Kamakan is an Iranian group founded in the early 2010s by singer and theatre artist Mehdi Saki. Its music combines southern Iranian folk traditions with contemporary arrangements and poetry by Rumi and Ebrahim Monsefi.67 Its first album was arranged by Makan Ashgvari; in 2023, Saki developed an electronic trio with Ava Rasti and Axel Moon.78
Recordings
5 releases, oldest first. Select one for its details and sources.
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Kamakan
کماکان
Apple Music 15Spotify 16SoundCloud 17
- Released
- 15
- Contributors
- Mehdi Saki, Kamakan and Makan Ashgvari (arranger)1567
The Diver
غواص
- Contributors
- Kamakan, Mehdi Saki (composer and arranger), Sam Solino (composer and arranger) and Hossein Jannati (lyricist)14
Life & work
Formation and first album
Saki grew up in Ahvaz listening to Arabic lullabies. He studied dance and theatre before bringing together musicians from Iran’s independent music scene to form Kamakan.7 The group performed at Tehran’s Azadi Tower complex in July 2013.9
The debut album, Kamakan, appeared in April 2015. Musicians from southern Iran and Tehran worked together on southwestern folk songs and settings of Persian poetry, including Rumi’s verse.9 Ashgvari arranged the album, whose compositions brought folk and jazz influences together.7
A second album and concerts
In January 2017, Kamakan performed at Silent Green in Berlin. It was the group’s first concert in Germany, attended by several hundred people, according to the event’s organizer Nikolai Blaumer.1011
By December 2017, a second album was ready. Producer Ehsan Rasoulof announced it under the planned title Kamakan Baghi, with arrangements by Sardar Sarmast, and said that Saki was performing parts of it at an interdisciplinary arts festival.12 The group’s booking agency later reported that a second album had not received authorization for release in Iran.13
The coronavirus outbreak interrupted an Iranian tour in 2020. During the pause, the musicians were composing and recording a new album.7
The trio
IS" was released in September 2023.13 That November, Kamakan took part in a residency organized by La rose des vents and Le Grand Mix in northern France. Saki, on vocals, guitar and percussion, worked with Ava Rasti on bass and electronic equipment and Axel Moon on keyboards, electronic equipment, saz and rubab. The three musicians reworked Kamakan as a trio with electronic sounds.813
The Diver
Saki and Sam Solino, named in Persian as Sam Mazaheri, composed and arranged “The Diver” to words by Hossein Jannati. The group describes the song as a lament for the present world, “from Vancouver to Tehran”.14
Sources
- 1Kamakan (Iran/France) - WOMEX · www.womex.com
2 quotes
Kamakan (Iran/France) - WOMEX
https://www.womex.com/virtual/image/artist/kamakan_iran_france_big_87562.jpg
- 2
- 3Videos | Kamakan
4 quotes
https://www.youtube.com/@kamakan
https://www.youtube.com/embed/Jvkyo7R_Rd0
https://www.youtube.com/embed/vNUkmowgTPI
https://www.youtube.com/embed/Zd4x0Yw12IE
- 4Kamakan — Spotify
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Listen to Kamakan Songs | Spotify Kamakan 1,982 monthly listeners Follow Popular Jaar 84,557 Shekaro Ghand 59,493 Rooh 55,109 Motevalede Shiraz 35,399 Chobi 43,311 Popular releases IS" 2023 • Album Albums IS" Album • 2023 Fans also like Haleh Seyfizadeh Shervin Najafian Otagh Band Mehdi Saki Behzad Danesh Dariush Azar Makan Ashgvari Babak Khangholi About 1,982 monthly listeners Kamakan Music Band گروه موسیقی «کماکان» به سرپرستی و خوانندگى مهدى ساکى 5,957 Followers Instagram Wikipedia Home Search Your Library Premium ,
- 5Kamakan Live in London: A Fusion of Iranian Folk and Electronic Soundscapes | Vaak Records
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Following a residency at Le Grand Mix in France in November 2023, Kamakan – with Mehdi Saki (vocals, guitar, percussion), Ava Rasti (bass, electronic machines), and Axel Moon (saz, rabab, electronic machines) – has embraced electronic sounds to offer audiences a fresh and immersive experience.
- 6About Kamakan
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Kamakan (کماکان) is an Iranian fusion group formed in 2012 by Mahdi Saki — a theatre-trained actor, singer, and composer born in 1974 in Khuzestan, in Iran's south. Kamakan's music sets contemporary arrangements against the folk traditions of southern Iran, drawing its lyrics from the poetry of Rumi (Mowlana) alongside the verses of poet Ebrahim Monsefi. The group released its self-titled debut album, Kamakan , in 2015 to a warm reception from audiences and critics, and has since performed at international venues and festivals, including Berlin's Maxim Gorki Theatre.
- 7Kamakan — Mélo
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Born in Ahvaz (Iran), Mehdi Saki grew up to the sound of arabic lullabies of his hometown in the border area with Irak. He studied dance and theatre, before gathering musicians of the Iranian independent music scene around the project Kamakan in 2011. Drawing from the music traditions of the south of Iran, as well as Persian and Arabic poetry, Kamakan is an extension of Mehdi Saki’s inner journeys. Released in 2015, the first album of the band arranged by Makan Ashgvari was met with great success. The Iranian youth could identify itself with the folk and jazz-infused music compositions of Kamakan. After concerts in Iran and Berlin in 2017 and 2018, Kamakan wrote a second piece. In 2020, the band had to interrupt their tour across Iran because of the spread of coronavirus, and is now spending its time composing and recording a new album.
- 8Rencontre avec le groupe Kamakan — Université de Lille
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La rose des vents Scène nationale Lille Métropole Villeneuve d’Ascq et Le Grand Mix Scène de Musiques Actuelles Tourcoing s'associent pour accueillir en résidence Kamakan, groupe formé par l'artiste iranien Mehdi Saki. Ici, le projet Kamakan se réinvente en formule trio, avec des sonorités électroniques : Mehdi Saki (chant, guitare, percussions), Ava Rasti (basse, machines) et Axel Moon (claviers, machines, saz, rubab).
- 9کدام آلبومها بیشتر فروختند؟ — کماکان · شرق ·
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این آلبوم رویارویی چند نوازنده جنوب کشور با چند نوازنده تهرانی است که روی ترانههای محلی جنوبغرب کشورمان به خوانندگی مهدی ساکی با استفاده از اشعار بزرگان ادبیات پارسی همچون مولانا و دیگر شاعران کار کردهاند. آلبوم کماکان یکم اردیبهشت رونمایی شد و تاکنون شاهد استقبال بینظیر مخاطبان در فروش آلبوم بوده است. گروه «کماکان» ۱۲ تا ۱۴ تیر ماه سال ۹۲ در مجموعه برج آزادی، کنسرتی به همین نام برگزار کرد.
- 10Kamakan — silent green, 28 January 2017
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Kamakan Kamakan Sat 01/28/2017 07:00 pm Start Cupola Concert and Talk Mehdi Saki and his band Kamakan come from southern Iran and are Arabic-speaking Iranians. Their first album “Kamakan” was released last year by Noufe Music. Their second album, which they will present at this exclusive pre-release concert, highlights even more the Persian, Arabic, and African traditions of their home region. Looking forward to rocking the dancefloor at silent green, they sent the following message: “The future of the world is dark, they say. Perhaps, but we are still here, building a bridge with music to give hope to people, who want the world a better place.”
- 11„Ambivalent wie die Moderne selbst“ — Iran Journal
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Uns hat das große Interesse beeindruckt. Alle Veranstaltungen waren sehr gut besucht, oftmals ausverkauft. Der Zuspruch aus der iranisch-deutschen Community hat uns dabei besonders berührt. Ein absolutes Highlight war das Konzert der Band Kamakân Ende Januar. Die Band kommt aus Ahvaz (Khuzestan), dem arabischsprachigen Teil des Iran, und verbindet die unterschiedlichen musikalischen Strömungen ihrer Heimat. Es war ein fantastischer Abend im Weddinger Silent Green mit mehreren hundert Leuten – der erste Auftritt von Kamakân in Deutschland.
- 12با احسان رسولاف از آلبومهای جدید داماهی، پالت و بمرانی تا "کماکان باقی" مهدی ساکی · Honar Online
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آلبوم دوم مهدی ساکی آماده است و در حال حاضر در جشنواره اجراهای بینرشتهای بخشهایی از آلبوم را اجرا میکند. این آلبوم با تنظیم سردار سرمست و بانام "کماکان باقی" منتشر خواهد شد. گروه پالت و بمرانی مشغول فعالیت روی آلبوم سومشان هستند. داماهی و بمرانی و آلبوم "کماکان باقی" احتمالاً در جشنواره حضور دارند.
- 13Kamakan | EBB Music
2 quotes
Their first album released in 2015 instantly became a classic for the Iranian youth. The band went on to compose a second album which they never got the authorisation to be released in Iran. Their third album IS’’ was finally released in September 2023.
After a residency in France in November 2023, Kamakan took a new turn and started incorporating electronic sounds to offer audiences the chance to connect with rare repertoires.
- 14The Diver — Kamakan
2 quotes
the diver – غوآص by Kamakan published on 2026-08-08T13:56:29Z به نام خدآ سالهاست و کماکآن مرآ عهدی ست با شآدی که شآدی آنِ من باشد... غوّاص امّا غم نامه ایست برای ِ جهانِ الانِ مآن، از ونکوور تا تهران... هشداری ست به مردمِ خوبِ باقیمانده (و حتی آنها که بدی میکنند!) از سرزمینی که شهرِ یاران بود و خاکِ مهربانآن! وصفِ حالِ ماست، به جهانِ اَلان که قشنگ نیست! وما هنوز زنده آییم و امید داریم❤️ _____________ غَوّآص The Diver... جمع آوری و تنظیم مهدی ساکی ،سآم مظاهری Composed&Arranged Mahdi Saki,Sam Solino شعر حسین جنتی Songwriter Hossein Jannati ضبط و مسترینگ Recording and mastering Andy Schichter Park Sound Studio Vancouver موشن گرافی امیرمسعود صالحی Motion graphics Amirmasoud salehi تهیهکننده کماکآن Produced KAMAKAN project LTD. 2025 Genre Folk & Singer-Songwriter
https://i1.sndcdn.com/artworks-mwOrR66Ou6qVYJqE-xZtdmg-large.jpg
- 15Kamakan - Album by Mehdi Saki - Apple Music
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Listen to Kamakan by Mehdi Saki on Apple Music. 2015. 12 Songs. Duration: 49 minutes.
"datePublished":"2015-04-21"
- 16Kamakan — Mehdi Saki — Spotify
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Listen to Kamakan - Album by Mehdi Saki | Spotify Kamakan Mehdi Saki 2015 12 songs , 49 min 2 sec Look Mehdi Saki Sugar Mehdi Saki Yumma Mehdi Saki ... Means Mother Mehdi Saki Obscure Mehdi Saki Invitation Mehdi Saki No Longer Exists Mehdi Saki Clapping Mehdi Saki Come, Come Slowly Mehdi Saki Kamakan Mehdi Saki Curl Upon Curl Mehdi Saki The Smile Mehdi Saki
- 17Kamakan — official SoundCloud album
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Kamakan by Kamakan published on 2022-09-12T11:23:43Z Genre Jazz & Blues Contains tracks 01. Mehdi Saki - Shoufi by Kamakan published on 2022-09-12T11:23:41Z 02. Mehdi Saki - Shekar by Kamakan published on 2022-09-12T11:23:40Z 03. Mehdi Saki - Yuma by Kamakan published on 2022-09-12T11:23:39Z 04. Mehdi Saki - Yani Madar by Kamakan published on 2022-09-12T11:23:38Z 05. Mehdi Saki - Gom Andar Gom by Kamakan published on 2022-09-12T11:23:37Z
- 18IS" — Kamakan — Spotify
2 quotes
https://i.scdn.co/image/ab67616d00001e0247192db532f8d6d6885b396e
IS" Kamakan 2023 11 songs , 52 min 47 sec Rooh Kamakan Asl Kamakan Dolate Eshgh Kamakan Jaar Kamakan Mire Doroghin Kamakan Motevalede Shiraz Kamakan Chobi Kamakan Sang Sang Kamakan Ast Kamakan Shekaro Ghand Kamakan VaTabuga Kamakan
- 19Messenger of the Sun — Kamakan
2 quotes
https://i1.sndcdn.com/artworks-Tnefd26VLhCsa0DD-zNbIYA-large.jpg
رسول آفتاب - Messenger of the Sun by Kamakan published on 2026-08-07T17:28:01Z
- 20Again the Rain, Again the War — Kamakan
2 quotes
https://i1.sndcdn.com/artworks-JzhysPi4v1TxgaXm-77usXg-large.jpg
kamakan – باز بارآن ؛ باز جنگ by Kamakan published on 2026-08-11T07:11:29Z