Chess Of The Wind

Description

Chess of the Wind is the lost soundtrack of the forbidden queer-gothic-horror masterpiece of Iranian cinema released in 1976, "L'Echiquier du Vent," restored by the director and released for the first time. A masterpiece of world cinema, L'Echiquier du Vent by Mohammad Reza Aslani was banned in Iran and considered lost until a complete copy of the film reappeared in 2014. Restored by the Martin Scorsese Foundation, released in 2020, and critically acclaimed, L'Echiquier du Vent is now recognized as one of the most visionary and daring films of pre-revolutionary Iranian cinema. The film's soundtrack, composed by one of the country's most revered composers, Sheida Gharachedaghi, is equally bold—a combination of Persian classical instrumentation and atonal dissonance drawn from her training at a Western conservatory. The woodwinds, traditional Persian percussion, and the eerie wail of the ancient sheypour horn reflect the film's struggle between feudalism and modernity. As one expert noted, it sounds like Ornette Coleman visiting a holy site in Iran. For this edition, the director and composer collaborated with Gita Aslani Shahrestani, a film specialist, to reimagine and restore the music, combining it with works from another Aslani/Gharachedaghi project (still unreleased), Therefore Hangs A Tale. The result is a new work that Aslani has long dreamed of creating. The piece is a sonic journey that evokes the feminist themes of the film, tracing a long struggle for freedom in Iran from the early 20th century to today's Women Life Freedom Movement. Mississippi Records is proud to release a major work from two of the most important yet underappreciated Iranian artists. The 8-page booklet includes liner notes, film photos, lyrics translations, and an in-depth history by Gita Aslani Shahrestani.