Here we are- the second Friday of the month. For Radio M that means the featured album of the month.

For January we have beautiful Persian music from Iranian virtuoso Kayan Kalhor. Kayan is a master of the kamenche which is a Turkish string bow instrument.. For Kayan’s new release titled “I Will Not Stand Alone”, Kayan performs on a variation fo the kamenche called the sha kaman. That instrument resembles a spiked fiddle and can create the upper register of a viola one minute and the next the low tones of a cello. This instrument was made specially for Kayan by an Australian craftsman.

The music comes from a dark moment in Kalhor’s life; during the period of unrest in Iran. But it does include a positive note. In that period he wanted to share his music more with people and would felt more connected as a result.  “I Will Not Stand Alone”, this month’s featured album on Radio M