Charlotte de Witte ‘Azadi’ EP feat. NAVA – Farsi meets techno as symbol of hope & freedom
All proceeds going to women’s rights organisation Femena
Three-tracker out November 5th on KNTXT – Get it HERE
“These tracks are, in their own way, a small act of resistance. A reminder that people
who are silenced, displaced or oppressed still have stories to tell and that those stories deserve to be heard.” de Witte
Charlotte de Witte’s new EP ‘Azadi’ feat. NAVA is where techno meets Farsi, where organic art meets AI, where music meets technology, becoming a focus of resistance, hope and freedom. The three-tracker aims to be just that – the title track ‘Azadi’ (‘freedom’ in Farsi) especially is already igniting her sets. Together with ‘Omid’ (‘hope’) and ‘Tales of the Desert’, the EP drops November 5th on KNTXT. All the proceeds from the EP will go to Femena who support Women Human Rights Defenders & feminist organizations & movements in MENA & Asia.
‘A dear friend shared a story from NAVA, a product of artificial intelligence, created by a London-based artist of Iranian origin, Farbod Mehr. I was captivated by the message she was spreading: an expression of hope that sacrifice will lead to a better future. I reached out and the result is three new original tracks. Where a voice is given to those who deserve to be heard.’
de Witte is creatively on fire with a blizzard of innovative and audacious projects and achievements; ‘Azadi’ is her latest, with AI singer NAVA, created by UK-based, Iranian-born artist Farbod Mehr. Her face crafted fromclassical Iranian art, her lyrics and music reimagining Iranian folk tradition, NAVA is now an online star, even appearing in hologram form, and her songs have reached millions of listeners.
Says Charlotte, “Music transcends borders, languages and beliefs. It can carry stories that might otherwise remain unheard. It can remind us that even in the darkest moments, we are not alone. NAVA represents Iranian women banned from public performance. Unlike others, NAVA cannot get arrested for using her voice. These tracks are, in their own way, a small act of resistance. A reminder that people who are silenced, displaced or oppressed still have stories to tell and that those stories deserve to be heard.”
“There’s an old Persian verse at the heart of Azadi: ‘Within despair lies so much hope; the darkest night must end in dawn.’ NAVA exists to revive Persian heritage, carrying its music, art and words to a new generation. Working with Charlotte gave that heritage a pulse. Azadi is that old hope, reborn for today.”– Farbod Mehr
‘Azadi’: the heartfelt title track’s techno beat, fast percussion with spacey FX, and dark, assertive, acid-rich theme showcase NAVA’s echoing, soaring, melodic voice in the breakdowns. On ‘Omid’, urgent, jittery bass & beats, futuristic stabs, a high two-note riff like a call to arms, features NAVA’s deep, echoing and layered spoken vocal in Farsi. ‘Tales of the Desert’ is all breakdown, with spikes of intermittent sound – mysterious, melodic synth and slow chords, hissing brushes, slow bursts of acid with high, tuneful vocal notes.
All EP proceeds go toFemena who advance women’s rights and gender equality in Iran and throughout the SWANA region. They support women human rights defenders and feminist movements, advance peace, solidarity, and South-South cooperation, particularly in contexts of repression, conflict and crisis. Learn more at: https://femena.net/.
Farbod Mehr is a London-based artist and founder of AI-native visual content & character production studio V Generate. Trained in architecture at Central Saint Martins, his work (held by Christie’s, Sotheby’s, Bonhams and the Aga Khan Museum) spans geometry, Persian heritage and digital art. He is also a co-author, alongside Google Research and Google DeepMind, of a NeurIPS Creative AI paper on evaluating generative AI for culturally situated creativity.
The release follows the news that de Witte just been voted No 6th overall in DJ Mag’s Top 100 DJs (a jump of 3 places since last year) & World’s #1 Techno DJ for the 7th time.
‘Azadi’ EP is out November 5th on KNTXT. Get it HERE.
Tracklist:
A1: Charlotte de Witte feat. NAVA – Azadi
A2: Charlotte de Witte feat. NAVA – Omid
B1: Charlotte de Witte feat. NAVA – Tales of the Desert
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