Mahan Mirarab is an Iranian-Austrian guitarist, composer, arranger and producer based in Vienna and Berlin. Born and raised in Tehran, he began playing music at 15.14
In Tehran, Mirarab learned with a small jazz community that pooled money to make its own conservatory and invited Armenian teacher Vahagn Hayrapetian to teach improvisation.4 Cassette tapes were his teachers: he listened closely, slowed recordings and transcribed jazz solos.4
He moved to Europe in 2009. In Vienna, he sold his amplifier to fund a recording, then met bassist Robert Jukic and drummer Wolfi Rainer, who supported him and recorded his first album there. He later met Golnar Shahyar, and they began collaborating.4
Mirarab describes his music as contemporary and rooted in the many cultures of Iran, and has spoken of microtonality as a different tuning system.4 His fretless-guitar practice connects to Ney ornaments in classical Iranian music. He sought out musicians from different regions and tried to relearn classical Iranian repertoire; the double-neck guitar began as a way to travel more easily with both instruments.4
Recordings
10 releases, oldest first. Select one for its details and sources.
No matches.
Avareh (feat. Kaveh Sarvarian)with Hamzeh Yeganeh and Kaveh Sarvarian
Persian Side of Jazz
Sahel-e Tehran - Persian Jazz Musicwith Naima and Makan Ashgvari
Damahiwith Damahi
Kahgelwith Hamzeh Yeganeh and Kaveh Sarvarian
Derakhtwith Golnar Shahyar
Persian Side of Jazz, Vol. 2with Martin Berauer and Amir Wahba
Say Your Most Beautiful Wordwith Golnar Shahyar, David Six, Martin Berauer, Mona Matbou Riahi, Florian Willeitner and Amir Wahba
Tear Dropwith Golnar Shahyar
Unspokenwith Kian Soltani, Lars Danielsson and Golnar Shahyar
Avareh (feat. Kaveh Sarvarian)
- Released
- 16
- Contributors
- Hamzeh Yeganeh, Kaveh Sarvarian and Mahan Mirarab (guitar)162
Sahel-e Tehran - Persian Jazz Music
ساحل تهران
- Released
- 19
- Contributors
- Naima, Makan Ashgvari and Mahan Mirarab19
Kahgel
- Released
- 23
- Contributors
- Hamzeh Yeganeh, Kaveh Sarvarian and Mahan Mirarab23
Derakht
Bandcamp 15Spotify 25Apple Music 26SoundCloud 27
- Released
- 15
- Contributors
- Mahan Mirarab (guitar) and Golnar Shahyar (vocals and guitar)15
Persian Side of Jazz, Vol. 2
Say Your Most Beautiful Word
Apple Music 30Spotify 31Bandcamp 6
- Contributors
- Mahan Mirarab (composer, arranger, guitar and fretless guitar), Golnar Shahyar (vocals), David Six (piano), Martin Berauer (bass), Mona Matbou Riahi (clarinet), Florian Willeitner (violin) and Amir Wahba (percussion)306
Life & work
Selected recordings
Unspoken
ACT introduces Unspoken as an album of personal stories. Mirarab performs solo on the double-neck guitar, joined on some tracks by Kian Soltani, Lars Danielsson and Golnar Shahyar.5
Say Your Most Beautiful Word
The interview around Say Your Most Beautiful Word describes the first time Mirarab had space to prepare emotionally as well as musically before recording. He calls hope a beautiful word and says risk is needed for development.67
Persian Side of Jazz
In his first year in Vienna, Mirarab focused on a trio called Persian Side of Jazz. Persian Side of Jazz, Vol. 2 carries that title forward in his catalogue.48
Collaborations
Mirarab’s official discography places Sakina Teyna’s Sûret - Faces and Images, Mash’s Naked 7, and Sakina & Friends’ Longing in its “As Bandleader, Composer & Arranger” section; Apple Music gives the last album the full title Bendewarî / İntizar / Longing.29 The album billing remains Sakina Teyna, Mash and Sakina & Friends respectively.10119
Apple Music credits Mirarab as composer on “Neyare Bedewiye” from Sûret - Faces and Images. It lists him and András Dés as songwriters on Mash’s “Naked 7,” and Mirarab and Sakina Teyna as songwriters on “Migration” from Bendewarî / İntizar / Longing.121314
Guitar work
His official guitarist listing includes records by artists in his musical circle: Tear Drop by Golnar Shahyar, Damahi by Damahi, and Avareh by Hamzeh Yeganeh.2
Derakht
His work with Golnar Shahyar also took a shared form in Derakht, released as Golnar & Mahan. Its Bandcamp description points to Persian music, American jazz, Latin styles and Afro-Cuban polyrhythms.15
Sources
- 1Mahan Mirarab - Austrian Music Export Skip to content facebook instagram YouTube Spotify SoundCloud · www.musicexport.at
4 quotes
Mahan Mirarab - Austrian Music Export
https://open.spotify.com/artist/7ITIDvXF6cPhYBxdjgfy68?si=3jLBQ3xpRBegTFBCWhQLlQ
https://soundcloud.com/mahanmirarab-music
Mahan Mirarab is an Iranian/Austrian guitarist, composer, arranger and producer based in Vienna and Berlin.
- 2Discography - Mahan Mirarab · www.mahanmirarab.com
9 quotes
youtube.com/@MahanMirarab
As Bandleader, Composer & Arranger
Sakina Teyna – Suret (Faces and Images)
Naked 7
Sakina & Friends – Longing
As a Guitarist
Golnar Shahyar – Tear Drop
Damahi – Damahi
Hamzeh Yeganeh – Avareh
- 3
- 4A Conversation with Mahan Mirarab - Jazz’halo · jazzhalo.be
17 quotes
I was born and grew up in Tehran (Iran), and at 15 I started playing music.
In Iran, we had a small community, a jazz community (where we learned everything together), we didn't have any conservatory or even any teacher.
We collected our money to make a small conservatory for ourselves and invited a Vahagn Hayrapetian, a teacher from Armenia, who teached us jazz improvisation.
These cassette tapes were my teachers.
We could bring the tempo down, so we could transcribe jazz solos with the tapes, but in a different pitch.
That's why I immigrated to Europe in 2009, and in the beginning it was really a big change for me.
I sold my amplifier and that was the only money I had to record an album.
I met two beautiful people in Vienna, Robert Jukic, who now lives in Brussels, and Wolfi Rainer, a drummer from Tyrol.
From one side I had this big support from these two guys.
We recorded my first album in Vienna.
As soon as we met, we started collaborating and we are still collaborating together and we are partners now.
I don't want people to call my music “World music” because I think it’s really contemporary music. It’s music which comes from my different roots. Iranian culture is not something fixed. There’s a lot of diversity in Iran and its regions.
It's not equal temporal temperaments tuning system, which we have in Europe, it is different.
in classical Iranian music the closest instrument to Fretless guitar is Ney, in my opinion.
I try to find the people and play with them. And also I try to learn, re-learn classical music from Iran.
The main concept to have a double neck guitar was to travel easier.
And I was lonely in the beginning and the first year I was focusing on this trio with "Persian side of jazz".
- 5Unspoken – Mahan Mirarab · ACT Music
9 quotes
Unspoken, the ACT debut album from Mahan Mirarab, opens up a whole world of personal, deeply felt stories.
He performs solo on the double-neck guitar and on some tracks is also joined by Kian Soltani (cello), Lars Danielsson (double bass) and Golnar Shahyar (vocals).
https://actmusic.com/thumbnail/06/d1/a3/1776946694/8022-2_Titel_3000_1920x1920.jpg?ts=1776946694
Photo by Victoria Nazarova
ACT Music
Mahan Mirarab guitar, fretless guitar, oud
Kian Soltani cello featured on #9,11, 5
Golnar Shahyar vocals featured #8
Produced by Mahan Mirarab & Andreas Brandis
- 6Say Your Most Beautiful Word | Mahan Mirarab · mahanmirarab.bandcamp.com
12 quotes
Say Your Most Beautiful Word
https://f4.bcbits.com/img/a1111451535_10.jpg
Artwork by Tevik Zadourian
released September 16, 2022
All compositions & arrangements by Mahan Mirarab
Mahan Mirarab - guitar & fretless guitar
Golnar Shahyar - voice
David Six - piano
Martin Berauer - bass
Mona Matbou Riahi - clarinet
Florian Willeitner - violin
Amir Wahba - percussion
- 7Hoffnung, das ist ein schönes Wort - Mahan Mirarab im mica-Interview · musicaustria.at
3 quotes
Ich hatte zum ersten Mal in meinem Musikerleben Zeit, mich vor einer Aufnahme vorzubereiten. Nicht nur musikalisch – das passiert natürlich immer –, sondern seelisch. Ich konnte mich fragen: Was bin ich gerade? Was erwarte ich mir von diesem Projekt? Fragen, die ich ehrlich beantworten muss – vor allem für mich.
Hoffnung, das ist ein schönes Wort.
Immer! Es braucht das Risiko, um sich weiterzuentwickeln. Deshalb riskiere ich in der Musik permanent und lass mich nicht in eine Schublade stecken.
- 8Persian Side of Jazz, Vol. 2 (feat. Martin Berauer & Amir Wahba) - Album by Mahan Mirarab - Apple Music · music.apple.com
4 quotes
Persian Side of Jazz, Vol. 2 (feat. Martin Berauer & Amir Wahba)
https://is1-ssl.mzstatic.com/image/thumb/Music125/v4/89/bf/d4/89bfd47d-6858-1d72-1bff-f940b3f810e9/196006888121.jpg/592x592bb.webp
10 October 2019
Mahan Mirarab
- 9Bendewarî / İntizar / Longing - Apple Music · music.apple.com
2 quotes
Bendewarî / İntizar / Longing
Sakina & Friends
- 10
- 11
- 12Neyare Bedewiye - Song with Lyrics by Sakina Teyna - Apple Music · music.apple.com
2 quotes
Neyare Bedewiye
Mahan Mirarab Composer
- 13Naked 7 (feat. Vincent Pongracz, Mahan Mirarab & András Dés) - Song with Lyrics by Mash - Apple Music · music.apple.com
3 quotes
Naked 7 (feat. Vincent Pongracz, Mahan Mirarab & András Dés)
Mahan Mirarab Songwriter
András Dés Songwriter
- 14Migration - Apple Music · music.apple.com
4 quotes
Migration
Bendewarî / İntizar / Longing
Mahan Mirarab Songwriter:in
Sakina Teyna Songwriter:in
- 15Derakht
5 quotes
Derakht by Golnar & Mahan
An expression influenced but not limited to Persian music, American Jazz, Latin and Afro Cuban polyrhythms.
Photo by Ina Aydogan
released November 25, 2017
Golnar Shahyar: Voice, Guitar Mahan Mirarab. Guitar, Fretless guitar, Oud, Back vocals
- 16Avareh (feat. Kaveh Sarvarian) - Album by Hamzeh Yeganeh - Apple Music · Apple Music
2 quotes
Listen to Avareh (feat. Kaveh Sarvarian) by Hamzeh Yeganeh on Apple Music. 2010. 9 Songs. Duration: 42 minutes.
"datePublished":"2010-06-07"
- 17Persian Side of Jazz - Album by Mahan Mirarab - Apple Music Persian Side of Jazz Mahan Mirarab Jaz · music.apple.com
4 quotes
Persian Side of Jazz by Mahan Mirarab on Apple Music
https://is1-ssl.mzstatic.com/image/thumb/Music124/v4/03/a3/74/03a374aa-926d-3c04-183a-0d2d7cd7eb24/mzi.fyfhsbrz.jpg/1200x630bb.jpg
November 16, 2010 7 songs, 44 minutes ℗ 2010 Mahan Mirarab
Persian Side of Jazz Mahan Mirarab
- 18
- 19Sahel-e Tehran - Persian Jazz Music - Album by Naima Band, Makan Ashkvari & Mahan Mirarab - Apple Music · Apple Music
2 quotes
Listen to Sahel-e Tehran - Persian Jazz Music by Naima Band, Makan Ashkvari & Mahan Mirarab on Apple Music. 2012. 10 Songs. Duration: 48 minutes.
"datePublished":"2012-06-26"
- 20Sahel-e Tehran - Persian Jazz Music - Naima Band · open.spotify.com
One quote
Sahel-e Tehran - Persian Jazz Music
- 21Damahi - Album by Damahi - Apple Music · Apple Music
2 quotes
Listen to Damahi by Damahi on Apple Music. 2015. 14 Songs. Duration: 1 hour 14 minutes.
"datePublished":"2015-09-04"
- 22Damahi - Spotify debut album route
One quote
Listen to Damahi on Spotify · album · Damahi · 2015 · 14 songs
- 23Kahgel - Album by Hamzeh Yeganeh, Kaveh Sarvarian & Mahan Mirarab - Apple Music · Apple Music
2 quotes
Listen to Kahgel by Hamzeh Yeganeh, Kaveh Sarvarian & Mahan Mirarab on Apple Music. 2016. 9 Songs. Duration: 48 minutes.
"datePublished":"2016-08-12"
- 24
- 25
- 26Derakht - Album by Golnar & Mahan, Golnar Shahyar, Mahan Mirarab & Amir Wahba - Apple Music · Apple Music
One quote
Derakht - Album by Golnar & Mahan, Golnar Shahyar, Mahan Mirarab & Amir Wahba - Apple Music
- 27
- 28Persian Side of Jazz, Vol. 2 - Mahan Mirarab · open.spotify.com
One quote
Persian Side of Jazz, Vol. 2
- 29Persian Side of Jazz, Vol.2 by Mahan Mirarab · soundcloud.com
One quote
Persian Side of Jazz, Vol.2 by Mahan Mirarab
- 30Say Your Most Beautiful Word (feat. Golnar Shahyar, David Six & Martin Berauer) - Album by Mahan Mirarab - Apple Music · music.apple.com
3 quotes
2 September 2022
Mahan Mirarab
Say Your Most Beautiful Word
- 31Say Your Most Beautiful Word - Mahan Mirarab · open.spotify.com
One quote
Say Your Most Beautiful Word
- 32Tear Drop · Golnar Shahyar
5 quotes
Tear Drop by Golnar Shahyar
Photo by Ina Aydogan Design by Tevik Zadourian
released November 25, 2022
All songs are composed and arranged by Golnar Shahyar
Produced by Golnar Shahyar
- 33Unspoken - Album by Mahan Mirarab - Apple Music · music.apple.com
3 quotes
29 May 2026
Mahan Mirarab
Unspoken
- 34Unspoken
2 quotes
2026, ACT Music + Vision GmbH & Co. KG
1. Mahan Mirarab - First Idea
- 35