Soheil Soheili

Soheil Soheili (b.1983) is an interdisciplinary artist and a researcher from Iran. His experiences have converged toward the field of humanities and culture. He started learning and playing music in the early 90s, attending a music institute for 'Tombak' in 1991. His paternal family includes passionate learners and admirers of Persian literature and music.

....He later became associated both with the punk-rock and hip-hop sub-culture through playing in a jam band with his friends 'Zartosht' [prior to] "Patriam" (2002). Being present during the proliferation of art-movements in Iran and establishment of critical art forms, e.g. graffiti art, hip-hop, skating and gaining experiences from a small circle of supporting artists, he and his friends found their ways to adjust and renovate an abandoned swimming pool into the a cement-skatepark to also practice graffiti; the "Street Rats" became known as the first graffiti crew in Tehran back in 2005. (The collaboration and the label became defunct on 2009). While many of the stories and primary arrangement of those meetings are not to be disclosed to the public anymore, the whole effort was rewarded with a 'reputation' in Tehran, something which is kept to this date. His skating career became an alibi to also prepare live sets for the skatepark, and of course as an entry to electronic music in 2008, you may be able to guess the rest of story with the names lie Parkingallery, Saroseda, et al., In the meanwhile, the community of friends in 'Patriam' was developing into more bands and gained accolades, before reaching a bitter closure as the 'Free Keys' in Brooklyn, NY (2013)....

Soheil holds a B. A. in English language and Literature (2015) and has been active as a translator for a number of scholars, academic research projects and journals since then, with articles ranging from Urban Studies to Sound Theory, and music. Being a drop-out student of engineering, and a keen learner of mathematics and electronics, he is interested in and employs coding and microcontrollers to make his own DIY devices. He now works as a record producer (mixing specialist and mastering advisor) and a private promotion agent. He owns a private post-production space 'Studio A Tehran', and works with a team for supporting truly independent artistic-music movements in Iran (Classical, Jazz, Electronic and Contemporary music).

Having long-term collaborations with essential initiatives and collectives for art in Iran, namely the New Media Society, the project space for New Media Arts in Tehran, and becoming in touch with a variety of creative media artists in Iran, enabled him and a team of his colleagues to establish Noise à Noise, the independent label that he directly manages for experimental music, field-recording, poetry and soundscapes [Between Iran and Germany]. Below you can read a selected list of the activity: 

Sound/ music performances:

  • 2023 - 'Silences, Delays, Vortices' Sound performance organized by Dora Bleu - Petersburg Art Space (PAS). Berlin, Germany.
  • 2022 - 'Contemporary Musik Magazine Festival' [1st Ed.], Sound Engineering, digital performance for electroacoustic pieces – Museum of Music, Tehran.
  • 2022 - Brief performance at Space21 festival, Suleymaniyah, Iraqi Kurdistan.
  • 2020 - 'Listening Urgency' Radio performance by Hardi Kurda, Radio Corax (UK)
  • 2019 - 'Mesopotamia' Sound design for a duo-performance (w. Ali Mohajer) in parallel to the painting exhibition by Milad Shirbisheh, Sayeh Art Gallery, Tehran.
  • 2019 - 'Limited Access Festivals' 8th Edition, Sound performance – Studio Markov, Tehran.
  • 2019 - 'Tehran Contemporary Music Festival' Ed.4., solo sound performance 'Heaven' – Roudaki décor Hall, Tehran. (Ticket Link)
  • 2019 - 'Silence' experimental/ ambient-music and live sound-processing w. Mehdi Fouladi & Pedram Zare - Charsoogh Abanbar, Jame Mosque, Yazd, Iran.
  • 2019 - 'Liveset in the Plateau' Sound Performance w. Leonie Roessler – House of Art, Shiraz, Iran.
  • 2019 - 'Two artists, two livesets' Sound Performance w. Leonie Roessler – Da Theaterhouse, Tehran.
  • 2018 - 'Metamorphosis of Sounds' Heka Electro Ambient music Festival – Da Theaterhouse, Tehran. (Ticket Link)
  • 2018 - 'Tehran Contemporary Music Festival' Vol.3., Duo performance w. Zhoobin Askarieh – Roudaki décor Hall, Tehran. (Ticket Link)
  • 2017 - 'Art for Peace Grand Festival' Digital performance w. Banafsh Band – Iranian Artists Forum, Tehran.
  • 2017 - 'Re-listening' Audiovisual performance set – CafeBaz. Tehran, Iran.
  • 2017 - ‘Sound-oriented’ collaborative audiovisual soundprocessing performance – Shenakht Cafe. Tehran, Iran.
  • 2016 - 'Tehran Contemporary Music Festival' Vol.1., Collaboration with Kian Hosein and Arman Moghadam – TMoCA, Tehran, Iran.
  • 2016 - ‘Winter Mood festival' Vol.1., Audiovisual performance – Saayeh Art gallery, Tehran, Iran.
  • 2016 - ‘Open-Mic’ Standup comedy performance, scheduled by House No. 4 – Shenaakht Cafegallery, Tehran, Iran.
  • 2014 - 'Neurite Night' Sound performance in TADAEX – Gholhak Pardis Cinema, Tehran, Iran.
  • 2012 - 'Limited Access Festival' Live improvisation session in Saroseda workshop – Aaran gallery, Tehran, Iran.
  • 2011 - 'Frequency', Live performance w. Sina Shoaie – Azad University, Shahrood, Iran.
  • 2011 - 'Frequency', Live performance w. Sina Shoaie – Manouchehri House, Kashan, Iran.
  • 2009 - 'Urban Art', Unofficial sound-performance in the street art [stencil art] exhibition – Arte gallery, Tehran, Iran.
  • 2003 - 'Ezterab' w. Patriam (ex-Zartosht members) – Österreich Kulturforum (OKF), Tehran, Iran.

Production/ post-production/ stage/ performance 

  • 2022 - Gypsy-Jazz music album production for Saeed Shams "In the Cafe with Django", recorded in the Jazz Cafe, published by Javan publications [silver cd], Tehran.
  • 2019 - 2022 Quarterly compilation albums for experimental album (a total of 15, two set of double-disk albums included), Noise à Noise.
  • 2019 - 'Devic's Syndrome', digital sound performance for the stage w. Farin Moghadam in Fadjr (Plus) Theater Festival – Directed by Kamyar Salehpour, Da Theater House, Tehran.
  • 2018 and 2019- 'Secret of Ganjour' Puppet theater (Game-Theater), sound design – Directed by Honey Hoseiny and Marzieh Naderi, IIDCYA, Tehran. (Reserve tickets)
  • 2017 - 'When a kid starts to talk?' Sound design for the stage and film - Directed by Iman Bayatfar, pending release.
  • 2017 - 'Cloth of Blood', Live speech processing for the stage, Samimi Mofakham Hall, Tehran university of Fine Arts. (Tickets on Tiwall)
  • 2017 - ‘I love my Tehran’ v.2., Collaborative outdoor live digital audiovisual production/ performance in Fadjr Theater Festival – Directed by Ehsan Yousefinasab Tehran, Iran.
  • 2016 - 'Laboratory', sound design – Moj-e No hall, Tehran, Iran.
  • 2016 - 'Ideas of a Clown' Digital audiovisual production/ performance w. Arman Moghadam – Roodaki Decor Hall, Tehran, Iran.
  • 2011 - 'Motivation', Media production for performance art – Curated by Shaghayegh Cyrous, EastArt gallery, Tehran, Iran.

Presentations, Talks and Panels:

  • 2022 - [Online] 'Role of independent Publication collectives', TIEMF – Tehran, Iran.
  • 2022 - [Online] 'Artist Talk', About the activity during Vayu Residency in Winter (on IG) – Kashan, Iran.
  • 2021 - 'The Politics of Music in the age ISOLATION', panel at Space21 Festival – Suleymaniyah, Iraqi Kurdistan.
  • 2020 - [Online] 'On Electronic music composition' Hosting a two-episode live artist-talk with Sohrab Motabar – Contemporary Music Magazine, Online.
  • 2020 - [Online] 'Gate of Tehran Festival' Brief presentation for Noise à Noise, and a conversation about independent art w. Peter Pirhoseinlou, Online event organized by 'House No. 4' Team.
  • 2019 - 'Noise vs. Noise' Artist-talk Panelist, Limited Access Festival – Studio Markov, Tehran.
  • 2017 - 'Tehran Contemporary Music Festival' Ed.2., Presentation of 'Neural control of singing" –TMoCA, Tehran, Iran.
  • 2015 - 'Newmedia talkseries: Aftab Darvishi', Artist-talk Panelist – Lajevardi Foundation, Tehran.

Residencies:

  • 2022 - As the recording artist (collaboration w. Negar Kharkan) – Vayu Residency space, Kashan, Iran.
  • 2021 - Performer, Space 21 – Sulaymaniyah, Iraqi Kurdistan.
  • 2017 - Sound technician, Circusbiennalle – Berlin, Germany.

Exhibitions

  • 2021 - 'To Be' a collaboration with Arefe Arad, Sound Installation – E1 artgallery, Tehran, Iran.
  • 2020 - 'Charivari Circus' Annual visual art exhibition – Circusbienalle, Berlin, Germany.
  • 2019 - 'Dock/ Ancien Palais de Justice' Group exhibition for sound Installations, 'Concrete Jungle', Liege, Belgium.
  • 2017 - ‘Days of experimental sounds Ed.1’, Sound Installation, ‘Tehranscape’ v.1', Rooberoo Mansion. Tehran, Iran.
  • 2017 - 'Unnamed, On paper' exhibition for painting/ collage exhibition, Collage, 'Broken' – New Media Projects, Tehran, Iran.
  • 2016 - ‘Limited Access Festival’, Video Art, 'Flaneur' – New Media Projects, Aaran artgallery, Aaran projects. Tehran, Iran.
  • 2015 - 'Unnamed Envelope, No.3', Drawing, 'Stillness' – Haft Samar Gallery, Tehran, Iran.
  • 2015 - 'TADAEX 05’ Sound Installation, 'Language of the landscape' – Mohsen Gallery. Tehran, Iran.
  • 2014 - ‘Limited Access Festival’, Video art, 'Citylapse' – Vista, Aaran & No.6 Art galleries. Tehran, Iran.
  • 2010 - ‘Saroseda v.2.0’, A/V installation, 'Small things can make me happy', w. Mahtab Alizadeh – Mohsen gallery. Tehran, Iran.

Miscellaneous Education:

  • 2017 - 'Audio Engineering Masterclass' Iranian National School of Cinema (INSC), Tehran, Iran.
  • 2017 - 'Designing sound for films' Mohammad Delpak, Karnameh Institute, Tehran, Iran.
  • 2016 - 'Tape-loop' workshop by Andreas Spectl, Noise works, Tehran, Iran.
  • 2015 - 'World literature: Luis Borges' Dr. Amirali Nojoumian, Iranian Artists Forum. Tehran, Iran.

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