Cyrus Khajavi

Born in Ghoochan in the province of Khorasan (North Eastern Iran), my earliest and most vivid musical memories are my mother's lullabies. Although I am not sure if they ever made me go to sleep, I do know that they always made me feel sad. My childhood was filled with the sights and sounds of north Khorasan, a mountainous region populated by many different ethnic groups. This of course meant an incredible linguistic and cultural diversity. The folkloric music of Khorasan, often about folk heroes struggling against the injustices of the time, or the daily chores of nomadic life, or events in local history such as battles and disasters, is ultimately always about love; usually unfulfilled love. Along with my mother's singing in Azerbaijani (a kind of Turkish), the rhythmic chanting of religious processions with their chains and cymbals, and the happy sound of street musicians and wedding bands, these were the sounds of my childhood.

As a teenager in the late 1960/s, I discovered The Beatles and fell in love with the music and its energy. I spent the next few years listening to Western rock music. Having learned to play some simple chords on the guitar, and being able to strum along as I sang, the idea of becoming a musician began to seem like a possibility.

In 1974 I came to England to study for a career in civil engineering, which was considered a "wise move'. The morning after my arrival, however, I bought my first guitar. Civil engineering was the last thing I had in mind. In 1980, having spent the preceding six years playing, writing, and learning (a process, which is still going on), I joined my first serious rock band Quasar. The following six years or so were spent touring and recording. In 1987 I met the Iranian singer-songwriter Toofan and started a collaboration, which lasted two years. During this time I met Farzad Khavand, a classical violin player, who was looking for a different direction and liked what we were doing. In 1989 I wrote my first Iranian album Baran and invited Farzad to join me in what was to become the band Kooch.

The six years between 1993 and 1999 were a temporary pause in the continuing story of Kooch (a very long one). During this time I studied composition and Classical guitar at Bath College of Higher Education (BCHE) and obtained an honours degree in music. I also spent a lot of my time teaching music both at colleges/schools and privately. Although I wrote several pieces for small ensembles, choirs and solo instruments during these years, writing a new album for Kooch and re-starting the band was always my dream. Having written enough material for the new album Zemzeme and raised enough money to record the album (playing original music is a very expensive business), it was time to get serious.

To record this album, what was required was the power, drive, and punch of rock as well as a kind of sensitivity and subtlety, which is not always synonymous with rock music. Luckily I knew the very people, who could offer these qualities. Kooch was a reality again and the recording could start. We finished recording Zemzeme in the summer of 2000 and did our first gig with the present line up on Dec 10 in Bristol (England).

I still live in England and do the usual things. My hobbies apart from watching TV and reading are golf and snooker, but my main passion is football (soccer). My favourite teams are the Iranian national team and Arsenal.