Articles,Reviews &
Quotes
Sauce magazine, January 2004, by Lisette Dennis:
Farshid etniko cooks up music with Iranian, East Indian and
African spices.
For Farshid, three different cities and countries, three different
cultural environments
and three different languages result in music that is not limited
to one tradition.
Where magazine, March 2003 by Amanda Doyle:
…Such is the effect of St. Louis based Farshid etniko,
whose seamless blend of middle
eastern instruments, latin beats, American blues sensibilities
and plenty of other
make it one of the most engaging bands on the city’s music
scene.
…It seems inevitable that the group’s music would be
such a melting pot of traditions,
both cultural and musical.
St. Louis Post Dispatch, special section, December 2002:
Extremely talented and versatile musicians, Farshid etniko
combines gypsy
jazz latin and world music to create unique sounds from original
creations
to jazz standards and songs with a latin flavor and Persian touch.
Playback magazine CD review October 2002 by Peggy Reilly:
Farshid etniko’s music can be enjoyed in so many ways.
The skill the band displays with their instruments makes each
performance a form of visual entertainment.
After one performance, you are hooked and end up buying a copy
of their CD anyway.
Folk Fire May/June 2002 by Gretchen Tomzic:
"Where are you from?" by Farshid Soltanshahi features
the diverse musical abilities
of Farshid etniko in a masterful musical mix of classical, jazz
and blues that
traditions into jazz and blues with a Persian flavor.
Adelante magazine Nov. 2003 by Suan Pineda:
In the newly released "Circle of nomads", the St
Louis band Farshid etniko explores this historic flow of
people, beliefs and traditions that converge on the new continent.
Between Iran and Islam, Romania and
Judaism, the United States and Christianity, the band synthesizes
in music the history of centuries of
immigration. Beyond the American utopia, however, it is a longing
for freedom of artistic expression.
St. Louis Post-Dispatch, April 13, 2002
Crossings blends jazz, folk, rock and classical into a delightful
eclectic mix
They won over the audience with numbers that had a whiff of
the
Orient like "Twilight at the Souk", the chameleon style
changes of
"Nightmare in Heaven" and the virtuoso playing of "Minor
Swing".
St. Louis Magazine, April 2002
East Meets West
Soltanshahi masterfully defies categories and blurs musical
boundaries,
which renders his songs sonically irresistible.
STLtoday.com, March 17, 2002
17 local bands you ought to know about
Whatever you want to call Farshid Etniko's eclectic blend of
genres, the results are magnificent.
January 2002
STLtoday.com entertainment editor, Daniel Durchholz,
declares Nightmare in Heaven the best local cd of 2001!
Riverfront Times, July, 2001
Critic's
Pick CD review
The
Alestle, SIUE, August 28, 2001
Riverfront Times, July 2001
Farshid has created his own lavish, passionate, dreamlike language
and on Nightmare in Heaven,
his band asserts itself as one of the most original, accomplished
and exhilarating groups in St. Louis.
Suburban Journal, October 2001
It’s no stretch to say Farshid etniKo has a unique sound.
The band melds Latin jazz with world music… The instrumentation
is precise and pulsating.
St. Louis Musicians Guide and Directory, September
2001
Their recent CD release party for “Nightmare in Heaven”
was held at the Sheldon to a capacity crowd.
The impassioned response of the crowd to each song was exhilarating,
as well as phenomenal.
St. Louis Post Dispatch, Get Out, July 2001
It’s a colorful and exotic album,
particularly when you consider that the band has been around for
only seven months…
The Alestle, August 2001
Harmonicas reminiscent of Toots Thielman’s, the verve of
the Gipsy Kings, dancing fingers on the
guitar like those of Paco de Lucia, teases lolling Brazilian syncopations,
and funky claves everywhere.
Riverfront Times, Night & Day, July 2001
…Farshid Soltanshahi, whose musical journey has taken him
from Iran to France, Germany, Luxembourg
and, most recently, Missouri. The band also features champion
harmonica player Sandy Weltman.
