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After months of research on Iranian Pop Music, a Los
Angeles Times reporter, Jordan Raphael, wrote and
published an extended article on this subject in the
January 28 issue of the LA Times Sunday Magazine
entitled "The Sound of Distant Stars".
Although as a whole this article discusses Iranian Pop
Music in Los Angeles, the main focus and content of the
article consists of interviews with Shahrzad Sepanlou as
well as a detailed account of her life as a glamorous
Iranian singer on Television and Radio while living an
ordinary day-to-day life in Los Angeles. Raphael
explains that Shahrzad is normally recognized in Iranian
stores and restaurants since many people around the
world have become familiar with her work through Iranian
Television and Radio stations. As a result, she receives
a number of phone calls and emails from fans outside and
inside of Iran such as the one from a woman named
Yassaman who writes in her email about how much Shahrzad
is loved in Iran and that her songs are constantly being
played at her home.
Compared to her life as an Iranian singer, Shahrzad's
daily activities are typical of an ordinary person. She
lives with her husband, a resident Doctor, in a
two-bedroom apartment, works in an office at UCLA and
shops at Trader Joe's. She says "I have a double life".
The article also discusses the start of Shahrzad's
professional career as one third of Silhouettt and her
subsequent departure from the band to produce an album
on her own called "Our Story". Unlike most Persian pop
singers, Shahrzad devotes a good portion of her songs to
social and political issues. One of her more popular
songs "Mirdamad" which is a tribute to happier days in
Tehran was written by Shahrzad's father, a famous poet
who lives in Iran. The article goes on to mention the
happiness and fulfillment that Shahrzad receives from
knowing that her songs and her music have a deep and
lasting effect on her listeners.
This article which is five pages long and features two
full-length glossy pictures of Shahrzad sepanlou --
taken by LA Times photo staff -- has met with
considerable attention and appreciation from Iranian
news agencies and music fans everywhere
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