Golazin Ardestani (Persian: گل آذین اردستانی), better known by her stage name Gola (Persian: گلا), is an Iranian singer-songwriter, musicologist, vocalist and actress based in London.[1] She plays piano, santur, dammam (Persian percussion) and the flute.[2][3][4][5][6][7][8]

Early life[edit]

Ardestani grew up in Isfahan, Iran. She studied music composition and performance at Tehran's University of Soureh.[9] In 2011, she moved to London to pursue a master's degree in music psychology at Roehampton University.[10][11][12]

Career[edit]

When she was 19, Gola joined Iran's first girlband, Orchid, which was only allowed to play before a female audience in Iran because of local laws.[10][9][13][14] She was arrested three times in Iran.[15] Following her tours with Orchid, she honed her own tastes as an artist and garnered a fervent fan base.[12]

The restrictions in place for female singers in Iran, and political unrest, fueled Golazin's decision to move to London in 2011.[16][13] Her debut single, "Miri", received over 3 million listens on Radio Javan.[10][9]

In 2018, Gola released the single "The Line", her first track in English.[17][11] Her single "Booseh" was streamed more than 800,000 times in the month after its release. She released the single “Now You Know” in 2019.[18] She has worked alongside Idan Raichel and Iranian rapper Hossein Tohi.[9] Gola creates music influenced by both Eastern and Western music, with an underlying message of raising awareness of Iran.[19]

Discography[edit]

Persian singles[edit]

  1. Miri [10]
  2. Khoda Danad [9]
  3. Booseh [5]
  4. Bi Gonah
  5. Hess
  6. Iranian
  7. Eshghe Ariaei
  8. Behtarin Abi
  9. Khodam Boodam Oonja
  10. Raghse Shirin
  11. Betars Az Man
  12. Khodavanda
  13. Khosh Be Halam

English singles[edit]

  1. The Line[11]
  2. Now You Know[18]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Art amid the din of war: Ancient and contemporary music from the Iranian world and beyond". Retrieved 2020-05-05.
  2. ^ "A World in London 212 - Idan Raichel & Golazin Ardestani". SOAS Radio. 27 February 2017.
  3. ^ "Golazin Brings Message of Peace and Unity to a Hurting World". Upcoming100.com. 6 February 2017.
  4. ^ "Transcending boundaries: Iranian and Israeli collaboration". Songlines World Music News. 24 February 2017. Archived from the original on 24 February 2017.
  5. ^ Jump up to:a b "Iles Formula Women GOLAZIN". Iles Formula. 26 June 2017.
  6. ^ Driver, Abby (4 July 2017). "Why Having A 'Boring' Routine Is The Key To Creativity". Refinery29.
  7. ^ "Gozalin, Sound On!". Lapalme Magazine. 10 October 2017.
  8. ^ "News - Golazin Monoto Tv Performance". United Productions. 31 October 2017.
  9. ^ Jump up to:a b c d e Harman, Danna (2018-11-14). "The Iranian Pop Star Who Is Not Afraid of Israelis". Haaretz. Retrieved 2020-05-05.
  10. ^ Jump up to:a b c d "The Iranian pop star who is not afraid of Israelis". www.thebaghdadpost.com. 2018-12-12. Retrieved 2020-05-05.
  11. ^ Jump up to:a b c "Iranian multi-instrumentalist Gola delivers bold new track "The Line"". The Line of Best Fit. Retrieved 2020-05-05.
  12. ^ Jump up to:a b Dunn, Frankie (2018-11-02). "gola is a fearless iranian artist making life-changing music for rule-breakers". i-D. Retrieved 2020-06-25.
  13. ^ Jump up to:a b "tmrw | this is our culture: Gola". tmrw. 2018-10-31. Retrieved 2020-06-25.
  14. ^ "The Arts Hour - Iranian pop star Gola: 'We had morality police in the audience' - BBC Sounds". www.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 2020-06-25.
  15. ^ "گزارش هاآرتص: خواننده پاپ ایرانی که از همکاری با اسرائیلی ها نمی ترسد | صدای آمریکا فارسی". ir.voanews.com (in Persian). Retrieved 2020-06-25.
  16. ^ Rumbelow, Helen. "Gola: the Iranian pop star who fought back". ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 2020-06-25.
  17. ^ "Gola is the Iranian musician in exile fighting to empower women". HUNGER TV. Retrieved 2020-05-05.
  18. ^ Jump up to:a b Day, Record of the. "Gola - Now You Know". www.recordoftheday.com. Retrieved 2020-06-25.
  19. ^ "Golazin, Sound On". Lapalme. 10 October 2017. Retrieved 16 March 2021.

External links[edit]