Zoobeen Banafsh

Original & First X DOT 25 Music Band - Circa 1990

Coming Soon

The mystery song that started world fusion!

Fur Elise of BEETHOVEN

When Zoobeen Banafsh band released their Arghavan album, the B-side of the cassette held a mystery. The second song had no title—just a question mark (?). Now, 35 years later, we can finally reveal the song’s name: “Für Elise” by Beethoven.

This track stands as one of the first examples of World Fusion music. Zoobeen Banafsh members took the famous German composer’s classic, originally in 4/4 time, and reimagined it with a Persian 6/8 rhythm—the signature beat of Persian music that drives its distinctive dance grooves. The result was a bold cultural fusion, blending East and West in a way that was truly ahead of its time.

This classic and groundbreaking album will be re-released in its original form to celebrate 35 years of X Dot 25 Music. It will remain very close to as it was produced—organic and innocent. The band has chosen not to heavily remaster, remix, or alter it, preserving its historical integrity as a musical artifact.

Although 2,000 copies were originally pressed, only 1,000 are believed to still exist. They are now considered collector’s items, rarely changing hands—none have ever been spotted on eBay!

In the first pressing (1,000), the song Mikham Beram Be Khoneh featured Mehdi Ghandomi on vocals. However, the band later decided his performance didn’t fully capture the spirit of the track. For the second pressing, they invited Shokey Ansari, the lead singer of the popular Bay Area band Mikhak, to re-record the song. Shokey upgraded the lyrics a bit before singing them. The new version was tracked at Paradise Studios in Sacramento.

To make this change, the band undertook a meticulous process. They opened every cassette package, destroyed the original tapes, and salvaged the covers and boxes. They then brought the materials—along with an updated insert crediting Shokey Ansari—to Tape Specialty Inc. in Fremont, California, where 1,000 new cassettes were produced and repackaged.

The finished cassettes ended up stacked in Max’s living room in San Mateo, awaiting distribution. Reality hits, Distribution!

Arghavan may sound funny, raw, and experimental by today’s X Dot 25 standards, but it represents the band’s beginnings—a sincere and fearless expression of creativity. The group is proud to share it once again, along with its remarkable history.

Upcoming releases

Max Ahmadi

Max Ahmadi (Zoobeen) - Paradise Studios Sacramento
Arghavan Recording Sessions - Circa 1990

Payman Abdali

Max Ahmadi has been a music visionary for all his life starting at age 7.

“Coming from a large family of eight and being the youngest of all, at around five years old I was introduced to classical music. My oldest brother Manocher, who was for many years my leader and mentor, had brought us a Groundig open reel player from one of his trips to Germany and with it he had purchased some classical reel tapes, specially Symphony # 5 and #9 by Beethoven and Symphony # 41 by Mozart! That was all I had to listen to on that machine! So my introduction to music was classical music. Later on, I listened to Rodrigo, Chopin, and others. In my early teen years I was introduced to Pink Floyd, Genesis, King Crimson and Moody Blues where I was getting a good dose of heavy music with deep lyrics and that is when I noticed there is correlation between music and philosophy of life, emotions and more.... I found music as soundtrack of my life! This transcended everything else in my life.specifically songs like: Epitaph by King Crimson, Melancholy Man & Nights in White Satin by Moody Blues, Welcome to Machine by Pink Floyd!

When I was 8 years old in the summer, I made my first movie with music and all! Watching TV, I decided I make my own movie and have my own box to show it in. So I created a story line and cut pictures from books and magazines and pasted them together frame by frame. Them grabbed a cardboard box and cut the face of it and using 2 sticks that I had my "film" rolled around them, I installed the film in the box so the pictures could be seen from the cut out window. I also installed a small curtain in front of the opening with ropes to pull them to open and close. I also used a spot light to be able to see the pictures in the dark. Then I invited my friends into the dark basement of our home and had a show with classical music and recited the story for them. They even paid an admission fee to get in to see it!

In early teen years, I listened to western classic rock bands along side classical music and suddenly my brother Abe brought home a tape that he had received from his friend with the music of Tangerine Dram and Klaus Schulze. I found that music totally amazing and along side these we found Vangelis and whole flue of electronic musicians including Jean Michel Jarre.

When I started college in Connecticut, I was planning to become a mixing engineers and run large sound and light mixing boards in large concerts, Thus I choose Engineering as my major and by transferring to USC and later on to UC Berkeley, I continued with the mixing engineer concept but after graduating from Graduate school at Stanford ended up working in Telecommunications! Music was still running strong in every artery of my life. Thus in 1981 we bought a Prophet 5 Synthesizer made by a small company called Sequential Circuits from San Jose, California, and the whole world changed for me even further.”

Payman Abdali is a synthesist who creates an astonishing soundscape in his music. The debut instrumental album, “Angel of Thoughts” is a powerful sonic story that will take you to distant Persia. Payman started writing music on synthesizers and computers, honing his personal musical vision. In his music he paints a picture of a land and culture torn between the ancient and the modern, and shares with his listeners his gift of harmony and rhythm.

At the ripe old age of seven, my imaginations took flight; I soared in "Ether," I felt free as a bird. I wanted to create a spaceship to take me there, where my thoughts found no boundaries. On my eighth birthday, my father gave me a chemistry set, that tantalized me beyond description. My enthusiasm overflowed; now I was a scientist. Really and truly I was immersed in the process of finding the "Ether," the substance that had eluded discovery for ages.

At the age  of eleven, I embarked upon learning mathematics and logarithm, and their interrelationship with everyday life and its manifestations. I was curious, driven to learn and relate the numbers to the many fields and practices around me. My dreams were taking shape, I was more methodical, music entered my life, or shall we say I was given to music. My thoughts took flight, I conducted my first orchestra in my dreams; to my own total astonishment and amazement. Music had impacted my life with a bang that I would hear the reverberations for many years to come.

In 1978 the destiny took a U-turn; I went to England to pursue my education. I had entered a time warp; I was propelled into an unknown. I was an impressionable young man in search of his future.  I never stopped dreaming, unswervingly and without hesitation I proceeded with my new life and all its nuances. Upon my return home, in times of turbulence and cultural revolution I formed my first band, called "The Human Beast." We dreamed and played, and played and dreamed endlessly.

I began composing in 1989, and dreams came to fruition through my synthesizers. My albums are the culmination of a long journey through time and the realization of many dreams.  May this music harmonize with your dreams as it has with mine. Who knows, maybe you and I have had the same dream sometime and may have been the same person in the "Ether." ... Payman

Album Details:

Audible Visions

Zoobeen Banafsh has been fascinated by the give and take between different types of arts.  Music for him is not only what you hear but what pictures it creates in your mind.  There are many genres of music that do not dictate what you feel or understand from music, they just flow inside your mind and create colors, shaped and shapeless visions. There are visions with sound, thus "Audible Visions".

The sequel to “Angel of Thoughts” soon to be released Worldwide, distributed by The Orchard / Sony Music Group.

Conceived, Composed, Arranged, Performed, Recorded, Mixed and Mastered by: Zoobeen Banafsh
Bass on Track 3: Mohammad Baie
Cover Concept: Max Ahmadi

1.  Star Gazer  4:31
2.  By the Ocean  3:42
3.  Climbing the Atmosphere 2:39
4.  Tbilisi Three  4:41
5.  Escape  2:34
6.  Last Dance  1:47
7.  Glass Window  5:00
8.  Creation  10:50
9.  Limbo  4:25
10.  Her Eyes 1350  3:13
11.  Stairway  3:03
12.  Loneliness  3:26
13. The Cinema  4:07
14.  A Genius by the Seashore 3:40
15. The Third Situation  1:32
16. Dante’s Nightmare  5:40

Total Time: 64:50

Item #1035

Album Details:

Angel of Thoughts (Freshteh-e Afkaar)

Artist: Zoobeen Banafsh
Style/Genre: New Age /World /Ambient
Instrumentation: Voices, Electric Guitars, Keyboards, Tombak.

Zoobeen Banafsh has created a beautiful soundscape in his album, "Angel of Thoughts". This instrumental album is a powerful sonic story that will take you to distant world.

Tracks:

1. The Smiths (4:06)
2. Overdose (5:57)
3. The Agony (6:42)
4. Continuum Parts I, II, III (10:19)
5. Pegah (2:26)
6. Just a Dream (7:48)
7. Counting Sheep / Eastern Sun (6:39)
8. The Thief (7:36)
9. Angel Of Thoughts / Pooneh (8:24)

Total Time: 59:57

Item # CD 501-2 & CA 501-4

Zoobeen Banafsh’s music is richly romantic, a sonic story teller of epic proportions who will haunt you with an emotionally charged journey into distant Persian music via modern and traditional electric and acoustic instruments.

Synthesizers: Sequential Circuits Prophet 5, Sequential Circuits Prophet 610 (SixTrack), Emulator II, Oberhim Matrix 1000, Oberhim DSP Sampler, Korg M1, Korg 03/Wr, Korg Wave Station, Ensoniq EPS 16+ Turbo Sampler, Kawai K4r, Roland S550 Sampler, Roland U220, Roland R8M, Roland GR1 Guitar Synthesizer, Yamaha TG33

The other night in a mood of tranquility and utter exhaustion, I was reflecting back on the days' events with a modicum of satisfaction and inner peace. A jumble of thoughts began marching across my mind in their usual inharmonious fashion. I was too tired to whip them into shape, or to demand an organization or priority. Just like any spectator, I was screening selected episodes of my life in living color with no particular order. Perhaps I had been working too hard to produce an album with an old friend and an admirable musician. I have known him a long time, as his music has evolved through these many years. Music is our dream, refuge, and companion, without equivocation. I presume that if his life were to be divided into its main constituents, music would take the bigger half. We are dedicated, progressive, unique, talented, with a god given gift for harmony, rhythm and vision. In this album we bare our soul, and shares with you listeners, the essence of our dreams as we so aptly have called "Angel of Thoughts."

This is a journey through time, cultures, evolutions, revolutions, fears, and joys that us with all aspirations and inspirations are reciting with no uncertain melody. ...

Max

CREDITS:

PRODUCED BY ALDOUSH ALPANIAN

ALL MUSIC COMPOSED AND ARRANGED BY ZOOBEEN BANAFSH
Additional Arrangements by Aldoush Alpanian

Keyboards and Computer Programming: Payman Abdali
Guitars, Morteza and Vocals: Aldoush Alpanian
Children's Laughs: Nava and Nahal Noori
Voices in Thief recorded at Tehran Studios: Nasser Azizi
Tombak: Hooshmand Saki
Photography: Lida Dormishian
Digitally Recorded, Mixed and Mastered at Digisonic Studios Berkeley, California
Recording, Mixing and Mastering Engineer: Victor Owens
Studio Producer: Max Ahmadi
Cover Design: Max Ahmadi

Special thanks to Saeed Emdadi.

LYRICS & INTERPRETATIONS:

"All one together, as one forever."

1. The Smiths (Ahangar): According to ' Shah - Nameh ' ( The King of Books ), by Ferdosi ( the reviver of Parsi Language, 1000 years ago ), Zahaak, a king of bad blood, ruled in darkness for one thousand years. Cursed by the " Ahriman " (the Devil), snakes began to grow out of his shoulders. They harassed the king until they were daily fed the brains of two young Persian men. Gradually two cooks found their way to the king's kitchen and freed one man a day, substituting a sheep's brain for his. When the number of men thus freed reached two hundred, they escaped to the mountains and became the Kurds. There was an Ahangar (swordsmith) named Kaveh, who had lost eleven of his twelve sons to Zahak. He led a revolt against the dark king, to bring in the true king of pure blood, Ferydoon Shah.

2. Overdose: Witness the herd following the wolf. The Overdose Stage.

3. The Agony:
Zamaan زمان (Time),
Zendegi زندگی (Life),
Bashariaat بشریت (Humanity),
Sabr صبر (Patience),
Taarikh تاریخ (History),
Tabiaat طبیعت (Nature),
Sherشعر (Poetry),
Khandeh خنده (Laughter),
Erfan عرفان (Spirituality),
Geryeh گریه (Cry),
Honaar هنر (Art),
Vafadari وفاداری (Fidelity),
Mousighi موسیقی (Music),
Doshmani دشمنی (Animosity),
Khiyannat خیانت (Betrayal),
Dousti دوستی (Friendship),
Khanevadeh خانواده (Family),
Hoshyari هوشیاری (Alertness),
Hayvanaat حیوانات (Animals),
Parvaaz پرواز (Flying),
Mohabbat محبت (Caring),
Soghoot سقوط (Fall),
Mohabbat محبت (Caring ),
Piroozi پیروزی (Victory),
Tavalod تولد (Birth),
Eshgh عشق (Love),
Marg مرگ (Death),
Tanafour تنفر (Hate),
Kodam Zaman کدام زمان ? (When?),
Shekast! شکست (Defeat!),
Kodam Zaman کدام زمان ? (When?),
Shekast شکست ? (Defeat?),

بیا با من به شهررویاها وباخودت آشنا شو
Bia baa man be shahre royaahaa va ba khodat ashena sho.
(Come with me to the land of dreams and get to know yourself.),

Amma اما ! (But!),
Amma اما ! (But!),
Amma اما ! (But!)
....... But the Dream Land is agonized!!

4. Continuum: You plant a seed and you watch it grow. Some seeds were planted thousands of years ago and the plant grows through centuries; through wars, through invasions, happiness and sorrow. The superior plants continue without a stop. Continuum!

5. Pegah: Pegah means the dawn; clear your mind and breathe the morning breeze.

6. Just a Dream: All that I am. All that I feel. All that I have seen. All to be faced. Life in the real train. History in the real train. Grace and sorrow, yesterday and tomorrow. Pass by the train.

7. Counting Sheep: Sheep-like minds metamorphose into free thinking humans. "All one together, as one forever."

7.5 Eastern Sun: The sun is in the East, but the challenge is yet to be faced.

8. Thief:

ا۔ چرا نمى خوابى؟ .... برسيدم چرا نمى خوابى؟
ب۔ نمى دونم ... خوابم نمياد
ا۔ نمى تونى بخوابى ؟
ب۔ نه
ا۔ چرا؟
ب۔ نميدونم ... دارم فكر ميكنم
ا۔ به چى؟
ب۔ به گوسفندا
ا۔ گوسفندا؟
ب۔ آره ... خوب مى دونى
ا۔ منظورت چيه
ب۔ منظورم و خوب مى دونى ... خيلى خوب مي دونى
ا۔ درست نمى فهمم٬ واضح تر بگو
ب۔ به گوسفندايى كه باشون رابطه دارى
ا۔ من هيچى نمى فهمم
ب۔ چرا مى دونى٬ خوبم مي دونى
ا۔ من٬ من سرو كار دارم؟
ب۔ آره تو سرو كار دارى
ث۔ بابا بگير بخواب ديگه٬ مى دونى ساعت چنده؟
ب۔ برو بابا٬ توكه هيچى حاليت نيست چى به چيه

X: "Why don't you sleep? ..... I asked you why don't you sleep?'
Y :"I don't know. .... I cannot sleep."
X: "Can't you sleep?"
Y: "No."
X: "Why?"
Y: "I don't know. I am thinking."
X: "About what?"
Y: "About the sheep."
X: "The sheep?!"
Y: "Yes. ..... You know better than that."
X: "What do you mean by that ?"
Y: "You know what I mean by that. And you know it well "
X: "I don't understand it clearly. Be clear."
Y: "The sheep that you associate with."
X: "I don't understand a thing."
Y: "Huh! You know it .... you know it really well."
X: "Me?!"
Y: "Yes"
X: "I associate with them?!"
Y: "Yes, you associate with them!"
Z: "HEY GUYS, GET BACK TO SLEEP. DO YOU KNOW WHAT TIME IT IS? "
Y: "Leave us alone. You don't know anything."

9. Angel of Thoughts: The angel of thoughts is the lonely one in the deepest valleys of the Motherland (Zagross Mountains in the Bakhtiari region). In the swamps of the Motherland (Gilan).

9.5 Pooneh: The flower. Grows in the Alborz Range, after rain. 

History Corner

X DOT 25 Music first ever release: Arghavan (Meaning Redbuds - A purple tree)