Banafsh  mission is to promote Peace, Love, Coexistence and mutual respect through music.
Their composition is poised towards conveying the message of PEACE, and most of the compositions are in English so that the message can reach more people, especially in the West and to change the biased perception about Iran, Iranians and the Iranian culture. This is #Musicdiplomacy #Music_Diplomacy #Musical_Ambassador_of_Peace #World_peace
Banafsh band is a collection of professional musician friends that arrange and perform the compositions of Payman Abdali (aka Paiman Abdali, Paymon Abdali, IO Music Project, NIRUGAH).
The idea of the band started on October 27th 1987, when Payman (Paymon) performed his (and the University’s) “Electronic Music Recital” in Music Room 157, college of Music of California State University of Sacramento.
After Payman’s return to Iran in 1991 he concentrated on scoring for Theater, TV and film. He released his second album “Angel of Thoughts” (XDOT25 Productions) in 1994 in San Francisco and was nominated for “Best Theater Score” in Fajr International Festival on 1995 in Tehran, Iran. The album was released several years later in Iran with the same title. Three more studio albums were produced over the years:
– Music Hall 151 (released electronically) 2007
– Fifth Element 2015
– Audible Visions 2015
As a studio band, Banafsh was lucky to work with many talented musicians throughout the years. In 1995, the band decided to become a performing band and started attracting performing musicians with synergetic type of mentality and opinion. The band performed in the Austrian Cultural Institute (OKF) in Tehran.
90-30-8 Project (the numbers correspond to the numerological equivalent to the word “PEACE” in Persian and Arabic)
In 2013 a good friend of the band, Mr. Hossein Tofangdar, in conjunction with “Iran-Belgium Friendship Organization” proposed a project entitled “Peace in Persian Literature.” Through this project Mr. Tofangdar researched and selected several poems from Iranian poets from ancient time (1000 years ago) to the present. The project consisted of a musical album (and performance) accompanied by a theater performance in the English language. The task for the translation of the poems into the English language, lyricizing, music composition and performance was given to Payman Abdali and Banafsh
6 of the pieces of the music album “90-30-8 were performed on September 6th 2016 in the auditorium of “International Research Center” of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Islamic Republic of Iran and was greeted with positive reaction of the audience including that of Mr. Araghchi the deputy Foreign Minister of Iran.
90-30-8 the Album and the projected 2017 World tour
The message of “Peace, tranquility and coexistence based on mutual respect” is formulated into a musical performance by “Banafsh Band.” Banafsh band is interested in becoming a musical messenger/ambassador of Peace from Iran. Most of the tracks from this 90 minutes’ performance are in English and the band is asking everyone (throughout the world) to record their own voice using their phones or any other device talking about Peace. The recording can be only one sentence or a short paragraph. Since we are now recording the album, we can use these voices inside the tracks.
Banafshmembers are:
1. Payman Abdali composer, singer, synthesizers
2. Samiyar Mazaheri Synthesizers, computers
3. Ali Naraghian Iranian percussions
4. Amirhossein Khalili Kamanche, Santoor and backvocals
5. Ava Menbari Keyboards, back vocals
6. Nima Ayubi Electric Guitars
7. Aryobarzin Abdali Bass Guitar, back vocals
8. Reyhaneh Rajabi Oud, back vocals
9. Shohreh Kheiri Vocals