«At 22, surrounded by his brother and father, who had taught him how to play the zarb (a Persian drum transforming the beat into a melody), Bijan Chemirani invited several musicians, among them Ross Daly, to accompany him on his sumptuous and intoxicating album. Beyond the interest one can find in the multitude and the originality of instruments chosen to compose this record (oud, cetera, saz, duduk, etc.), the true revelation comes from the result: a peaceful, rich, dense instrumental music inspired by many horizons and at the same time very homogenous. Recorded between Athens and Marseilles, Gulistan leads the listener in the Mediterranean area and further eastward.» (AMG)
«Bijan Chemirani is interested in mythical musical spaces. On Gulistan, Chemirani explores a place where Greek, Persian and Azerbaijani music meet. A gulistan is a rose garden, the classic metaphor for the source of inspiration for poets and musicians.
The album is full of spirited tempo and fiery instrumental conversations between fiddles and percussion. These are Middle Eastern fiddles, kamanchehs, kemences and rebecs. In the Persian musical tradition, the kamancheh is thought to be the world's original fiddle. Chemirani plays with a hard attack, framing the melody in double chords, making use of changing Balkan rhythmic patterns. Chemirani's sound will startle those whose exposure to the kamancheh has been the more refined playing of Ostad Ali Asghar Bahari or Kayhan Kalhor. It's like putting Bartok and a Gypsy orchestra side by side. However, let me quickly add that this in no way implies a "high" and "low" value. Like any good musician, Chemirani has discovered strengths in his instrument that few others have. He is a virtuoso and the power and beauty of his music is really quite remarkable. Outstanding tracks include Chemirani's composition "Liqa" and Ross Daly's "Makrinitsa."
The Irish-born Daly is an ideal collaborator, having absorbed Greek, Turkish, Egyptian and other Middle-Eastern influences. The result is an incredibly virile music that has the wailing, nasal-like color of Balkan and Near East folk tunes yet it is very contemporary, melodically sophisticated and unpredictable.» (Aaron Howard, Rootsworld)
«Le jardin des Roses, du perse "Gulistan", se trouve au bout du périple. Mais dès l'ouverture de cet album les fragrances qui s'en échappent provoquent des frémissement de délices. Pour son premier album en tant que capitaine, le plus jeune membre de l'ensorcelant trio Chemirani, n'a certes pas laisser refroidir les peaux magiques de ses zarbs, dafs, reqqs et autres tambourins, ni coupé les liens du sang, conviant frère et père pour un bout du voyage. Même si pourtant dans cette famille on sait raconter comme personne des histoires merveilleuses rien qu'avec les doigts, Bijan Chemirani n'a pas voulu faire un disque de percussions. Pour son évident plaisir comme pour le notre, il a préféré se faire accompagner par quelques unes de ses relations les plus précieuses. L'irlandais atypique Ross Daly d'abord, qui avec Bijan, nous guide à travers quelques coins merveilleux de la méditerranée, du Soudan et de son imaginaire où ses lyra, laouta, saz et robab résonnent de toutes leurs saveurs. On retrouve aussi avec grand plaisir le compagnon d'aventure musicale d'Angélique Ionatos et de Houria Aïchi, Henri Agnel, sa science du taksim, son amour des pays Helléniques et transalpins. C'est aussi en Grèce, le disque fut en partie enregistrer à Athènes, que l'on rencontre un autre magicien des rythmes ensoleillés Socrates Sinopoulos. Quant à Tigran Sarkissian et son duduk, il nous font planer au dessus de l'Arménie et de l'Anatolie.
Ce n'est qu'après avoir visiter des airs traditionnels joliment réappropriés et partagés, après s'être fait presque oublier pour mieux mettre en avant les talents de compositeurs de ses invités que Bijan nous dévoile son jardin secret. Aidé de la seule, mais puissamment évocatrice voix du marseillais Manu Théron, il clôt son album par le seul morceau qu'il revendique entièrement. Et là les parfums éclatent de façon si personnelle et si étourdissante que l'on se demande s'il n'y aurait pas sur la terre quelque coin qui n'aurait été visité que par lui seul.» (Benjamin MiNiMuM, Mondomix)
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«No One Knows About Persian Cats is a film from Iran that blurs the line between documentary and drama. Briefly put, the film follows Negar and Ashkan, indie pop musicians trying to put together a band to play danceable pop/rock in an '80s American new wave style. Since Western music is outlawed in Iran, the actors, musicians, and filmmakers put themselves at considerable risk while making the film. (People can receive 80 lashes and a fine of $2,000 U.S. for possessing Western DVDs and CDs.) The music in the film hints at varied Western and Persian styles, and shows that the underground scene in Tehran is healthy, despite the official repression. Hamed Seyed Javadi sings an emotional power ballad that blends metal guitar pyrotechnics, Persian scales, and his ululating Farsi vocals. Negar and Ashkan make dance-pop as Take It Easy Hospital and contribute four tracks with both English and Farsi lyrics, including the bright and bouncy keyboard-heavy tracks "Human Jungle" and "Me and You" and Negar's affecting solo ballad "My Sleepy Fall." Rana Fahran sings the jazzy Farsi torch song "Mast-e Eshg" (Drunk with Love) with a smoldering sexuality while the band lays down a subdued Latin-flavored groove that brings to mind Sade. The Free Keys grind out "Dreaming," a guitar-heavy thrash anthem; Mahdyar Aghajani and Bahman Ghobadi combine electronica and traditional music on a short rap interlude; the Yellow Dogs play garage meets surf rock on "New Century"; and Ash Koosha (Ashkan) shows off his guitar prowess on the ambient instrumental "They Sing." Interestingly enough, most of these musicians don't dream of escaping to the West and making it big. They're struggling for the right to play their music in Tehran, a town where even playing traditional Persian music can land you in jail if the audience includes men and women grooving together.» 
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