Seven artists have remixed the powerful song “Baraye,“ written and produced by Iranian singer-songwriter Shervin Hajipour after the death of Mahsa Amini. The 22-year-old Amini passed away after being arrested in Tehran in September 2022, and her death sparked nationwide protests voicing dissatisfaction with the treatment of women. The song “Baraye“ was published on 28th September 2022, and its author Hajipour was arrested the following day. He was released on bail on 4th October following a wave of international support. A range of high-profile people shared his message on social media, while the band Coldplay played this song at a concert in Buenos Aires.
The people involved in “The Remixes For The People Of Iran” project are well-known electronic-music artists, including Jan Blomqvist, Victor Ruiz, Tao Andra, ANDATA, Pega and RSRRCT. The remixes will be released in the coming days for Human Rias’ publishing house, 7Rituals. Human Rias made the first in the series of remixes, which was released today and is available here.
As part of the EXIT team and resident of the festival, Human Rias has performed at every one of EXIT’s festivals, while he particularly shined at the Dance Arena, becoming the only act to both open and close this gigantic 25,000-capacity dance floor.
“Inspired by EXIT’s roots in activism and its similar fight against the oppressive regime in Serbia in the 90’s, it only felt natural for me, as the artist of Iranian heritage, to help my fellow nationals who are facing the same opression to this very day” says Rias.
Next up on 3rd February is a remix from German musician, singer, and producer Jan Blomqvist. Always playing live, he has graced the stages of world-famous festivals such as Burning Man and Coachella. Under his belt, he has thousands of shows worldwide, along with two albums and a staggering selection of singles. It was his cover of the song “Baraye“ that inspired the creation of the entire remix compilation.
“To support the protest and the message of the unbelievably brave women in Iran and everybody in the world who is fighting for women ́s rights and freedom I made a Jan Blomqvist style version of “Baraye by Shervin Hajipour. Music is my language as an artist“ says Blomqvist.
The release order of the other remixes is as follows: 10th February ANDATA Remix, 17th February Pega Remix, 24th February RSRRCT Remix, and 3rd March Victor Ruiz & Tao Andra Remix. All proceeds from the songs, as well as from the Customized Culture merch created especially for “The Remixes For The People Of Iran” project, will be donated to the Woman, Life, Freedom Foundation. This foundation calls for global solidarity with the women of Iran, who are bravely and peacefully protesting for fundamental human rights and freedoms. The goal for both the songs and the merch is to increase the reach and visibility of the revolution taking place in Iran. The remixes will be played at many European and global festivals, such as EXIT, Tomorrowland, Audioriver, Sea Dance, No Sleep and many more.
After the death of Mahsa Amini and the start of the protests, news spread throughout social media in which the users explained their reasons for protesting and wishing for regime change in Iran. Trying to capture the essence of these sentiments, Shervin Hajipour wrote each verse of the lyrics based on a separate tweet. The resulting text touches upon several topics in need of change, including low life satisfaction, environmental concerns, recession, poverty, women’s rights, children’s rights, the rights of refugees, and animal rights. Along with these are theocracy, outdated social and religious taboos, militarism, corruption, freedom of speech, and the hostility of the Government of Iran toward other countries.
