TEHRAN-Well-known Iranian-born British singer Sami Yusuf and renowned Iranian classical vocalist Homayoun Shajarian have collaborated on a new track that will be released soon.

The two singers announced in a collaborative post on their Instagram accounts on June 13 that the new song, titled “Existentia,” is set to be released on July 1, ISNA reported.

Sami Yusuf, 43, is an Iranian-born British singer, songwriter, composer, producer and an accomplished musician. He gained widespread fame with his self-produced groundbreaking debut album Al-Muallim (2003), which sold well over 7 million copies and earned him a massive following in the Middle East, North Africa, and Southeast Asia. His music offers a fresh alternative to mainstream Western music. His fame emanates largely from the religious themes he uses in his songs.

The famous Muslim singer of Azerbaijani descent was born in Tehran. He grew up in London and learned the piano, violin, tambourine, tabla, lute, and Persian instruments tar, santur, and daf.

Born as Siamak Radmanesh, he later chose the artistic nickname Sami Yusuf. He sings in English, Arabic, Turkish, Persian, Urdu, Azeri, and Malay to complement his multi-instrumental art. As of 2020, he has released eight studio albums, five live albums, and one compilation album.

In his 2015 album “Songs of the Way,” Sami was assisted by his father Maestro Babak Radmanesh, A multi-talented artist in music and poetry, and other Iranian musicians in playing some traditional Persian instruments.

Radmanesh’s first album as a singer “Oh Heart” was released in 2015 in which he had his first duet with his son Sami. The track “Drier Land” in the album was the first collaboration between Sami and an Iranian singer.

Sami collaborated again with his father in his second studio album “And Now Love,” which was released in 2018.

Sami’s work is marked by blending different musical styles and genres, including elements from Sufi, folk, and Rock music. He uses his multilingual and multi-instrumentalist style to address social, spiritual, and humanitarian issues. In recognition of his philanthropy, in 2014, Yusuf was appointed United Nations Global Ambassador for the World Food Program.

Widely regarded as the highest-profile Muslim musician in the UK, Yusuf has appeared each year since 2010 on the list of the “World's 500 Most Influential Muslims”.

Despite being born in Iran and singing in Persian, he has not performed in Iran yet. However, he has held several concerts, including in Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and the UAE.

Homayoun Shajarian, 49, learned singing from his father, the legendary vocalist of Persian traditional music Mohammad Reza Shajarian.

At a young age, Homayoun began studying the tombak, a Persian hand drum, kamancheh (spike fiddle), and the Persian traditional vocal Avaz. He started his musical career in the 1990s. Since 2003, he has released more than 20 albums. 

During the past two decades, he has held several concerts in Iran and other countries such as Canada, Turkey, the UAE, Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden, Denmark, and Switzerland.

SS/SAB