‘Daffodil Reverie’ – single out now!

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Introducing Ensemble Diaspora’s second single, Daffodil Reverie!

Composed by Ensemble Diaspora member Martin Reese, Daffodil Reverie was inspired by the way that English dance tunes speed up and slow down, returning constantly to a steady beat. In this composition, the emphasis is less on the steady and more on the different rhythms that the music conveys.

Coupled with passionate singing by Grammy-nominated vocalist Tenzin Choegyal, an inventive arrangement by Arash Zanganeh, with striking performances from Ensemble Diaspora and special guests, there you have it: daffodils move in the wind and we are entranced.

Daffodil Reverie is available now on Spotify, Apple Music, iTunes, Tidal, Amazon Music, Deezer, Napster, Google Music, and Shazam.

Credits:
Tenzin Choegyal: Vocals
Martin Reese: Mandolin, Mandola & Guitar
Sebastian Flynn: Violin
John Druery: Double Bass
Wendy Lang: Tin whistle & Clarinet
Francis Gilfedder: Backing Vocals & Manjira Indian Bells
Sina Motamed: Shourangiz
Arash Zanganeh: Daf, Chaqana, Tonbak, Dayereh & Doholak

Translator: Siyavash Doostkhah
Lyrics: Khwāja Shams-ud-Dīn Muḥammad Ḥāfeẓ-e Shīrāzī
Production & Recording: the Sufi Art Group
Mixing & Mastering: Mehdi Danaie, Studio Ansoo/Tehran

‘Ritual’ – single and video out now!

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In 2019, Ensemble Diaspora released a recording of its first original song, Ritual.

The song began as a beautiful Celtic-inspired instrumental written by our violinist Sebastian Flynn, and took on a life of its own when our percussionist Arash Zanganeh added a mesmerising vocal line drawing from Persian Sufi music.

After performing Ritual at festivals and events over the last few years, Arash had the idea to record it and experiment with musical layering.

The recording took place across continents – in Australian and Iran! The band’s regular members laid down parts at The Edge – an inspiring digital culture space at the State Library of Queensland. The exquisite lead vocal was later recorded in Iran by guest artist Saman Sarami.

Wonderfully unexpectedly, through Saman’s connections, satellite network GEM TV offered to make a video clip for the song! The beautiful video (featuring Saman Sarami) exceeded our expectations and is available to watch on YouTube.

We hope you enjoy Ritual! Stream or download it at all the usual places.

Credits:
Saman Sarami: Guest Vocals
Susanna O’Leary: Vocals & Recitation
Sebastian Flynn: Violin
Wendy Lang: Clarinet & Backing Vocals
Cieavash Arean: Backing Vocals
Martin Reese: Mandolin & Mandola
Francis Gilfedder: Didgeridoo
John Druery: Double Bass
Arash Zanganeh: Daf & Chaqana

Composers: Sebastian Flynn & Arash Zanganeh
Arranger: Arash Zanganeh
Production & Recording: Arash Zanganeh & Wendy Lang
Recording Engineer: Wendy Lang (with great help from staff at The Edge, State Library of Queensland
Lyrics: Fakhr-al-Din Iraqi
Translator: Siyavash Doostkhah
Mixing and Mastering: Mehdi Danaie, Studio Ansoo
Recorded at The Edge, State Library of Queensland, Australia.

Welcome to our new site!

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2017 has seen us performing at many more events than in previous years, so it’s time we had a website!

Ensemble Diaspora began quite casually in 2013 for one concert, but over the last few years, it’s grown into a life of its own. We’ve added more music to our repertoire – both traditional pieces and original compositions, and become better acquainted with what each other is musically capable of.

We have a great musical chemistry and love playing music together – and even though we have many performances under our belts, it only really feels like the beginning!

So, here on this site, we’ll list upcoming performances and add video and sound examples as they come along.

Let us know if there’s anything else you’d like to see on here.

Thanks for visiting!
Ensemble Diaspora