A Tehran-born Persian, Reza grew up between two worlds: one his family’s deep ties to the classical music; the other the years he spent soaking up Persian traditional music in Iran. His old-time Setar skills and deft arrangements have landed his in the spotlight in Iran, garnering critical acclaim from outlets.

Reza started his career early, crafting his first music performance (2001) when he was just out of high school. Since then, he’s gone on to perform on many more stages, Roudaki Hall, Tehran (2001) and Farabi Hall, Tehran (2002). His most recent work weaves between Persian pop 1960’s songs that touch on social issues like the Vigen and more personal narratives speaking to life and love in the Rumi poems (13th century Persian poet). Reza performed in the World Music Festival, Darwin Fringe Festival and Anula School Festival, playing Setar, Guitar, Tombak and Daf in 2018.

For his final work, sound design for Sunset (September 2018, A short film by Jane Hampson/Arafura Studios, Darwin, NT), he took a decidedly different direction, choosing to lean into a wider array of sounds and styles, in order to convey a wider array of emotions and topics, most notably his paternal ancestry.