"I think art is just like a river…..you can swim with its flow and let it take you whenever it
wants. It doesn’t have any limitation and if you want to limit it, art will eventually find its way
just like water.“ This statement by the 23 year old producer Sasan Aminiafshar aka DSM,
describes quite well in the typical Persian magniloquent way, the mentality of the Iranian
electronic music culture. The art inside the music stands at first place and due to it's
limitations not the club and party culture as it's known from western scenes. This could
also be the reason why experimental electronic music is so popular in Iran. Also DSM has
worked in this genre a lot and thinks almost all the music that he has produced is
experimental since they don’t follow any rule or routine, they just follow his feelings. He is
trying to leave a dark, blank spot in his music that gives listeners the time to hesitate and
think about the track and even sometimes zone them out. Recently, there was an album
released by Cold Spring Records featuring some experimental producers called “VISIONS
OF DARKNESS (IN IRANIAN CONTEMPORARY MUSIC)”, which includes DSM's title
“NOWRUZ”, which received great feedback.
“Therefore, many people changed their way of thinking about Iran, people who previously
thought that we live in a desert with no art and music in our lives! People must know that
music is a major part of Iranian culture!”
DSM continues, “In Iran, we also have live performances of electronic music, especially
experimental. Recently, people have become more familiar with this kind of music and
have started listening to these kind of tracks. If someone played experimental music 10
years ago he would get yelled at to stop, but now everything has changed.”
Sasan works in this daily life as a civil engineer but the music is his passion, a feeling
inside him. First contact with electronic music he had at the early age of 8 when he saw
the video of Tiësto's “Adagio for Strings”. He started to practice music at the age of 12,
when he became interested in playing guitar after hearing somebody play the guitar which
made a strong impression on him. However, this interest didn’t last so long and he found
himself lost after taking a few classes. Later, when Sasan was 16, he installed audio
mixing software on his computer, which became the gate to his new world. He gained back
his lost interest in music, this time with a different view as everything was happening in a
digital world. He started making some mixtapes and played them for his friends. As he saw
his friends’ encouragement, he started to improve his skills in DJing and he ended up
becoming a professional in producing mashups. Finally, he entered the underground
scene by DJing at various private parties. But he was not satisfied with this trend since he
didn’t want to be like other DJs in Iran. At some point he preferred to stop DJing and focus
on finding a way to be an official music producer. Night after night he practiced learning the
software, and finally composed and released his first track called “Impression of A
Stranger”, beginning the next part of his music career. During this time, his interest
changed and he became passionate about techno music. He read about his favorite
producers in this genre, listened to their work and tried to learn from their music. His hard
work finally paid off when he had his first output on record labels such as Ready Mix
Records and Capital Heaven. Meanwhile, he started to produce experimental and ambient
music, which were the best genres to narrate his deepest feelings.
It is worth mentioning that all his tracks were produced solely with his PC until he bought a
midi controller, in turn producing tracks in a different style and released under the
FUTURIST record label on an EP called “Abstracted”. Sasan also started to experience
with live performance at private parties in Tehran. A world of producing and performing
music that he hasn't even heard himself, he believes that this is the true meaning of
underground electronic music. Partying and raving in Iran is against the law, making the
party scene underground and even more special. Limitations in Iran have been reduced
now, but there are still many blocks in the way of Iranian music producers. However, these
limits are the reason that makes the Iran’s underground music production so special. He
uses music as a way to change people’s negative attitude about Iran and the Iranian
nation. He also believes that having many professional instruments in the studio is not
necessarily the reason behind a successful track, it is more about the feelings when you
are producing. In other words, it is like putting your soul in your track.
Sasan believes that music and art are the language that connects different people from
different countries, cultures and classes, even the ones who are against each other in
politics. Music doesn’t have boundaries and you can find it in every part of your life.
Everything has its own music; in visual arts, each color in a painting plays a different
rhythm; in nature, every shape has its own harmony and among us, every personality
plays its own music. Music defines life and it can change how we look at our lives by
creating different moods.