Search - Fariborz Lachini :: Golden Autumn 4

Compositions that transcend the seasons

Simply saying that Fariborz Lachini's new album "Golden Autumn 4" is turning over a new leaf (so to speak) doesn't come close to truly doing the composer justice. Try a new, fresh collection of more of the exquisitely crafted, evocative melodies that both critics and fans have come to eagerly expect from the composer.

But even that's a description that seems deceptively simple, really. In the way the author Raymond Carver has long been described as a minimalist (somewhat incorrectly) in his writing work, Lachini's music has sometimes been given the minimalist label, but in reality, his musical oeuvre works on levels that run much deeper. Composer Philip Glass has long been given a similar minimalist designation, but those with musical background and knowledge who have studied his work know he is much more than that. Such is certainly the case with Lachini; he is truly a composer that's an entity in and of himself. And while he's frequently tagged as minimalist, what he's really doing is work that's beyond the years and scope of many of his musical peers.

One has to wonder how Lachini can put together the seamless instrumental pieces time and time again with a seemingly bottomless talent for creating fresh work every time. The clues may very well lay in his varied background. The Iranian-born composer first found success in music in his twenties, when he wrote hits for several Persian pop stars. After a stint studying at the Universite de Paris, his musical direction took a bit of a turn. Lachini learned to use an assortment of Middle Eastern instruments in his work and started to use them in film scores.

After creating and releasing the "Golden Autumn" series beginning in the '90s, it quickly became apparent that this wasn't a series that was produced in a vacuum-"Golden Autumn 2," for example, was released right after of the intensity of the Iraq-Iran war and reflected the unrest of the era. And now, with the release of "Golden Autumn 4," it's apparent that the compositions he's still creating are more than simply pieces that can stand on their own-they have now evolved into cinematic, epic pieces that somehow manage to reflect the world as it is today, tempestuousness and all, in every bit of its tumultuous glory. And we have Lachini to thank for that.