02.09.26: Mohammad Reza Mortazavi (IR/DE)
Rare club concert with Iranian percussion master
The Berlin-based Iranian percussionist Mohammad Reza Mortazavi builds a bridge between his Iranian roots and Berlin’s techno scene. Drawing on traditional Persian hand drums, he ignites Basement with his unique form of hand-played minimalist techno.
Date: Wednesday 02.09.26
Doors: 19:30
Show: 20:00
Price: 165 dkr in presale / 185 dkr at the door
Venue: Basement, Enghavevej 42, 1674 København V
02.09.26: Mohammad Reza Mortazavi (IR/DE) @ Basement
Iranian musician Mohammad Reza Mortazavi has set entirely new standards for what a percussion solo concert can be. Through his extraordinary playing on the Persian hand drums tombak and daf, he creates a network of danceable rhythms, fast-paced beats, and trance-like textures that rival even the most advanced electronic music. Melodies and polyphonies intertwine in seemingly endless rhythmic variations, forming a captivating and hypnotic sonic universe.
For more than 20 years, Mortazavi has built a bridge between his Iranian roots and his life in Europe’s techno capital, Berlin. Drawing on the traditional Persian percussion heritage, he has developed his own form of minimalist hand-played techno—an expression that sounds both compelling and contemporary, yet timeless at the same time. With one foot firmly planted in Iranian tradition and a modern outlook shaped by Berlin’s techno scene, he has set new standards for how tradition can be explored within a contemporary musical landscape.
Mortazavi has performed for dancing audiences at festivals such as Roskilde, ALICE/Global, Fusion and WOMAD, as well as in prestigious concert halls around the world. With astonishing finger dexterity and a wide spectrum of overtones, he is able to perform polyrhythmic compositions and sophisticated melodies simultaneously. As the TV channel ARTE put it: “When watching the incredibly virtuosic soloist, one easily gets the impression that he doesn’t have just two, but at least six hands.”
Mohammad Reza Mortazavi began playing the tombak at the age of six, and only three years later he had reached such a high level that his teacher could no longer teach him anything new. At the age of ten he won the annual Iranian tombak competition, open only to the country’s best players, for the first time. Since then, he has developed more than thirty new finger techniques and revolutionized the traditional playing style. Most recently, he released his ninth solo album, Nexus, and also performs in the duo YEK together with electronic producer legend Burnt Friedman.