LA-Based Collective Discotchari Reissues Tehrangeles Pop Classics on N

Discotchari, an LA-based collective operating as a sub-label of electronic imprint Critique, has released a vinyl compilation reissuing ‘80s and ‘90s Iranian pop classics from the archives of Tehrangeles. Titled ‘Tehrangeles Vice’, the compilation revives the golden age of Iranian diaspora music between 1983 and 1993, originally released on cassette by Taraneh Enterprises, the iconic Persian label founded by Iranian-Armenian producer Vartan Avanessian.

Tehrangeles is a portmanteau of Tehran and Los Angeles, the beating heart of Iran’s exile music industry after the 1979 revolution. For four decades, artists and producers who left the country have continued to shape a sound that, while condemned by the Iranian government as a cultural offence, preserved the spirit of pre-revolutionary pop for generations scattered across the globe.

Featuring 12 tracks by renowned artists like Leila Forouhar, Black Cats, Delaram, Susan Roshan, and Shohreh Solati, the compilation is remastered by award-winning Osiris Studio and comes with the original cassette artwork, Farsi lyrics with English translations, and 20 pages of liner notes by ethnomusicologist Dr. Farzaneh Hemmasi of the University of Toronto.

With many of these tracks pressed to vinyl for the first time, Tehrangeles Vice serves as a means of immortalising the legacy of Tehrangeles by highlighting its innovations and contributions to the scope of Iranian popular music. The vinyl compilation is available now in both physical and digital formats via Discotchari’s official website.