Mamak Khadem is a singer whose work brings Persian poetry into conversation with regional melodies from Iran and beyond. Her solo debut, Jostojoo: Forever Seeking, drew on music from Iran, Greece, Turkey and Armenia, giving those melodies new contemporary arrangements.5
Recordings
4 releases, oldest first. Select one for its details and sources.
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Life & work
Learning across traditions
Khadem grew up in Tehran4, sang in the Children’s Choir for National Radio and Television in Iran, and moved to the United States as a teenager in 1977. She later returned to Iran regularly to study with Persian vocalists. Alongside that training, she studied classical Indian singing at the Ali Akbar Khan College of Music in northern California and explored Balkan singing with the Los Angeles choir Nevenka.4
While studying for her master’s degree in applied mathematics at California State University, Long Beach, she began a teaching career that lasted eighteen years. During those years she became a founding member of Axiom of Choice. The group recorded Beyond Denial, Niya Yesh and Unfolding. She left full-time mathematics teaching in 2003, while her later work as an educator included Persian singing classes and workshops combining singing, meditation and movement.4
Solo albums
Her first solo album, Jostojoo: Forever Seeking (2007), developed her search for connections among regional musical traditions. Khadem and Jamshied Sharifi arranged the album together; on “Heydar,” Omar Faruk Tekbilek joined them as an arranger.45
A Window to Color (2011) centered on the poetry and paintings of Sohrab Sepehri and their attention to the natural world. The Road followed in 2015. On “A Thousand Strings,” she set Persian words by Rumi to the Serbian melody “Ajde Jano,” a concrete meeting of the traditions she had been exploring.467
Remembrance
Her fourth solo album, Remembrance, was released by Six Degrees Records on 25 February 2022. Created during the pandemic, it was dedicated to her father, whose final days in Iran she could not share because of travel restrictions. Khadem co-wrote and co-produced the album with Jamshied Sharifi, Marc Copely and Chris Votek.8
The Persian lyrics draw on Rumi, Saied Soltanpour and Fatemeh Baraghani. On “Across the Oceans,” Chris Martin contributes vocals and piano, while Coleman Barks recites Rumi.89
Sources
- 1Photos — Mamak Khadem · www.mamak-khadem.com
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Photos — Mamak Khadem
https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54c69f6be4b056e2e817e947/1637459808343-L07ROKLBRPEOSMH4H7L3/mamak-khadem-2.jpeg
- 2Mamak Khadem - Apple Music
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Mamak Khadem
- 3Mamak Khadem - Remembrance
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https://mamakkhadem.bandcamp.com/album/remembrance
Remembrance
https://open.spotify.com/album/1ieYIEmawDmJ8iY4BcVHJr
https://soundcloud.com/mamak-khadem-196614610/sets/remembrance-965812207
- 4Bio — Mamak Khadem
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While still teaching, she became a founding member of Axiom of Choice
from her childhood and youth in Tehran at a critical time in Iranian history
She found her powerful voice early on, singing with the Children's Choir for National Radio and Television in Iran. But it wasn't until after the Iranian Revolution, before which she'd already emigrated to the U.S. as a teenager in 1977, that her passion for singing ignited and she began to pursue a musical path in earnest.
Inspired by the work of Persian master musicians, she seized every opportunity to deepen and broaden her vocal art, regularly traveling back to Iran to study with some of the finest Persian vocalists. She also studied classical Indian singing tradition at the Ali Akbar Khan College of Music in northern California and explored Balkan vocal stylings during her tenure with the Los Angeles-based choir Nevenka.
Studying for her master's degree in applied mathematics at California State University/Long Beach, Khadem took on her first teaching job. She would go on to teach mathematics full-time for the next 18 years, working with students ranging in age from primary school to university, with particular emphasis on educating children with learning disabilities.
While still teaching, she became a founding member of Axiom of Choice, a groundbreaking Iranian fusion band who opened the way for subsequent musicians working in the style; they recorded Beyond Denial ( Faray-e Enkaar ) (1996), Niya Yesh (2000), and Unfolding (Goshayesh) (2002).
In 2003, she closed the chapter of her mathematics teaching career -- and she has never looked back.
Mamak teaches classical Persian music in Los Angeles as well as conducting workshops for non-musicians that incorporate singing, meditation and movement.
She released her first solo album Jostojoo: Forever Seeking in 2007, followed by A Window to Color (2011) and The Road (2015).
- 5Jostojoo · Mamak Khadem
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I have had the freedom to explore a variety of different regional and folk melodies not only from Iran but from Greece, Turkey and Armenia and experiment with arrangements that are contemporary and cross over numerous different musical styles.
All arrangements by Jamshied Sharifi and Mamak Khadem except “Heydar” arranged by Omar Faruk Tekbilek, Jamshied Sharifi, and Mamak Khadem
Mamak Khadem - voice
- 6A Window To Color · Mamak Khadem
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Inspired by the poetry and paintings of Iranian artist Sohrab Sepehri, Mamak Khadem’s new project A WINDOW TO COLOR shares a message of peace and understanding through an exploration of what is most sacred in the natural world as expressed in Sepehri’s contributions to the cannon of Persian literature, culture, history and traditions.
- 7The Road · Mamak Khadem
2 quotes
Based on a melody (Ajde Jano) from Serbia, Persian lyrics by Rumi have been adapted to this song.
Mamak Khadem – voice
- 8Mamak Khadem – Remembrance · Six Degrees Records
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releases her new album REMEMBRANCE on February 25, 2022, via Six Degrees Records.
It was created in the isolation of her Santa Monica home during the COVID pandemic as he lived out his final days back in Iran. Due to travel restrictions, she was unable to be with him for the last time.
REMEMBRANCE is Khadem’s fourth album and was co-written and co-produced with collaborators Jamshied Sharifi, Marc Copely, and Chris Votek, all of whom also contributed instrumentation along with various other musicians.
Khadem’s lyrics, sung in Farsi, draw from the verse of the esteemed 13th-century poet Moulana Jalaledin Rumi, as well as other great Persian poets including Saied Soltanpour and Fatemeh Baraghani.
- 9Music — Mamak Khadem
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The track also features the vocals and piano of special guest Chris Martin (Coldplay), whose performance was key to the song's foundation. Khadem also enlisted the renowned poet Coleman Barks to recite the verse of Rumi .
https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54c69f6be4b056e2e817e947/1422992096960-Y0EKLDB72P5Y8BUBJO7V/image-asset.jpeg
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- 10Jostojoo Forever Seeking · Apple Music
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Jostojoo Forever Seeking by Mamak Khadem on Apple Music
- 11Listen to Jostojoo Forever Seeking - Album by Mamak Khadem | Spotify
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Listen to Jostojoo Forever Seeking - Album by Mamak Khadem | Spotify
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- 13Listen to A Window to Color - Album by Mamak Khadem | Spotify
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Listen to A Window to Color - Album by Mamak Khadem | Spotify
- 14The Road · Innova Recordings
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August 28, 2015
Innova® Recordings empowers visionary musicians, amplifying their work through expert guidance, marketing, and distribution, while championing diverse American voices.
Performers Ardeshir Farah , Jorge Strunz , Mamak Khadem , Mino Cinelu
- 15The Road - Album by Mamak Khadem - Apple Music
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The Road by Mamak Khadem on Apple Music
- 16Listen to The Road - Album by Mamak Khadem | Spotify
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Listen to The Road - Album by Mamak Khadem | Spotify
- 17Remembrance | Mamak Khadem
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Remembrance by Mamak Khadem
https://f4.bcbits.com/img/a2681394270_5.jpg
released February 25, 2022