various: sedayeh del

Pharaway Sounds presents the fourth volume in a series of compilations highlighting fiercely rare 45s from Tehran's pre-revolutionary golden age. Vivacious ladies with sassy Dorothy Hamill haircuts and skin-bearing pantsuits were once plastered across Tehran's newsstands. Those gorgeous sirens and their hunky male counterparts made all the teens sway to hand drums that boinked in 6/8 time. Plush brass and string arrangements took their cues from Latin grooves, psychedelic guitars, ritzy soundtracks, and sugary pop from the West. Within months of the 1979 Islamic revolution, pop music was labeled a symbol of the previous regime and became illegal overnight. In those same months, it also became illegal for women to be in public without conforming to the hijab dress code. By hook and crook, these little round records survived, and they attest to a time when Tehran's homegrown and exiled populations would have been united in an easygoing love for funk bass and buzzing synthesizers. Hear the tunes that rivaled the hits of Googoosh and Kourosh by singers who only recorded a few precious singles, but don't think for a minute that Tehran's nightingales have run out of surprises for your ears. The discoveries are just beginning. Includes an insert with liner notes and photos.