Music Freedom Day

The American system may result in a bit of stifling of creative music, but at least people have the freedom to make music without the fear of arrest. In Iran, on the other hand, musicians face government opposition all over the place. If you want to play rock there, good luck. And women in Iran are only allowed to sing solo in public in front of an all-female audience. If they want to sing to a mixed crowd, they must be accompanied by a male singer.

The Plastic Wave is an Iranian electronic rock band (with Portishead leanings) and has a female lead singer. They’ve been arrested before. But they had a rare - and legal - opportunity to perform in public when they were recently scheduled to perform at SXSW. Unfortunately, the US consulate in Dubai wouldn’t give them a visa to get them here, the band says.

New Yorkers, however, will still have the chance to hear their music, albeit through a cover band, at Littlefield in Brooklyn on Wednesday, March 3rd. The night is part of a worldwide protest in support of musical freedom aptly called Music Freedom Day. Cruel Black Dove will play Wave’s music, but for added poignancy, the night’s last song will be only a recording that will echo through the venue as the stage remains empty of all but the instruments they would have used. The event is called Impossible Music, and they plan to host more nights like it. This first session is sponsored in part by Freemuse, which is also organizing the worldwide protest.

On a related note, here’s a video of a pretty nice sounding cut by a female Iranian rapper named Farinaz, courtesy of The Atlantic. She would probably face arrest if she lived in Iran. (Image by Kako.)