Kiosk - Live in New York

Known as "the pioneers of Iranian rock" (The Berlin Daily Newspaper), Kiosk is a band praised for their sharp and satirical lyrics, as well as their unique blend of musical styles, from rock to gypsy jazz to Iranian folk. The name "Kiosk" stems from the band's original formation in a Tehran basement in 2003. Like other bands in Iran, the members of Kiosk had to set up their studios in the underground basements of friends and families, in an effort to avoid the constant surveillance and strict censorship of the Islamic Regime. Any little corner of Tehran could become their "kiosk" to get together, to escape from their surrounding environment and share the pleasure of playing together. After Kiosk was prevented from performing in public and publishing recordings due to "inappropriate" lyrics, the band members re-grouped outside Iran in 2005. Their first album, Ordinary Man (Adame Mamooli) (2005) was the first underground album from Iran to be officially released on iTunes. They then released five more albums--Amor de la Velocidad (Eshghe Sor'at) (2007), Global Zoo (Baghe Vahshe Jahani) (2008), and Triple Distilled: Live at Yoshi's (Seh Takhtireh) (2010), Outcome of Negotiations (Natijeye Mozakerat) (2011), Parallel Establishments (Tashkilate Movazi) (2013)--in between tours of North America, Europe, and Australia. Kiosk's innovative music videos regularly garner hundreds of thousands of views, and their recent live album Triple Distilled was named one of the ten best albums of the year by BBC World's World of Music. Kiosk's music expresses their experience of growing up in the repressive environment of post-revolutionary Iran. "Kiosk's stinging political satire is hidden within its blues and folksy sound," writes the BBC World Service, which recently included Kiosk in its series: "Striking a Chord: Songs that Speak to a Generation," featuring some of the biggest names in world music. As The Guardian elaborates: "[Kiosk's 'Love for Speed'] will give you a flavor of the sort of music that booms out of rickety taxis and flash cars alike in [Tehran's] maddening traffic." Lead singer-songwriter Arash Sobhani's lyrics "have become a guiding light for many" (Frankfurt General Newspaper), and Sobhani has been invited to lecture on Kiosk's role in cultural change at several institutions, including Harvard, Stanford, and UC Berkeley. Kiosk is a Persian (Iranian) Blues/Rock/Jazz band that was formed in Tehran in 2004