For Iranian-Australian musician Gelareh Pour, one half of award-winning cross-cultural experimental duo ZÖJ, music is more than just a job or even an artistic pursuit.
It goes much deeper than that.
“It’s my life; I don’t exist without music,” Pour said.
“Any part of the world I go to, living in Australia, meeting my partner Brian, anything I do… it’s because of music.
“To be honest, some times in my life I’ve tried to get away from it. It’s like, good luck with that. It’s just impossible; it finds me, it returns to me.”
Despite music being part of the fabric of Pour’s early life in Iran, growing up as a girl in an Islamic theocracy meant music was never an option as a serious pursuit.
“For women, opera, musical theatre, pop music, jazz all existed in Iran before the revolution,” Pour said.
“After that, women were wiped out from the music industry. They only became music teachers, they were not allowed to sing as soloists.
“As a little girl I would never imagine that I could learn music or end up on the stage, because I had only ever seen men on stage.”
At Pour’s urging, her father enrolled her in a secret (and illegal) music school for children that would accept girls, which eventually led to her studying at the Tehran Conservatory of Music.
After what was to be a short visit to Australia in 2012 to see her sister in Melbourne, Pour decided to stay and explore the city’s music scene.
Now, 13 years later, Pour and partner Brian O’Dwyer are touring ZÖJ’s second album, Give Water to Birds.
Pour sings and plays Persian instruments the kamancheh (spiked fiddle) and qeychak (bowed lute), accompanied by O’Dwyer on percussion.
Joined for this tour by guitarist Brett Langsford, ZÖJ’s improvisation-based music relies heavily on trust between the musicians and their interaction with the space and the audience.
“I always say ZÖJ is like a triangle; two ends are Brian and I and the third end is the audience,” Pour said.
“They always have a huge part in what we play… there are no two ZÖJ concerts the same, it’s impossible.”
ZÖJ are at Platform Arts at 7pm on Friday, July 18. Visit events.humanitix.com/zoej-give-water-to-birds for tickets and more information.
