Interplay: August 2024

Q&A with Mahzad Fard

Interplay Program Coordinator, Jennifer Trijo sat down with Mahzad Fard

Mahzad Fard, (2024) Photography by Jonathan van der Knaap.

Mahzad Fard, endearingly known as ‘Maz’, is an Iranian musician based in Kaurna Yerta. She has studied Persian classical music from an early age, mentored by her father a professional santoor player. Upon moving to Australia, she joined an ensemble called NAVA, performing Persian classical music in various festivals and events nationally.

As a musician who has predominantly played in ensembles, how do you feel embarking on a solo path in your career development?

I’m excited. It’s the first time I am putting myself up there. Playing in an ensemble is a great privilege but the music is the focus. This time I am thinking of other aspects of performing, it’s very new – structuring the whole show and how I can use my music to communicate about myself as a person, not just a percussionist who performs in a band—I feel like the vulnerability is going to come out.

One of your goals is to explore a fusion between your musical roots and other genres and cultures, what kind of collaborations have you been working on this year?

I’m practising with my ensemble and we have a concert in November. I also collaborate with a sitar and hang drum player, Simon and Tony, who are Australian but are very interested in Eastern music and they travel overseas to play and learn more about other cultures’ music. This is very new. I’ve performed with musicians mainly from Iran before Interplay, but something that once felt unreachable, such as collaborations with musicians with diverse backgrounds, now is not. I feel confident to ask people to collaborate. There is a possibility of collaborating with other Interplay artists during the live performance series, too. I’m being mentored by Grayson Rotuma, a First Nations artist and co-director of CASM. I plan to collaborate with a First Nations artist for my live show in November to increase my knowledge about their culture.

You play the daf, a Persian frame drum. Tell us a bit about your instrument and style of playing.

These are traditional Persian instruments. The daf is a mesmerising musical instrument steeped in history and cultural significance. This large frame drum adorned with rings, produces a rich sound that can evoke a wide range of emotions.

What have you learned from participating in the Interplay program so far?

I’ve learned a range of things about how to be involved in festivals, how to release music. One of the main things Interplay had done for me was boosting my confidence as a musician. The program was not just focused on the technical, but also on mental health, how to use your creativity, and that your creativity is not just for others. Getting to know artists, and getting mentored by them was an amazing opportunity. The other artists in the program, we became like a family. I feel so connected to them in a very short time, even to the Nexus staff. They have done a lot. It’s like a hidden gem. I wasn’t aware Nexus Arts was more than a venue. This a very amazing support system.