For musicians in Afghanistan, the return of the Taliban is a disaster, bringing with it the threat of violence and persecution. Unable to practise their art, continue their traditions, or simply earn a living, many musicians have sought to leave the country.

The Iranian city of Mashhad has been a relatively safe haven for Afghan musicians-in-exile for decades. In the last year, dozens of musicians from the once thriving cultural hub of Herat have migrated to Mashhad, hoping for a safe place to practise their culture.

We have a unique opportunity to support Afghan musicians in Mashhad, and to celebrate Afghanistan's rich musical heritage. Here's how:

• We want to film and record performances from migrant musicians living in Mashhad - including some of Afghanistan's most important folk and classical artists - and pay them for their time.
  
  
• Then, when it comes time to release the recordings, we will use our extensive experience in marketing and publicity to put a spotlight on the challenges faced by Afghan musicians. 

The team at Worlds Within Worlds will be volunteering their time, knowledge and expertise to make this project happen. 100% of profits from this project will go back to the musicians involved.

But we need your support to make this happen.

Your donations will not only provide paid work to Afghan musicians in a difficult and uncertain time, but will also play a role in helping maintain the rich musical traditions of Afghanistan. It's a powerful act of solidarity.

We will employ an all local crew for this project - videographers, sound engineers and audio technicians - and have a well known Afghan artist lined-up to create the album artwork. All we need is your help.

What exactly will you do?

• Travel to Mashhad in April/May 2022 to record, mix and engineer an album of music (and a number of videos) from these master musicians.
• Pay each and every musician for their time, performance and expertise.
• Employ local Iranian and Afghan crew to film, record and engineer the album.
• Engage film-maker and musician Michel Gasco to produce the video pieces, and to manage the project on the ground.
• Commission a well known Afghan artist to create the album artwork.
• Volunteer Worlds Within Worlds' time and expertise to promote the release, and raise awareness of the plight of Afghan musicians.
• Release the album on streaming services, and as a limited edition CD.
• Release the performance videos on YouTube.
• Send 100% of any profits (after costs) directly back to the musicians involved.

We have more than 15 years experience in releasing music, from running marketing, managing campaigns, and engaging press and media for publicity. We know we can make an impact with this project - we just need your help to fund it.

Who are you hoping to record?

Our goal is to record musicians like Nassim Khushnawaz (rubab), Javad Tabesh (classical singer), Vahid Delahang (rubab), Kanaan Delahang (tabla), Assef Habibi (classical singer), Nematollah Hosseinzadeh (traditional singer in the Herati style & zirbaghali), Gholam Sakhi Rasuli (dotar herati, dambura), Wahid Heravi (tabla) and Ramin Ahmadi (tabla),

The situation on the ground is quite fluid, but we are in contact with (and in some cases have previously worked with) all of these musicians.

How did this opportunity come about?

Film-maker, musician, friend and collaborator Michel Gasco has been travelling to Mashhad in Iran for more than a decade. He was drawn to the city for the opportunity to learn Afghan folk and classical music from Nassim Khushnawaz - a rubab player from one of the most important musical lineages in Herat. 

Over that time he has established strong relationships with the Afghan and Iranian artistic community. He has formed a musical group with Iran's Mohammad Miraghazadeh called Badieh, who play folk and traditional music from the Khorasan region of Afghanistan and Iran.

Who are you?

My name is Lachlan Dale. I have been running record labels for more than a decade, and have previously worked for Doctors Without Borders, Amnesty International and the Australian Red Cross.

While I was initially focused on releasing forward-thinking music from Australia (through Art As Catharsis), in recent years I have begun to promote music from Iran, Afghanistan, and India through my record label Worlds Within Worlds.

To date we have released music from Afghan-American rubab artist Qais Essar, Alam Khan (son of Ustad Ali Akbar Khan), Hamed Sadeghi, Efren Lopez, Anupam Shobhakar and Gabriel Akmad Marin. Michel and I have also previously released a collection of music from pre-war Syria, entitled Hanin: Field Recordings In Syria 2008/2009.

Please note that due to the economic situation in Iran, exchange rates and prices are quite volatile.