Shahed Mohseni Zonoozi is a Los Angeles musician with a highly cultured approach to his craft. He specializes in the production of world music.
Born in Tehran in 1986, Zonoozi became fond of music early on. He started playing music at eight years old, including the Santoor, which is a traditional Iranian instrument.
For those of you who don't know, world music is a genre that encompasses the musical styles of different global regions and cultures.
InterContinental concerts
While studying in Cyprus, he was so intrigued by the diversity of musical tastes among his international friends that he started the project, InterContinental Concerts, in 2011.
InterContinental Concerts consists of a talented team of artists dedicated to celebrating cultural differences and promoting unity through music and the performing arts.
Furthermore, this multimedia production organization involves music albums, live concerts, performance videos, and feature films. Zonoozi has achieved some amazing feats since its origination, which includes sharing a heart-warming message about peace, love, and life in the midst of global transgression.
In addition, he's gained various awards and accolades during his music career:
- Featuring in Music Connection Magazine
- 2016'S Hot 100 Live Unsigned Artists & Bands (Dec 2016)
- Global Music Awards, California (2 Medallions)
'The Journey'
The latest InterContinental Concerts album titled "The Journey" was released on December 1st, 2015.
It consists of ten exciting, sophisticated songs inspired by places you probably never heard of.
Rhythmic Vocals
"The Journey" has a harmonious array of vocalists, including Zonoozi himself. In fact, you can enjoy hearing ten different vocalists from various regions — women and men.
After listening to the album twice, my favorite song for vocals is "Gole Eshgham." The female singer's voice is rhythmic, spirited, and full of warmth, like the other singers.
Upon first hearing it, I thought she was singing in Japanese or some other Asian language. On the other hand, she's singing in Tajik Farsi language, which is tied to Indo-European countries.
Vibrant Instrumentals
In addition to the vocals, the instrumentals possess impressive sounds. More than ten musicians contributed to the instrumentals, including Zonoozi. You can enjoy hearing instruments such as the accordion, drums, bass, electric guitar, electric piano, violin, synths, and more.
The album leads one's imagination to the dance floor of a wild electro dance party and then to an exotic festival of majestic sounds and blissful wonder. The variety keeps me engaged, allowing me to explore newfound orchestration with intense curiosity.
My favorite song for instrumentals is "The Cyprus Station," possessing African and Latin musical sounds.
Positive Lyrics
As for the lyrics, if I had one word to describe them, it would be this: celebration. The lyrics tell a story of global unity and triumph. No matter where you are from or what your culture is like, you have something special to share with the world, and that is worth celebrating.
As global citizens, we can use our differences as assets among each other through the power of truth, love, and peace.
Zonoozi makes it clear that music is the easiest language for all of us to understand and be empowered by.
My favorite song for lyrics is "Power of Love."
In conclusion, I give "The Journey" a 9 out of 10 rating. I appreciate Zonoozi and his team's artistic effort to create a brighter world. Enjoy watching a feature video of "The Cyprus Station" below:
