Zoobeen Banafsh was the original and first X DOT 25 Music band, formed circa 1990 — where it all started, and the inception of what would become “World Music” for the label. The band was founded by Max Ahmadi & Payman Abdali, the founders of X DOT 25 Music.
The album also hides a small piece of history. On the B-side, the second track had no title — just a question mark (?). Thirty-five years later it can finally be revealed: it is Beethoven’s “Für Elise,” reimagined from its original 4/4 into a Persian 6/8 rhythm. That East-meets-West experiment stands as one of the earliest examples of what would become World Fusion Music — bold, and well ahead of its time.
One thousand cassettes were pressed and distributed by brute force, and few of them are believed to survive today, making the album a genuine collector’s item — one that has never even surfaced on eBay. Raw and experimental by today’s standards, Arghavan represents the band’s fearless beginnings, and X DOT 25 Music is proud to share it once again.
Max Ahmadi (Zoobeen) — Paradise Studios, Sacramento · Arghavan Recording Sessions · Circa 1990
Max Ahmadi has been a music visionary all his life. Introduced to classical music as a young child — Beethoven, Mozart, Chopin — he was later drawn to the progressive rock of Pink Floyd, Genesis, King Crimson, and the Moody Blues, where he first felt the connection between music, emotion, and the philosophy of life. The electronic pioneers Tangerine Dream, Vangelis, and Jean Michel Jarre opened a new world for him, and though he trained as an engineer at UC Berkeley and Stanford, music ran through everything he did. The haunting melodies of Andean pan flute music also pulled him toward the world’s traditions — an early seed of his interest in World Music. In 1982, a Sequential Circuits Prophet 5 synthesizer changed his path for good — setting the stage for the sound he would help create at X DOT 25 Music.
Payman Abdali (Banafsh) — Paradise Studios, Sacramento · Arghavan Recording Sessions · Circa 1990
Payman Abdali is a synthesist, composer, lyricist, vocalist and a performer who creates an astonishing soundscape in his music. Payman began writing music on synthesizers and computers, honing a deeply personal musical vision — painting a picture of a land and culture torn between the ancient and the modern, and sharing with his listeners his gift of harmony, rhythm and words. He continues his musical journey as BANAFSH, still creating exceptional music and performing live.
