Reverberations of Dissent: Identity and Expression in Iran's Illegal Music Scene

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Beneath the ever-changing and unstable political climate of Iran lies a rich youth culture centered around rock music. Reaching beyond a social, historical and political overview of music, Bronwen Robertson looks deeper and seeks to decipher how members of the underground scene invent and express different versions of 'being Iranian,' through the production and distribution of their music. Robertson spent a year undercover in Tehran conducting research and interviews within this complex and fascinating culture. While the author explores each individual's relationship to their music, she also demonstrates how the underground scene as a whole becomes an expression of collective and anti-authoritarian identities. Robertson discusses concepts ranging from inspiration and ingenuity to the notion of being 'global,' and how these musicians perceive their political and artistic impact. This illuminating work demonstrates that rock music, a global genre, gains significance as it is performed in a local context, disrupting pre-conceived notions of what it means to be 'Iranian.'

Reviews

"Based on fearless fieldwork in Iran, Bronwen Robertson offers an eye-opening account of music in Iran's illegal music world. This book offers a rich and compelling portrait of courageous musicians in a part of the world that requires such courage." -Timothy D. Taylor, Professor, Departments of Ethnomusicology and Musicology, UCLA.
"Reverberations of Dissent is a sympathetic and informed account of the lives of musicians in Teheran's underground rock scene. Robertson documents ingenious efforts to evade censorship, find instruments, equipment and audiences under hostile conditions in the Islamic Republic. There's much food for thought here about the relationship between frustration and creativity. It is also a valuable addition to a growing literature on rock beyond the West." -Martin Stokes, St. John's College, Oxford
"Engaged in the underground scene as a musician and an ethnomusicologist, Bronwen Robertson introduces us to the musicians whose lives form the communities of dissent in modern Iran. The reverberations sounded by Iran's popular-music underground and captured in this remarkable book will resonate for readers seeking to understand the Middle East in the present era of unprecedented cultural and political change." Philip V. Bohlman, Mary Werkman Distinguished Service Professor of Music and the Humanities, University of Chicago, Author of Focus: Music, Nationalism, and the Making of the New Europe (Routledge 2011)

Author Bio

Dr. Bronwen Robertson received her PhD in Ethnomusicology from the University of Melbourne, Australia. She is currently the research manager and editor for Small Media in London and is working with her team to increase the flow of information into and out of Iran.