"At some point in making this record I realized the album I wanted to make was one that reflected my identity as both Iranian and American. Pushing the most Iranian elements right up against the most American ones brought me a certain kind of joy. The first time I put microtonal saz melodies over Western guitar chords, I was thrown off by the way the two rubbed together. But the more I listened the more I became drawn to that rub."
"The presentation of the flag upside down is something that the Left, the Right, and the Native American Land Back movement have all made use of. It's a symbology that's shared by all these groups and yet could mean different things to each of us. I'm interested in that conversation; that conversation is fundamentally American."
Rostam, formerly of Vampire Weekend, announces American Stories, his follow-up to Changephobia, arriving May 15 with accompanying North American and European tour dates. The album merges Americana with traditional Persian musical elements, incorporating input from Iranian-American musician Amir Yaghmai and collaborations with Clairo and Tobias Jesso Jr. Rostam intentionally juxtaposed microtonal saz melodies with Western guitar chords to create a distinctive sonic identity reflecting both his Iranian and American heritage. The album art features an inverted flag, symbolizing shared meaning across diverse political and cultural movements. Released through Rostam's label Matsor Projects via Secretly Distribution, the project includes contributions from multiple musicians and was mixed and mastered by Tom Elmhirst and Emily Lazar.
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