Based in Orange County, California, Badsoma is the brainchild of Iranian-American songwriter and music producer, Armin Fard. Having previously worked as a film composer, Badsoma is Armin’s first solo project.
Armin was born in Iran. Growing up, his father worked as an educational psychologist, while his mother had begun a career as a painter and an artist. Armin was exposed to a wide variety of art and music from an young age, and started taking lessons in classical piano at the age of seven.
At fourteen, he and his family moved to the US, seeking economic opportunity and a better life. Confronting the isolation and cultural shock that so many first-generation immigrants experience, Armin found meaning and comfort in learning to make music using computer software at home, and teaching himself various instruments like guitar and drums. After graduating from high school, Armin went on to study music and English literature in college.
Badsoma’s unique blend of indie and alternative pop is deceptively subtle and incorporates melodic influences from 60’s and 70s era Iranian pop. It also draws inspiration from the pulsating grooves of LCD Soundsystem, the psychedelic veneer of Tame Impala, and the thematic inflections of Radiohead. It’s a sound that demands attention and slowly unravels its intricacies the more closely you listen.
The artist’s new track, titled ‘Violet Hue” features dreamy guitars, analog keys, and atmospheric, sonic trickery inspired by acts like Radiohead and Spiritualized. A loosely narrative song told in the third-person, “Violet Hue” is an exploration of that eternal itch to still daydream even when doing so seems impossible. It’s about an inner life teeming with unrequited desire.
For further information on the Badsoma, visit:
Photo credits Sarrah Wolfe (main) and Keon Hedayati
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