Make Yourself Heard

ZIRZAMIN, an independent Iranian online music magazine, record label and promoter with a focus on the Iranian Alternative music scene, launched a music award in Rock in 2010. A total 85 bands contested in the award. A majority of these bands (a total of 82%) were from Iran. While many of the bands in Iran do not get the permission to release their work of love in Iran due to restrictions put in place by the Ministry of Cultural and Islamic Guidance, many of them keep producing quality music and release their work through independent platforms such as ZIRZAMIN. In between all the 85 bands, there were only four (4) female singers. Ironically the winning band had a female singer and three out of four bands with female singers made it to the top 20 list. This compilation album could serve as a base for research into Iranian contemporary music and serve as a way to promote these musicians. A complete analysis of the outcome of the award can be found at ZIRZAMIN (www.zirzamin.org)