The Persian Dreams series brings together Brendan Dawes’s interest in technology, generative processes, time and memory with one of Iran’s foundational literary works, the Shahnameh, or Book of Kings. Written by the Persian poet Ferdowsi between around 977 and 1010 CE, the epic recounts the history, mythology and legends of ancient Persia across some 50,000 couplets. Dawes reimagines this ancient source through AI, motion-captured choreography, algorithmically generated imagery and sound, creating a contemporary digital interpretation of a text that has shaped Persian cultural identity for over a thousand years.

About the music:
This composition is a voyage alongside the mighty heroes within the myths and legends that embody Iran’s golden past. The percussions build up anticipation led by a constant tease of the tombak gradually accompanied by the powerful marching calls of the daf. It’s time.