Kaveh Yaghmaei

By: Siavash Alipour
 

BORN IN 1968 IN CITY OF TEHRAN. HE IS THE OLDEST SON OF KOUROSH YAGHMAEI THE IRANIAN MUSIC LEGEND.

FROM EARLY CHILDHOOD HE WAS TIED TO MUSIC AND SHOWED MUCH INTEREST IN MUSIC.
AT AGE 8 HIS PARENTS DECIDED TO SEND HIM TO ONE OF THE MOST PRESTIGIOUS MUSIC ACADEMY IN THE COUNTRY NAMELY TEHRAN CONSERVATORY OF MUSIC .HE STUDIED PIANO AND ACADEMIC CLASSICAL MUSIC.



THREE YEARS LATER FOLLOWING IRAN'S ISLAMIC REVOLUTION, ALL MUSIC SCHOOLS AND ACADEMIES WERE SHUT DOWN BY THE NEW GOVERNMENT.

IN SPITE OF ALL THE PRESSURE AND LIMITATIONS, WITH GUIDANCE AND HELP OF HIS FATHER AND HIS UNCLES KAMRAN AND KAMBIZ HE CONTINUED TO LEARN AND PRACTICE MUSIC AT HOME. WITH HELP OF THEIR VALUABLE KNOWLEDGE AND BACKGROUND IN MUSIC, KAVEH LEARN MUCH MORE ABOUT MUSIC AT HOME THAN SCHOOL, IT WAS AT THIS TIME HE DISCOVERED PROGRESSIVE ROCK. THE STYLE OF MUSIC THAT NEVER PRACTICES IN ANY ACADEMY AND IT HAD THE MOST INFLUENCE IN HIS FUTURE WORKS.

HE WAS STUNNED BY THE ENERGY, POWER AND EXCITEMENT OF THE ROCK MUSIC. THE MUSIC FROM THE AGE OF RESISTANCE, THE AGE OF ART AND PROTEST, THE MUSIC THAT COULD FULFILL HIS PASSIONS, AND AS THE RESULT HE DECIDED TO CHOOSE THE ELECTRIC GUITAR AS HIS MAIN MUSICAL INSTRUMENT.

THREE YEARS LATER GOVERNMENT DECIDED TO REMOVE THE BAN ON MUSIC AND RE-OPENED MOST OF THE MUSIC ACADEMIES AND SCHOOLS BUT STILL THERE WAS LOTS OF RESTRICTIONS IMPLEMENTED.

KAVEH RETURNED TO HIS OLD ACADEMY NOW CALLED “ACADEMY OF REVOLUTIONARY SONGS" AND HE GRADUATED IN 1987. IN THE SAME YEAR HE RECORDED HIS FIRST SINGLE IN "SABA RECORDING STUDIO". A CLASSICAL PIECE WITH SOME OF TEHRAN'S SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA'S MUSICIANS ACCOMPANIMENT.

AT THIS TIME ALL HE WANTED TO DO WAS PUT ALL HIS FOCUS AND ENERGY IN WRITING SONGS AND MAKING MUSIC, BUT ALSO THIS WAS A TIME THAT HE HAD TO SIGN UP FOR MANDATORY MILITARY SERVICE FOR TWO YEARS. HE WASN'T HAPPY AT ALL, ESPECIALLY WHEN HE FOUND HIMSELF SERVING IN ARMY'S SPECIAL FORCES. HE KNOW THIS TWO YEARS WILL CAUSE HIM A HUGE DRAWBACK. BUT HE WAS LUCKY ENOUGH THAT GENERAL GHADERI THE COMMANDER OF ARMY'S MUSIC UNIT CONTACTED HIM PERSONALLY AND ASKED HIM TO JOIN HIS UNIT. THIS WAS A GREAT OPPORTUNITY FOR KAVEH TO PLAY AND PRACTICE MUSIC DURING THE TWO YEARS OF HIS MILITARY SERVICE.

IN 1987 HIS FATHER KOUROSH RELEASED HIS FIRST ALBUM AFTER 10 YEARS OF SILENCE NAMED DIAR. KAVEH'S FIRST PROFESSIONAL APPEARANCE WAS IN THIS ALBUM. DIAR IS A MODERN ARRANGEMENT OF SOME FAMOUS IRANIAN FOLKLORIC SONGS. THIS ALL INSTRUMENTAL ALBUM BECAME ONE OF THE TOP SELLER ALBUMS IN IRAN.



IN 1994 HE ATTENDED THE UNIVERSITY TO GET HIS MAJOR IN CLASSICAL GUITAR. IN THE SAME YEAR WITH IRANIAN GUITAR PLAYER BABAK AMINI HE PERFORMED THE FIRST PRIVATE GUITAR CONCERT IN IRAN AFTER THE REVOLUTION. THE PUBLIC RECEPTION OF THESE CONCERTS WAS OVERWHELMING. THIS CONCERT HAD A HUGE IMPACT ON IRANIAN MUSIC INDUSTRY. AFTER MORE THAN A DECADE OF PROHIBITION OF POPULAR MUSIC, THIS WAS A TURNING POINT FOR ALL MUSIC FANS IN IRAN. THESE CONCERTS BECAME A NEW START FOR HIM.

AT THAT TIME THREE TYPES OF MUSIC EXIST IN IRAN: TRADITIONAL IRANIAN AND WORLD CLASSICAL MUSIC WHICH THEY WERE PERMITTED BY THE GOVERNMENT AND IT WAS UNDER SUPERVISION OF MINISTRY OF CULTURE AND ISLAMIC GUIDANCE AND THE THIRD ONE WAS UNDERGROUND ROCK MOVEMENT ALSO KNOWN AS BASEMENT OR UNDERGROUND MUSIC. THIS TYPE OF MUSIC WAS PROHIBITED BY THE OFFICIALS AND BECAUSE OF THAT MUSICIANS HAD TO LITERALLY GATHER IN THE BASEMENTS AND PLAY THEIR MUSIC.

THERE ARE MANY AMAZING TALENTED MUSICIANS AMONG UNDERGROUND MOVEMENT. BANDS LIKE O-HUM, 127, RAZ-E SHAB, PICOLO, MIN AND MANY MORE, BUT NONE COULD GET THE PERMISSION TO PERFORM PUBLICLY. THERE ARE STILL WONDERFUL AND EXTRA ORDINARY TALENTS THAT ARE WASTED IN IRAN . BUT FINALLY KAVEH BROKE THE SPELL AND HE BECAME THE FIRST AND ONLY ROCK ARTIST WHO HAD THE PERMISSION OF THE OFFICIALS TO PERFORM IN THE PUBLIC .IT TOOK TIME AND ENDLESS EFFORT TO REACH SUCH AN ACHIEVEMENT.

IN 2003 KAVEH RELEASE HIS DEBUT ALBUM “MATARSAK" (SCARECROW). THIS ALBUM BECAME A HUGE HIT AND FOR SIX MONTHS IT WAS NUMBER ONE BEST SELLER ALBUM IN IRAN.

IN THE SAME WEEK HE PERFORMED TWO NIGHTS IN A ROW SOLD OUT CONCERT IN MILAD CONCERT HALL. THE DVD OF THIS CONCERT BECAME A BEST SELLERS AS WELL. THIS WAS THE FIRST TIME IN IRANIAN MUSIC HISTORY THAT A LIVE CONCERT WAS PROFESSIONALLY RECORDED ON DVD AND SOLD TO THE PUBLIC.

KAVEH DOESN’T SOLELY MAKE MUSIC FOR HIMSELF, HE ALSO PRODUCES, COMPOSES AND ARRANGES MUSIC FOR OTHER MUSICIANS. YOU CAN SEE HIS PARTICIPATION IN MANY DIFFERENT ALBUMS.




ONE OF KAVE'S GREATEST ACHIEVEMENTS IS FOUNDING THE "ELECTRIC GUITAR PROGRAM” IN 2005 AT THE UNIVERSITY OF APPLIED SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY (DANESHGAH ELMI KARBORDI). THIS PROGRAM IS THE FIRST AND ONE OF A KIND IN IRAN.

IN 2005 HE MOVED TO VANCOUVER CANADA TO EXPAND HIS WORK IN CANADA AND UNITED STATES. HE STARTED TO WORK ON HIS NEW ALBUM AT THE SAME YEAR AND FINALLY AT THE END OF 2007 HE RELEASED HIS SECOND ALBUM "COLD SILENCE" (SOKOOTE SARD).