“People have been using Middle Eastern influences in progressive music for ages. But this is authentic, because we’re from there.”
Blurred Vision guitarist/vocalist Sepp Osley is a man of conviction, and he’s every right to be forthright, because the trio are currently on an upward curve. Now based in the UK, via Canada, Iranian-born Osley, his elder brother Sohl (bass/vocals) and Ben Riley (drums) first got attention in 2010 when they covered Another Brick In The Wall.
“Even though by then we’d emigrated, we were outraged at the behaviour of the Ayatollahs back home,” explains the younger Osley. “Rock music was banned. So we came up with our own protest by doing the Pink Floyd classic and changing the chorus to, ‘Hey Ayatollah, leave those kids alone’. This was our way of backing the youth in Iran. It became a phenomenon on YouTube, and to our amazement, Roger Waters heard about this and gave [it] his full support.”
Floyd are definitely one of the band’s biggest inspirations. Another are Rush, and it’s no coincidence that Terry Brown has produced the band’s debut album Organized Insanity.
I like to think we can inspire others to protest about injustice.
“We met him when we played at a friend’s party on a farm,” recalls the elder Osley. “He also knew Terry, who turned up, loved what we did and said he wanted to work with us.”
The album is now out through Cherry Red, with the band proving their live value through a successful UK tour opening for Uriah Heep.
“So many people would come up to us after each show and say they were blown away by what we do,” says Sepp. “I think fans appreciate that our songs have political messages about standing up for your rights. These aren’t lightweight party tunes.
“Roger Daltrey recently said he was amazed that, in this era, when so much is wrong in the world, there are no bands standing up and protesting. Well, that’s exactly what we’re doing. My father was heavily involved in the Iranian military and refused to accept the current totalitarian regime, which is why we had to leave the country. But we still identify with those who live under such terror. I like to think we can inspire others to follow our example and protest about injustice.”
For more, visit blurredvisionmusic.com.
