Mehran is an avant garde guitarist in the Chicago area who also leads a band called Mehran. By trade he is a Flamenco guitarist but has had a long past history in the Rock and prog Rock Genre. Subterranea is his second album, his first being 'Angels of Persepolis'. The concept behind Subterranea is filled with fantasy, imagination and at times science fiction. The message however is social and political. Subterranea is an imaginary, surrealistic and utopian society that lies a few thousand miles beneath the earth. It exists in a different dimension than one we humans live in. The inhabitants are mirror images of the modern man yet on an opposite path from us. As we, humans, are moving toward weakening the earth's axis and our rulers run our societies with greed, aggression, exploitation, and have nearly brought the world to an spiraling collapse, Subterraneans are moving toward transcendence, longevity and live in harmony with nature. Pride and ego are meaningless concepts to them. Humility and selflessness are the bases of their being. Symbolically, Subterranea is a constructive social criticism. It is a yearning for a better society and a glimpse into an alternative reality for mankind. Mehran's skillful guitar work on Angels of Persepolis gained him a reputation as a solid and highly expressive performer and composer. Following this release he was featured in a full page write up in the Feb 2011 Issue of Vintage Guitar Magazine. He was also reviewed in their Jan 2011 where they wrote: 'Mehran's soloing covers a lot of ground but even in the quickest passages, it's melodic. The solo on 'Korean Soup' mixes his Flamenco skill with jazz harmony where he solos flawlessly over nice changes'. Barry Cleveland, editor of Guitar Player Magazine reviewed Angels of Persepolis and he wrote: 'Mehran's skillful guitar work and imaginative compositional approach shine through, however, resulting in an intriguing mlange of romantic, Middle Eastern, Spanish, Latin, Brazilian, smooth jazz, and experimental themes and tonalities with a political edge.' Skope Magazine called it 'a timeless classic'. Gary Hill of Music Street Journal wrote: 'I guess the best description for this would be world music. It combines flamenco guitar sounds with other styles into a tapestry that is compelling and beautiful. There is jazz and classical here, but there is also space rock at times. The music never becomes redundant, despite the fact that is an instrumental album. It is an intriguing disc that I like a lot. Pete Pardo of Sea of tranquility wrote: 'I can't remember the last time I heard flamenco guitar this beautiful, and molding it into the often times jazzy or proggy framework makes for wonderful listening'. In Aug 2011 Mehran was featured in the NPR's World View program with an interview and a live solo performance. Other magazines in Europe including progression magazine, IO pages of Holland and UK's Pipeline Magazine to name a few also wrote rave reviews on Mehran's playing.
