Salim Ghazi Saeedi was born in 1981 in Tehran, Iran. Despite the inactive rock scene in Iran, he decided to challenge his fate by becoming a rock musician.

Salim started self teaching electric guitar and music production from 1999. Meanwhile living outside contemporary rock music currents in Iran made Salim shape his music style in a unique personal way. It has been compared to surprisingly diversified bands from all over the world like Univers Zero, King Crimson, John Zorn and Birdsongs of the Mesozoic(*). In this regard Salim has found himself composing in genres like art rock, rock in opposition, progressive metal and jazz-fusion - with tinges of oriental music according to critics. Harmonie Magazine compared his guitar playing to King Crimson's Robert Fripp and labled by Artrock.pl as "Persian King Crimson".

He is the producer, composer and performer of all instruments in his instrumental music. He has coined the term "Pictorial Rock" as a description of his compositions which is also the title of his blog: "Pictorial rock" he says "is a term I use for my music that is usually based on series of mental images, a nightmare or maybe dreams of a sound sleep... As a listener, you have to wait for the pictures to materialize in your mind!"

Salim had little chance to expand his music career in his hometown, he has regularly kept on working. While in Arashk band he released Abrahadabra (2006), Sovereign (2007) and Ustuqus-al-Uss (2008). Afterwards he released Iconophobic (2010), Human Encounter (2011), namoWoman (2012) as a one-man-band in Iran. Then he migrated to Australia and released United Ubiquity of Flesh (2017).

His albums are concept albums hiring elements of classical and electronic music and progressive rock with diversified use of instruments. He describes himself as "an ever improviser... both in performing and in composing." His main influences include Jeff Beck and Thelonious Monk. Salim says about his style of music: "I never decided to compose in progressive genre. I just have a very versatile taste of music listening... Maybe this is how progressive genre takes place. You let your mind free and it becomes progressive!"

He currently lives in Brisbane, Australia.

* Visit Who Do I Sound Like page for a complete listing.

Extensive Bio

Childhood

Salim Ghazi Saeedi was born in 1981 in Tehran, Iran. During his childhood, Iran was at war and consequently the art scene was very deprived. Even in the years after the war, the music scene was merely limited to “permitted” materials that mostly embraced traditional and “conservative” music. Most of contemporary western music - specially rock music - never published by domestic or foreign publishers and so never existed on the market.

Salim remembers, "as a 12 teenager, all the music I had was a bunch of copied tapes that I repeatedly listened to... Those days you hadn't direct access to contemporary music productions. Among the tapes I remember there was Queen and Michael Jackson... But of course I didn't know the name of the records and I just listened to whatever I found. Besides I also listened to some overseas music radio programs and recorded them...". During those years something special happened. He listened to a song by which he was deeply affected. Of course he did not know its title or meaning but years later it changed his life... It was "Something in the Way" by Nirvana.

Actually, nobody among Salim's family was a musician or even had an instrument in their home. Salim recalls "The first instrument I touched was at 18 - when I bought one! During his childhood, Salim's main obsession was computers. His parents bought a Commodore 64 for him at the age 10 and he began learning computer programming. At 16 he had a computer with CD Drive and it meant a whole new world musically. "I bought copied versions of Audio CDs from black market for about $20 and it was a lot of money in my currency".

Learning music
There was a turning point in Salim's musical life and it was during his 17 years old in which he was studying for university entrance exam. "In a radio program I found out the name of the enchanting song I listened in the past: "Something in the Way". There was more than that. There was a story from singer's (Kurt Cobain's) childhood: Cobain's parents divorced and threw his things into the river. He retrieved them, sold them and bought an acoustic guitar. The story struck me and I got mad. I bought a copy of Nirvana’s Nevermind and continually listened to it. I continually listened to it for one year almost everyday!"

"...Kurt Cobain became my mythical hero. After I went to the university I had access to the Internet for the first time. I started downloading the lyrics (and meanwhile enhancing my English!) I found my “teen spirit” there... I bought an acoustic guitar and downloaded Nirvana's tabulators. I was obsessed. I never knew why I played guitar and I never decided to become a musician. I just played guitar because Kurt Cobain did!"

Salim studied Industrial Engineering at university but he had a dual life in those years. He was learning guitar and discovering the world's art scene while dealt with "engineering" culture. "Before university I was more into technology and computers. After that I started to learn about artistic expression. It was fundamentally a new phenomenon."

The musical journey began:
1999: He started learning guitar and studying music by self-study. He never had a music teacher or attended a music school.

2004: Salim joined Arashk band. Arashk's activity from its formation (2001) till that date was limited to a few college concerts playing cover songs and 4-5 original songs by Pouyan and Shahram (other Arashk members). The publication of these songs delayed until 2008.

Abrahadabra (2006)

2006: Salim composed, performed (guitars & keyborads), recorded and mixed the album "Abrahadabra" in his home studio and published it via CDBaby. Salim comments on this album (extracted from an interview by progarchives.com):

"Abrahadabra is a reflection of my exaggerated personal feelings. It is the first endeavor to my idea of “pictorial rock” - i.e. the composition of sounds that recite sequence of mental pictures. Actually all of those instrumental tracks have a real-life story behind them. There are very vague allusions to these stories in CD booklet. e.g. “Route” is a story of a death ceremony and reflects the mourning over dead in way that is done in eastern culture. Or “Told to the Bird” is story of me confessing to a bunch of flying birds in a ritualistic way… In one word I was very lovesick, idealist and outraged while composing them."

One may choose the term "Pictorial Rock" for these instrumental songs because there have been tried to a painting canvas be represented by them. A painting with much exaggerated details. Salim points that "...I like exaggerated details and very subtle techniques of the instrument and when I come across to composing a catchy part in one song, I see no reason for repeating it. If someone liked that part, he can rewind the song!"

Sovereign (2007)

2007: Salim composed, performed (guitars & keyborads), recorded and mixed the album "Sovereign" (Arashk members contributed in one track) in his home studio and again published it via CDBaby. His comments on this album: "Sovereign is an instrumental recitation of Shahnameh (The Epic of Kings) i.e. an extensive Persian epic poems written by Ferdowsi (935–1020) as a collection of Persian mythologies. You will find western rock instrumentation with eastern flavor. Some songs I think are apt to be adapted for traditional Iranian dance; especially “Sovereign” and “Harem” tracks. I am looking forward choreographic performance adaptation for this work whenever possible. Imagine Iranian “Coffee-house” paintings and belly dance with distorted guitars performing cheerful rhythms… Unusual combination? No, to me that sounds all natural!"

2008: Salim and one of Arashk members (Shahram) established a more professional sound recording studio. Salim worked as sound engineer and sound recorder. Beside recording our next albums in this studio, they also had projects from studio customers.

Ustuqus-al-Uss (Mar 2008)

Mar 2008: Salim composed, performed (guitars & keyborads), recorded and mixed the album "Ustuqus-al-Uss" (Arashk members contributed in two tracks). The album published via CDBaby. Salim notes:
"In this album I somehow inclined to jazz fusion and classic instrumentation. I think the eastern “blend” still dominates e.g. in “Ustuqus-al-Uss-al-Avvalin-val-Akharin” which I think is the most progressive tune I have ever made (The second catchy guitar solo is performed by Pouyan). Some songs are extremely personal e.g. “Naught been I thou” which is a off-beat jazzy with unusual dance elements… These songs are my utmost fears and hopes - to a degree that made me mute from communicating by words. And thus they become instrumental sounds…"

YELL (Oct 2008)

Oct 2008: Arashk members compiled the songs that Pouyan and Shahram had written since 2001 into one album "Yell". This was a hard rock album with vocals. Salim sound engineered the recorded and contributed in playing rhythm guitar. For more information on this album visit YELL album page at arashkband.com

2009: Salim and Shahram ended the studio because music industry in Iran was too poor and limited to support our business - at least in rock genre.

Iconophobic (2010)
2010: Salim composed, recorded and mixed the album "Iconophobic" in his home studio and released it under his own name. Some notes on Iconophobic:
“My fourth album, "Iconophobic" hires more classical instruments than before. It is a combination of electronic beats and progressive symphonic rock. This album is a concept album about fearing the world of imagery. I don't know if it is really a psychological problem but I liked the idea of morbid alienation toward images, icons and in general, reality. The Iconophobic's booklet contains a passage in form of a circle that reads:

"Alas that man was free...When there was no image.

Alas that image became a means... for altering the reality.

Alas that reality... is itself, an imagery by man."

When There is More Beauty in the Contrary (Salim Ghazi Saeedi and Negar Bouban) 2011 Single

According to ReviewYou.com's review on this single by Matthew Forss: "When There is More Beauty In The Contrary might sound like a song that attempts to discuss the philosophy of aesthetics or phenomenology. However, the nearly four-minute track is an instrumental song that connotes sounds of higher thinking that border on magnificent."

Human Encounter (2011)

namoWoman (2012)

United Ubiquity of Flesh (2017)

United Ubiquity of Flesh (2017) is an instrumental prog rock album by Salim Ghazi Saeedi, exploring sonic and conceptual contrasts on multi levels. You find energetic hard rock guitar and drums balanced by rhythm-free solo guitar parts - similar to traditional Middle Eastern players. Silence - aka musical rests - plays an active part; sometimes by bolding music tones or naked solo guitars on intensively rhythmic bass and drums.

Musical Influences:

Who do I sound like?

Visit Who Do I Sound Like page for a complete listing.

FAQ

What is that black semi-circle in logo?

      That indicates the word "world" in domain's name. The no-thing potentiality that reflects Life.

Why you make music?

       I don't know. I guess to mean is to deliberate and deliberation is just a prejudice.

       No. All website translations are done by fans, through my Babel Project or human translators on cucumis.org, a collaborative translation platform.

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