Iranian daf virtuoso Asal Malekzadeh has recently signed a contract with the famous German manufacturer of percussion instruments Meinl Percussion to produce musical pieces.
Malekzadeh is a master of percussion instruments (both Iranian and western) and other than daf, she plays instruments such as dayereh, drums, cajon and congas, Mehr News Agency reported.
Daf is a large Persian frame drum used in popular and classical music. The frame is usually made of hardwood with many metal ringlets attached, and the membrane is usually goatskin. It is mostly used in the Middle East and Central Asia. Some dafs are equipped with small cymbals, making them look like a large tambourine.
Born in Tehran, Malekzadeh, 29, has been playing daf for over 20 years. She has held several concerts and workshops in Iran and around the world, participated in several local and international festivals and won some awards. Moreover, she has been successful in establishing a music group, producing an album and writing a book on daf. She is also a professor of music at Alzahra University in Tehran.
She has collaborated with various music bands in different countries including the US, France, Poland, Switzerland, Germany, Russia, Turkey, Romania, the Netherlands, Uzbekistan and Iraq.
In her workshops, Malekzadeh teaches how to play daf, Iranian rhythms and how to use them in playing western percussion instruments like cajon. She produced her album ‘Rejoicing Dafs’ in 2014 in Europe.
