Katayoun aka discourse Katayoun aka discourse
Katayoun aka discourse, is a curator, selector, and DJ-archivist from Amsterdam. She has long dedicated herself to digging, collecting, and archiving music from 1930s-1980s Iran through storytelling and what she calls ‘musical dreaming’ by activating soulful Persian Avaz, jazz-funk, upbeat funk, and synth-pop. Her research and show titled Female Vocalists from Iran and Beyond (2017-now) is a journey of digging and deep listening across different musical landscapes. While interweaving the voices of 20th-century female vocalists from Iran and neighboring countries, she brings to the fore soothing sounds, forgotten, and lesser-known gems. Her monthly show titled Sonic Imaginaries at Kiosk Radio in Brussels, focuses on infectious Iranian grooves while musing on the Iranian archive and the influence of other musical genealogies such as Latin music, on the music production of the 1960s and 1970s Iran. Her music curation practice has brought her to different nightlife stages, art institutions, listening bars, and events, and allowed her to perform as a support act for Sevdaliza. Beyond her storytelling and soulful approach to re-activating the musical archive of Iran and re-voicing its female vocalists, she is a DJ whose euphoric and dreamlike sound curation moves dance floors across borders and genres.
As an art curator, Katayoun has made two exhibitions at Framer Framed, respectively in 2015 and 2017.
