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Marissa Cetin
17 January 2023, 16:10

New Iranian electronic music compilation announced in support of women’s rights movement

AIDA and Nesa Azadikhah's new label Apranik Records is debuting with the 'Woman, Life, Freedom' compilation, out this Friday

New Iranian electronic music compilation announced in support of women’s rights movement

Iranian artists AIDA and Nesa Azadikhah are launching their new label Apranik Records with a compilation in support of the country's women's rights movement. Listen to MENTRIX's lead track 'Be Mahsa Be Nika' below.

The 12-track 'Woman, Life, Freedom', out this Friday 20th January, features all original tracks spanning techno, ambient, electro, breaks and experimental genres. The 12 contributing artists are all Iranian women, including SarrSew, Sharona Lico, XEEN, Kimia Koochakzadeh-Yazdi and ROW92, as well as label heads Nesa Azadikhah, who founded Deep House Tehran, and AIDA. 

AIDA and Nesa Azadikhah dedicate the compilation to the current uprising in Iran, sparked by the September killing of Mahsa Jina Amini by the Islamic Republic’s morality police. "Major protests have broken out across the country and throughout the world," a statement from the curators explains. "Government forces have brutally killed, arrested, and tortured many protestors including children and teenagers. Despite this, the protests are getting larger and larger and the fight for freedom of oppression by women and girls is unlike any other that has happened throughout history."

The statement continues: "As a group of Iranian women, this fight is closest to our hearts. We release this collection in solidarity and towards a fight for a free Iran and aim to raise awareness about this revolution through music. The theme of this collection is power, defiance, and ferocity and can be heard across all of the tracks. This is the energy with which Iranian women continue to push for freedom. We dream of a future where women and girls can openly and safely practice, grow, and shine within arts, especially electronic music. From us to you and to a free Iran."

Read the statement in full via Bandcamp.

Apranik Records will donate proceeds from the compilation to charities helping women in Iran. 

Check out the compilation on Bandcamp, and listen to 'Be Mahsa Be Nika'.

In November last year, Lafawndah released a single, titled 'The Dawn Of Everything (Jin​,​Jiyan​,​Azadi)', in aid of The Center for Human Rights in Iran and dedicated to Amini.