PEYMAN SALIMI

Zer Zera - World Premiere

Live in Brooklyn

Thursday, July 18, 2024 - 11AM

Download ZER ZERA now:

Written and Performed by Peyman Salimi
Guitar: Peyman Salimi
Bass: Zoe Guigueno
Drums: Federico Franchi

Camera: Bucky Illingworth & David Ospina
Editor: Peyman Salimi
Recorded by Greg Toc at
BRIDGE STUDIO - Brooklyn, NY
Mixing Engineer / Peyman Salimi
(Justaudio Productions - New York)

“A few years back, at one of my shows in Amsterdam, I stumbled into my old roommate from our Florence days in the early 2000s. The gig kicked off as a dumpster fire. The crowd was rowdy, more interested in their drinks than my tunes, though they were having a blast. I got ticked off and started roasting them with a few bits that turned into decent jokes. Eventually, I reeled them in.

After the gig, my old roommate—totally clueless I was still in the game and stumbled upon the concert ad on social media—pops into the green room. I thought I was hallucinating. Hadn’t seen her in 17 years! Once I picked my jaw off the floor, we exchanged a few words. Then she drops the bombshell, “You know, you’re a goofy guy. You’re always joking and poking at people, but there’s no trace of it in your songs!” She was right.
ZER ZERA is where I chucked all filters out the window. It's a song that's probably going to spook a big chunk of my current fans who know me for “Raj” or “Shab”, but its rawness makes it the closest one to the real me.

It talks about a politically divided world where misinformation screams louder than real science. Families have split over a darn vaccine. Lifelong friends don’t have the guts to pick up the phone and call each other because one considers herself a liberal, and the other has decided to homeschool his children to protect them from what he calls “the gay education.” Good folks cancel each other before a word’s exchanged and the lack of dialogue creates a void that gets filled up by less good people spreading their conspiracy nuts.

In cultures like Iran's, where everyone seems to have a PhD in suspicion and blaming "The Brits" is a national pastime, the drama hits a comically agonizing peak. Though ignorance happens to be a universal phenomenon.”
~ Peyman Salimi ~

About Peyman Salimi

Peyman-Salimi

Peyman Salimi, an Iranian-Italian singer-songwriter, guitarist, and music producer based in New York City, weaves together his Iranian roots with English-style songcraft and Italian influences, reflecting his diverse cultural background.

Growing up in Iran, Peyman first tinkered with piano keys at age six. However, his true fascination was with the guitar. After graduating from Alborz High School in Tehran, he pursued Classical Guitar Performance at the Faculty of Fine Art, University of Tehran.

In the early 2000s, Peyman moved to Florence, Italy, to study under guitarist Alfonso Borghese at the Conservatorio Luigi Cherubini and the Fiesole Music School. He later earned a Master’s in Contemporary Composition & Music Technology, graduating with top marks.

Following his 2008 debut album “The Curtain,” Peyman kickstarted the pop-rock band The Allophones in Florence, snagging attention in Tuscany by winning the T-Rumors contest in 2011. They dropped their first EP, “Stalemate,” in 2013, with a hand from Antonio Aiazzi of the legendary New-Wave band Litfiba. Their debut album, “Muscle Memory,” followed in 2017, co-produced by Tiziano Borghi and Eduardo de la Paz. After nine years with The Allophones, Peyman flipped back to his solo career, releasing his second self-produced album, “Won Now,” in 2019, which included some of his Persian tunes for the first time.

In 2020, Peyman established Justaudio Studio in Brussels where he jammed with various artists as a producer and mixing engineer. After hopping over to New York City in 2023, he released his third solo album, “The Psychology of Letting Go,” a concept album that challenges the idealized portrayal of love perpetuated since childhood by books and media. This album features collaborations with Zoe Guigueno, Sara Naeini, and his former bandmates from The Allophones.

Recently admitted to Georgia Tech’s MA/PhD program in Music Technology, Peyman has begun researching the impact of bilingual songs and how they’re shaking up the pop-rock scene, exploring how blended lyrics are gaining popularity.