Name: Aftab Darvishi
Nationality: Iranian
Occupation: Composer
Recent release: Aftab Darvishi's A Thousand Butterflies is out via 30M and in friendly collaboration with Javan Records Tehran.
Recommendations: Kayhan Kalhor: Silent city; Sylvia Plath: The Bell Jar

If you enjoyed this interview with Sftab Darvishi, and would like to know more, visit her official website.



When did you start writing/producing/playing music and what or who were your early passions and influences? What was it about music and/or sound that drew you to it?

I started to play violin when I was 5. Later on, I got familiar with some Persian instruments like Kamancheh and Setar. Since I was 13, I have been playing piano.

I was born into a musical family. My father is a music scholar. So, I encountered music from an early age and since then it has just been an important part of my life for me.

When I listen to music, I see shapes, objects and colours. What happens in your body when you're listening and how does it influence your approach to creativity?

I certainly visualize music when I listen to it. I think about shapes and colors when I compose music as well. I also have experienced that music can evoke certain smells.

However, recently, what I think about the most when I compose music are words.

How would you describe your development as an artist in terms of interests and challenges, searching for a personal voice, as well as breakthroughs?

I started at the University of Tehran with Western Classical piano. Shortly after, I discovered my desire to create music by myself and that is when I decided to move to Amsterdam.

My passion for literature and drama led me to study film music in Amsterdam. After graduation, I decided to study contemporary composition to get to know the contemporary music scene deeply.

I guess my upbringing in Persian music plays a crucial role in my musical language as well.

Tell me a bit about your sense of identity and how it influences both your preferences as a listener and your creativity as an artist, please.

For me, identity is the leading factor in my compositions. It is so present in every aspect of my life. So, for sure, it has a huge impact on my taste as a listener as well.

What, would you say, are the key ideas behind your approach to music and art?

Being myself is the most important thing when it comes to music and art.

How would you describe your views on topics like originality and innovation versus perfection and timelessness in music? Are you interested in a “music of the future” or “continuing a tradition”?

I am interested in both. I think the music of the future comes from traditions with a new approach.

Over the course of your development, what have been your most important instruments and tools - and what are the most promising strategies for working with them?

My most important tool has not been an instrument but it is my instinct and my mind. A driven power that has led me to create music.

Take us through a day in your life, from a possible morning routine through to your work, please.

I don’t have a routine. But usually, I start my day with a coffee and reading some news about Iran, Afterwards, if I am not too blown away I start to compose. In the evenings, I like to go out for a walk and hang out.

However, recently I also have days that I am all drowned in the news and not able to be functional.

Could you describe your creative process on the basis of a piece, live performance or album that's particularly dear to you, please?

A Thousand Butterflies, my first debut album, was released in July 2022. The album is the result of my eleven-year journey from the time I moved to Amsterdam to study composition until today.

There are five pieces in different styles, and instrumentation, being recorded in different periods. I particularly wanted to show this journey over time because the change in my approach to art and music is audible and that is the reason that this collection is particularly dear to me.

Listening can be both a solitary and a communal activity. Likewise, creating music can be private or collaborative. Can you talk about your preferences in this regard and how these constellations influence creative results?

For me, composing is a personal and solitary process. On the other hand, listening to music is a communal activity. I enjoy it more when I listen to music with others.

How do your work and your creativity relate to the world and what is the role of music in society?

I think society has a significant role in my music.

My music is a reflection of what is happening around me. On the other hand, I believe that art has a huge role in society as well. It brings people closer to each other and it raises awareness in different ways.

Art can be a way of dealing with the big topics in life: Life, loss, death, love, pain, and many more. In which way and on which occasions has music – both your own or that of others - contributed to your understanding of these questions?

Art and in particular music for me works as a tool to express the emotions that are too hard to express in any other way than music.

In my personal experience, art can be life savings in severe situations such as loss and death.

How do you see the connection between music and science and what can these two fields reveal about each other?  

I certainly see connections but I don’t have much to say about it.

Creativity can reach many different corners of our lives. Do you feel as though writing or performing a piece of music is inherently different from something like making a great cup of coffee? What do you express through music that you couldn't or wouldn't in more 'mundane' tasks?

Writing or performing music is certainly different than making a great cup of coffee. Although, I don’t think that making a great coffee is necessarily mundane.

But as far as creativity, I think that you can be creative even when making coffee. Being creative is a lifestyle.

Music is vibration in the air, captured by our ear drums. From your perspective as a creator and listener, do you have an explanation how it able to transmit such diverse and potentially deep messages?

I believe this is not something that can be explained by the words. That is exactly the beauty of it.