Relierlescoeurs.org is an initiative of the Regional Baha’i Council for Quebec (Canada) and it features music, readings on a variety of themes such as hope, unity and patience, and art — all with the aim to inspire and uplift our hearts, our thoughts and our actions. Continue reading
With the recent passing of Mrs. Violette Haake, Dr. Farzam Arbab, and Mr. Douglas Martin, plus the countless other souls who have “abandoned the physical garment and have ascended to the spiritual world”, as Abdu’l-Baha puts it in one of His prayers for the departed, I thought it would be befitting to share a few Baha’i Blog Studio Session songs which relate to the departed. (You can learn more about the Baha’i concept of death here: Exploring the Baha’i Concept of Life After Death).
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Having just celebrated the fact that we’ve published over 300 Baha’i Blog Studio Sessions so far, and seeing how the Studio Sessions have been such a beautiful example of the diversity of peoples and melodies around the world, we thought it would be great to share a number of Studio Session songs on the theme of “unity”!
So here are 18 Baha’i Blog Studio Sessions based on the theme of “unity”, and let us know if there are any we’ve missed in the Comments section below. Continue reading
I’m super excited to be sharing the news that Baha’i Blog has just hit another massive milestone of having published 300 Studio Sessions so far! (Woohoo!)
There are so many wonderful songs I’d love to share, and I encourage you all to go to the Studio Sessions playlist and play them all, but for now, we thought a good way to celebrate this achievement would be to list one example from each of the locations we’ve filmed in, and then list one example from each of the languages represented so far as well. Continue reading
A blending of cultures and a meeting point of generations is what makes Radiant Heart a special album, even before you begin listening to it. Mother-daughter duo Shidan and Shadi Toloui-Wallace, have created an album with songs in English, Persian (Farsi) and Arabic. Their respective voices, languages and the cultural heritage they draw upon complements each other magnificently.
It’s been a while since we heard from Shidan or Shadi. You may remember Shidan from our interview with her about her album Phoenix of Love, which you can read here. And we last heard from Shadi when she was a guest on our podcast, which you can check out here: Baha’i Blogcast with Rainn Wilson – Episode 27: Shadi Toloui-Wallace
So with the release of this new and unique album, we thought it was time to hear from both of them again, and here’s what they shared with us: Continue reading
Rap artist Randy’d’dawn has released an album of Baha’i-inspired music titled New Day. Although unnamed, I first came across his work on the official website of the world-wide bicentenary celebrations of Birth of the Bab with this music video called “The Story of Love – The Bab, The Gate“. His gentle yet profound lyrics and his catchy rhythms were easy to recognize when I stumbled across New Day. I caught up with him to hear all about his work and I hope you enjoy our conversation: Continue reading
In the early days of Baha’i Blog’s Studio Sessions series, The Licata Brothers, Jimmy and Tony, were among some of the first we recorded (they sang “O Thou Divine Providence” and “Is There Any Remover”). I remember these two young brothers coming into the studio in Los Angeles, and when they started singing, I was struck by the folksy, nostalgic, and classic pop-rock sound coming from these two young men. The singer/songwriter duo continue to share their gift of music with others, and they recently released an album called Kindle the Flame. I got back in touch with Jimmy and Tony about their new album, and asked about the process and inspiration behind their art. Here’s what they shared with us: Continue reading
This year marks the centenary of the Baha’i Faith in Australia, and seeing as Baha’i Blog is based in Australia, coupled with the fact that we also just celebrated five years of our YouTube channel, we thought it was the perfect time to showcase all of the Baha’i Blog Studio Sessions we’ve filmed in Australia so far! Continue reading
Baha’i Blog’s Youtube channel just turned five years old, and there’s a lot to celebrate!
We started the Baha’i Blog YouTube channel in order to create high-quality Baha’i-inspired video content, and we’ve been charging ahead ever since! Fast forward five years, and we now have about 600 videos with over five million views and counting! (Woohoo!!!)
If you haven’t done so already, it would be great if you could subscribe to Baha’i Blog’s YouTube channel, and click on the little bell symbol to be notified every time we publish a new video!
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Afshin Jaberi and I met in the year 2000 during a summer school in Almaty, Kazakhstan. This was where I first heard a beautiful piece that he composed for a drama inspired by The Dawn-Breakers. Back then he was engaged in his post- graduate studies at the Almaty Conservatoire while serving the Baha’i community of Kazakhstan. Born into a Baha’i pioneering family, Afshin Jaberi was deeply affected by the early history of the Baha’i Faith, the hardships of its Founders’ lives, and the heroes who sacrificed everything for the establishment of a new religion. Later in life Afshin found a creative outlet in music to convey his emotion and feelings about those historic events. I reconnected with Afshin to talk about his music and his recent album, Eroica, which is a musical tribute to the Bab.