Sepideh joon, (Official Fan Club)

NO FEAR (AVAILABLE NOW)

NO FEAR....REVIEW..BY BIA2.COM,

Sepideh - “No Fear”Tapesh Records/MZM Records 2007 (1386)

As you recall from my review on Sepideh’s solo debut three years ago I highly admired and praised her confidence in her sexuality and the strong sense of integrity manifested tastefully in her artistic individuality. Especially in a morally panicked and paranoid industry which the Iranian industry STILL is! Well apparently the same flamboyant features appreciated by yours-truly was too much to handle for the newly established Concerto Records, reportedly considering Sepideh’s sexy image as too saucy and risky for the Iranian market and therefore leading to the scrapping of their planned debut release already advertised in media! Consequently Sepideh picked up the production herself with a help from Alireza Amirghassemi’s Tapesh Records for a distribution on MZM Records without compromising neither her image nor the album cover. The nine track album entitled “No Fear” represents and reflects therefore the new phase in Sepideh’s career. With an elaborate collaboration with Schubert Avakian this time around as the sole composer and arranger, except on one cover, it also features lyrics by Taraneh Mokarram, Babak Roozbeh, Zoya Zakarian and Homa Mirafshar.,

The album opens with “Be Ham Miresim”, a POP song with the PROGRESSIVE ARABESQUE twist. There is a nice touch of ROCK embedded in it but the chorus is not CATCHY enough to get a hold of you!,

“Baa Siaasat” is as the title indicates a song on politics, namely the politics of LOVE! The POWER POP with the Afghan-flavour is very suitable for the mood of the song but unfortunately the performance has been spoiled by the overuse of the MEGAPHONE effect! I understand the purpose of its use in relation to the whole political twist as if it was shouted out in a rally, however the effect would have done its job better if limited to the first “beit”!,

Next comes a mellow song with a ROCKy flow! “Vasse Chi” sounds fresh after two rather commercial tracks. The chorus could have been boosted a bit further for a more overwhelming experience but overall an appreciated variation.,

Time for my favourite track! “To Ham Nabaashi” builds further on the Bahador Kharazmi formula of blending Euro-TECHNO with 6/8. The song is ENERGETIC and CATCHY with a strong chorus which is the icing on the delicious pastry! Love the OLD-SCHOOL feel to it!,

As I’ve mentioned previously Avakian was the man who coined the term and style of PERSIAN TECHNO back in 1994! This song however is despite its style not his idea but rather Sepideh who changed the original arrangement to the current. Something which I wish she hadn’t done, since the song and its current arrangement are mismatches especially with the upcoming version present on the album. “Nagoo Aasheghetam” is perhaps the weakest track on the album!,

The ballad of the album arrives and it’s an ADULT CONTEMPORARY style with the CONTINENTAL flavour. Appears a bit odd amongst the PROGRESSIVE rest to be honest! I whish that they hadn’t attended to this obsolete and -for the album- inappropriate arrangement and instead preformed “To Ki Hasti” unplugged with a piano and nothing more!,

“Doos Daaram” is an Ethno-POP song with a pinch of the Armenian POP! A good song with a generic quality.,

“Shab” is the only cover on the album, a song originally preformed by Homeyra now remade in a PROGRESSIVE fashion. While the credit to both composer and lyricist have been given on the video of the song which preceded the album with a year, on the album the credit to Nasser Cheshmazar has been left out due to an error in the editing and printing of the booklet! Something which Sepideh is deeply sorry about and apologises for! I for one appreciate Sepideh’s honesty and sincerity, because based on own experience I know that most artists wait to see whether I put my finger on such things before explaining themselves, and needless to say the majority never do explain at all! Unfortunately! So since the composer was mentioned in the video but not on the album proves the unintentional nature of this act. Nevertheless it’s a negligence which drags down the ethical adherence of the work!,

As I mentioned earlier in the review there is an original version of “Nagoo Aasheghetam” on the album which I personally find superior to the PERSIAN TECHNO version of Sepideh’s! This demo version features of course Schubert on vocals and Sepideh explains that she decided to feature it on the album just to show the changing process and that she loves both versions. I must say that this track is one of my favourite tracks on the album and I had no idea that Schubert possessed such a character-full and soothing voice! My advice to him would be to start thinking bout a solo project, to record own songs. His voice and his piano, NOTHING MORE! An UNPLUGGED collection!,

“No Fear” is a VERY GOOD album in terms of both quantity and quality! The songs are CATCHY and commercial, keeping it up from the very start till the end. Schubert Avakian is not always that consistent in his compositions, but manages to make up for it in his lush arrangements so that the result sounds cosmetically satisfying. However there are also weaknesses in the production which are mostly of the unjustified kind! One example is Sepideh’s voice which is strong and full of expression as always but her performance is held back through an unnecessary overuse of technical manipulations! I can understand how some weaker artists’ shortcomings in performance are masked in such a way, but veiling a beauty like this is a sever misjudgement not to mention an artistic crime in my opinion! How well-crafted and -produced the album might be by LA-standards I still feel that “No Fear” is TOO SAFE and not adequate enough for an artist of Sepideh’s calibre! Especially now that she has “grown” and matured as a solo performer. Sepideh has already started to emancipate herself from the industry’s cultural shackles image-wise, something which I praise and applaud, however I also wish that perhaps someday in the future she even decides to break free from the commercial norms and templates of the LA-industry even musically! NO FEAR and total independence on all levels! I want to hear her in a CUTTING EDGE production with an EDGY ATTITUDE!! Want to hear her pushing the envelope even musically!! I want her to ROCK!!!,

I had a feeling that the album was going to look good based on the cover, but never could I imagine THIS good! love the combination of jewel case and slipcase. And how she and Siros have filled the booklet with beautiful images and colourful designs! BRAVO!! As you probably know by now if there is one thing that puts me off when buying an album is an uncreative and unattractive cover and packaging! I have time and time again stressed the importance of a proper presentation of female artists especially in form of cover images and design and this album is the perfect specimen of how it should be! An EYE-CANDY!! Needless to say I still support Sepideh in her campaign and crusade against the hypocrisy and arrogance in our industry. Even more so now that I’ve seen her spirit in stand and action! She’s a fighter and I for one wont let her likes stand alone against the odds! Females artists just like their male colleagues should be able to express themselves as they wish without being afraid of labels, no matter if these labels are of the industrial or social kind!,البوم اول سپیده به نام دختر توی اینه از شرکت کلتکس رکورد در سال ۱۳۸۳ به بازار امد. البوم اول او بسیار موفق بود و و او را به مرحله دوم یعنی درست کردن البوم دوم رساند.البوم دوم او به اسم ترس نه که از شرکت ام زی ام و طپش در سال ۱۳۸۶ به بازار امد باعث تغییری بزرگ در موسیقی ایرانی شد. تا کنون البوم او بسیار موفق بوده و ما هم برای سپیده عریز ارزوی موفقیت می کنیم.Sepideh's first album released in March 2004 from Caltex Records and her album was successful. Sepideh's second album released in August 2007 from Mzm and Tapesh Record and her second album made a big change in persian music. We wish her all the bests.....Ba Siyasat
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