'Cerca
Del Corazon' in Spanish; Steve Stevens known for his
lightening quick finger licks on the guitar on Michael
Jackson's Dirty Diana song, co-wrote and performed with
Andy and Ragheb Alame on the Persian-Arabic song
'Yalla'. Andy also co-wrote and performed a love ballad
in English called 'You're the Reason' with upcoming
American artist Shani Rigsbee.
Today, Andy is the living proof of the American dream.
He credits Los Angeles, a city of contrasts that helped
him forge his unique sound, and the musical mosaic that
resulted has catapulted him to superstardom.
Audiences can't get enough of this exciting combination:
the poetic beauty of Persian music set against the
vibrant backdrop of dance music. Andy's songs break
every tradition and some taboos, but young and old
alike, from Persian to non-Persians now pack his
concerts and rush to buy his albums.
Miles Copeland states: "I have always been interested in
the exotic rhythms, melodies and instrumentation of
middle Eastern music as I grew up in that region. But
more exciting to me is how the traditional music has
mutated by incorporating other influences, particularly
Western, making something entirely new. Andy is at the
forefront of this revolution."
'And My Heart...' is Andy's first US release on Miles
Copeland's Mondo Melodia label/ARk21. And with it, the
Prince of Persian of Persian music has arrived to
conquer American Hearts. |
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