"a ferocious and visceral piece of agit-pop." - NEW YORK TIMES
"Delawari wrote or co-wrote everything on Lion of Panjishir. She has used her origins to make a seemingly timeless album that will likely sound as compelling in a decade as it does now.Lion of Panjishir showcases not only versatility, but depth, warmth, and honest emotion as well as musical sophistication. Delawari is a gifted songwriter who understands the true nature of collaboration with her equally talented friends" - Tom Jurek, ALL MUSIC GUIDE
"the album is lush with texture, deep with meaning, and beautifully played.Lion of Panjshir contains several protest songs that are delivered with deliberate hardness and abandon. But beyond the explicit content of the songs, the anger and tension surrounding the possible rise of the Taliban permeates the music itself. The blending of Eastern and Western sounds feels like a prayer that Afghanistan can move freely into the future, rather than be shackled to the past. Finally, the location and the way in which it was created make this release its own statement. I can comfortably recommend this album for its beauty, its innovation, and its importance." - ALTSOUNDS
"purchasing this album and putting it in your 2009 arsenal is an absolute must.ripe with tension and release, Delawari’s urgency is inherently shackled to each and every note of the record. Tracks hover at the brink of breakdown but never digress. Tightly controlled arrangements and big ambient sounds wander everywhere and jerk and change without warning.Delwari becomes a “Lion of Panjshir” of her own, bringing her cultural heritage and cautionary pleas to the western world. Her unique stance, straddling America and Afghanistan, brings her storytelling to listeners clearly and unapologetically. Pleasingly, Lion of Panjshir is also ripe with musical worth and talent. She’s got her feet in many standards and plays them all extremely well." - CITIZEN DICK
"the album sweeps along on extravagant rowls of fuzz and trippy, slurring string arrangements. Sitars hum, and Asian percussion pops." - POP MATTERS
“Lion of Panjshir is Psychadelic folk rock with deep influences of traditional Afghan music. Haunting Afghan lyrics suddenly morph into English, translated through Delawari’s vulnerable, girlish yet powerful voice; she embodies the raucous rants of Janis Joplin and the modest feistiness of Cat Power…The compositions have the power to drop your heart in a chord change.” - LA WEEKLY
“the last 30 seconds of “Crazy for You,” from Los Angeles folkies Lion of Panjshir, are chilling - front woman Ariana Delawari and her traditional Afghan backing accelerate feverishly, breaking a sweat Madonna never quite did, or could.” - SPIN
“Lion of Panjshir render “Crazy for You” with tabla, sitar, and acoustic strums, but lose none of the song’s erotic spark, thanks to Ariana Delawari’s bold and breathy performance.” - PITCHFORK
Delawari's choice to record "Lion of Panjshir" in Afghanistan came with a phone call in February 2007: "It was my mother from Kabul telling me that the Taliban was starting to gain power again," she says. As part of a reconstruction effort, Delawari's parents had returned to Afghanistan in 2002; she herself had been going back and forth since then, diligently documenting her travels in photographs and film. The call though, signaled what might be a last opportunity for her: "At this particular moment I had a feeling that things were shifting- that I may never have the chance to record there again." Three months later she and her bandmates Max Guirand and Paloma Udovic found themselves at her parents house in Kabul. Under the protection of two guards (AK 47s), they recorded the album right in the Delawari household. They collaborated with three Afghan Ustads: a tabla player, a rabab, player, and an 88-year-old dilruba player, the last living master of his instrument. Under previous Taliban rule these talented musicians had once dismantled and hid their instruments due to a ban on music. Delawari and her band spent several days rehearsing and recording with them. The album was then finished in Los Angeles, featuring additional guest musicians and mixed by David Lynch. The album also includes one song "Suspend Me" produced by Lynch himself. The name "Lion of Panjshir" is an homage to the Afghan revolutionary Ahmad Shah Massoud.
Her previous recordings include the song "Crazy for You", part of a Madonna tribute released by Manimal Vinyl. Delawari is also a member of the LA Ladies Choir, whose first album will be coming out soon on Teenage Teardrops. She's also currently co-directing a documentary about her family's involvement in Afghanistan, and the making of her album there with Emily Lynch.
you can read about Massoud here:
National Geographic article on Massoud: http://www.nationalgeographic.com/adventure/0110/junger.html
"We consider this our duty -- to defend humanity against the scourge of intolerance, violence, and fanaticism." -Ahmed Shah Massoud, the Lion of Panjshir
