Afshin Ramin

Afshin Ramin is one of the well-known and influential figures of Iranian maqam music (music built on traditional melodic models called maqams). He was born in the summer of 1961 in the city of Kermanshah and from childhood was captivated by the melodies and folk instruments of his hometown.

At the age of twelve he began studying music under Master Keykhosrow Pournazeri – one of the founders of the Shams Ensemble and a veteran of Kurdish music – and very soon revealed his great talent and flair for playing the tanbur and the setar (a small long-necked lute).

The beginning of his artistic path

In 1985 Afshin Ramin joined the renowned Shams Ensemble as a player and, alongside masters and artists such as Shahram Nazeri and Tahmoures and Sohrab Pournazeri, took part in numerous performances in Iran and abroad.

In the 1980s and 1990s he worked with various ensembles of traditional and maqam music and played an active role in introducing mystical and Kurdish music to Iranian and international audiences.

In later years he devoted himself to teaching music in Kermanshah and held numerous classes in tanbur, setar and Iranian music theory.

Official and professional work

In 1995 he began working with the Music and Song Centre of Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB), the state broadcaster, and in 2001 he was employed by the organisation as an official expert on maqam and regional music.

Over these years, besides performing live and composing, Afshin Ramin also served as head of the Music and Song Archive and played an effective role in collecting and preserving the music of Iran’s regions.

Works and collaborations

Afshin Ramin has taken part in the production and performance of numerous works, some of which are counted among the landmark works of Iranian maqam music. Among them:

• Album Delara (“Heart’s Delight”) – co-composed with Tahmoures Pournazeri, sung by Hesameddin Seraj

• Albums Heyrani (“Bewilderment”), Motreb-e Mahtabru (“The Moon-Faced Minstrel”) and Afsaneh-ye Tanbur (“The Legend of the Tanbur”) – as player and composer

• Album Mah Didam (“I Saw the Moon”, 2023) – a fusion work inspired by the poems of Mowlana Jalaleddin Rumi

In addition to these works, he has composed numerous pieces in the Iranian dastgahs (the modal systems of Persian classical music) that are registered in the National Music Archive, including Naqsh-e Dust (“The Image of the Friend”), Neshaneh (“The Sign”) and Montazeram Ke Biyai (“I’m Waiting for You to Come”).

Musical style

Afshin Ramin’s style is a blend of the authenticity of Kurdistan’s maqam music and a fresh approach to structure and performance.

Drawing on the spiritual and mystical qualities of the tanbur, he has created pieces which, for all their simplicity, are full of emotional and spiritual depth.

His approach of bringing together Iran’s traditional music and new musical spaces has made his works appealing both to lovers of maqam music and to contemporary audiences.

Teaching activities

Afshin Ramin has always regarded teaching and passing on musical knowledge as an inseparable part of his artistic mission.

Over the years he has trained many students in Kermanshah and Tehran and, through workshops and specialist seminars, has helped to broaden public knowledge of tanbur music and of Iran’s mystical music.

Artistic legacy

Afshin Ramin belongs to the generation of artists who have played a prominent role in preserving and continuing the musical traditions of Iran’s regions.

With a committed and scholarly outlook, he has sought to take maqam music beyond its local framework and present it in a global form.

His works are a combination of feeling, authenticity and thought, and for this reason they have remained a lasting part of the aural memory of Iranian music.