Farhad Darya
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Farhad Darya (
Pashto Pashto ( , ; , ) is an eastern Iranian language in the Indo-European language family, natively spoken in northwestern Pakistan and southern and eastern Afghanistan. It has official status in Afghanistan and the Pakistani province of Khyb ...
/
Dari Dari (; endonym: ), Dari Persian (, , or , ), or Eastern Persian is the variety of the Persian language spoken in Afghanistan. Dari is the Afghan government's official term for the Persian language;Lazard, G.Darī – The New Persian ...
: ; born 22 September 1962) is an Afghan singer, composer, music producer, and philanthropist. Active since the 1980s, Darya has been one of the most renowned and influential Afghan pop musicians of the modern era, contributing to establishing new wave in Afghanistan and blending urban and rural styles. Darya's career has spanned multiple genres - including semi-classical
ghazal ''Ghazal'' is a form of amatory poem or ode, originating in Arabic poetry that often deals with topics of spiritual and romantic love. It may be understood as a poetic expression of both the pain of loss, or separation from the beloved, and t ...
, pop, folk, and rock - as well as both his native languages Dari Persian and Pashto as well as Uzbek, Hindi and English. Outside his music career, Darya is a philanthropist and campaigner for human rights, having served as the
United Nations Development Program The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is a United Nations agency tasked with helping countries Poverty reduction, eliminate poverty and achieve Sustainable development, sustainable economic growth and Human development (economics), hu ...
(UNDP) National Goodwill Ambassador for Afghanistan, and is involved in numerous charitable organizations, such as ''Music Village'' and others.


Early years and education

Farhad Darya was born Farhad Nashir in
Kabul Kabul is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. Located in the eastern half of the country, it is also a municipality, forming part of the Kabul Province. The city is divided for administration into #Districts, 22 municipal districts. A ...
, Afghanistan, to a Nasher branch of the Khilji
Pashtun Pashtuns (, , ; ;), also known as Pakhtuns, or Pathans, are an Iranic ethnic group primarily residing in southern and eastern Afghanistan and northwestern Pakistan. They were historically also referred to as Afghans until 1964 after the ...
tribe. His family originated from
Kunduz Province Kunduz () is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan, located in the northern part of the country next to Tajikistan. The population of the province is around 1,136,677, which is mostly a tribal society; it is one of Afghanistan's most ethnically ...
. He is the grandson of Sher Khan Nashir. After moving back from Kunduz to Kabul he spent his senior year at Habibia High School and later enrolled at Kabul Polytechnic University, during which time he started his band. Being threatened to forcibly join the PDPA, he later transferred to
Kabul University Kabul University (KU; ) is one of the major and oldest institutions of higher education in Afghanistan. It is in the 3rd District of the capital Kabul near the Ministry of Higher Education. It was founded in 1931 by King Mohammed Nadir Shah, wh ...
to study Persian literature. During this time, he wrote music for other artists under the
pseudonym A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true meaning ( orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individual's o ...
Abr (Cloud), and started playing
Afghan Afghan or Afgan may refer to: Related to Afghanistan *Afghans, historically refers to the Pashtun people. It is both an ethnicity and nationality. Ethnicity wise, it refers to the Pashtuns. In modern terms, it means both the citizens of Afghanist ...
and
Indian classical music Indian classical music is the art music, classical music of the Indian subcontinent. It is generally described using terms like ''Shastriya Sangeet'' and ''Marg Sangeet''. It has two major traditions: the North Indian classical music known as ...
. Several times he left university to serve
conscription Conscription, also known as the draft in the United States and Israel, is the practice in which the compulsory enlistment in a national service, mainly a military service, is enforced by law. Conscription dates back to antiquity and it conti ...
in the Afghan Armed Forces. By 1988 he started teaching classical music at the University while also pursuing research in the field of music.


Music career


Goroh-e-Baran and early solo work

Darya debuted on Radio Television Afghanistan (RTA) as the leader of ''Goroh-e-Baran'' (meaning "Rain Band") with Asad Badie, Wahid Saberi, Mokhtar Majid and Jawad Rahi, with a fresh genre of folk-pop. It became one of the best known bands in the 1980s, producing hit songs such as "Aay-e-Mann,” “Roz-e-Bazar,” and “Dokhtar-e-Sardaar”. After Goroh-e-Baran disbanded, he started a solo career and claims to have introduced
multitrack recording Multitrack recording (MTR), also known as multitracking, is a method of sound recording developed in 1955 that allows for the separate recording of multiple sound sources or of sound sources recorded at different times to create a cohesive who ...
in the country in 1986. Throughout his career, Darya produced music that broke with the traditional structure of composition, orchestration, and vocal characterization. His music contains elements of Western pop with classical ones from Afghanistan and the
Indian subcontinent The Indian subcontinent is a physiographic region of Asia below the Himalayas which projects into the Indian Ocean between the Bay of Bengal to the east and the Arabian Sea to the west. It is now divided between Bangladesh, India, and Pakista ...
. Many of his songs dealt with the
Soviet–Afghan War The Soviet–Afghan War took place in the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan from December 1979 to February 1989. Marking the beginning of the 46-year-long Afghan conflict, it saw the Soviet Union and the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic o ...
and the resulting misfortunes of the war-torn nation, but also of love. Popular titles included "Freshta Jan" and "Mehrabaani". Dozens of his songs were censored due to being critical of the communist government; this censorship was lifted under
Mohammad Najibullah Mohammad Najibullah Ahmadzai (6 August 1947 – 27 September 1996) was an Afghan military officer and politician who served as the second president of Afghanistan from 1987 until his resignation in April 1992, shortly after the Afghan mujahideen' ...
. As with other artists, his songs were recorded at the
Kabul Kabul is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. Located in the eastern half of the country, it is also a municipality, forming part of the Kabul Province. The city is divided for administration into #Districts, 22 municipal districts. A ...
RTA studios but number of his songs were recorded at
Radio Prague Radio Prague International () is the official international broadcasting station of the Czech Republic. Broadcasting first began on 31 August 1936 near the spa town of Poděbrady. Radio Prague broadcasts in six languages: English, German, Fr ...
in
Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...
, including a popular song "Do Kaftar" (meaning ''Two Doves'').


Albums in exile

In 1990, Darya left Afghanistan, travelling through
Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...
and
Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
before settling in
Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...
, Germany. He started recording new content in Paris and Hamburg for his first album while in exile, ''Begum Jaan'', released in 1992, featuring more experimental work. It included one hit song, "Kabul Jaan", meaning ''Beloved Kabul''. The song was apparently played by the
Mujahideen ''Mujahideen'', or ''Mujahidin'' (), is the plural form of ''mujahid'' (), an Arabic term that broadly refers to people who engage in ''jihad'' (), interpreted in a jurisprudence of Islam as the fight on behalf of God, religion or the commun ...
rebels after they entered Kabul and, nine years later, the first song played by Radio Afghanistan after the
Taliban , leader1_title = Supreme Leader of Afghanistan, Supreme leaders , leader1_name = {{indented plainlist, * Mullah Omar{{Natural Causes{{nbsp(1994–2013) * Akhtar Mansour{{Assassinated (2015–2016) * Hibatullah Akhundzada (2016–present) ...
regime collapsed. His next studio album in 1995, called ''Afghanistan'', became a major hit, featuring diverse acclaimed tracks of different traditional Afghan styles. Its hit song was the track "Golom Golom". After this album, Darya and his wife Sultana moved to
Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...
in the United States, where he continued his career, recording his next album ''Shakar'' released in 1997. This was another hit album and had a larger number of upbeat dance tracks. Darya created the soundtrack of an Afghan American film ''In Foreign Land'', recorded and released in California in 1999. It included a hit song, "Khosham Meeayad".


''Salaam Afghanistan'' and later work

Following his return to Afghanistan after thirteen years, he worked on his next album called '' Salaam Afghanistan'' (meaning ''Hello Afghanistan'', describing his homecoming), which became a major hit in the country and the first such hit in the post-Taliban era. Thousands of CD copies were sold of the album and especially the lead track "Salaam Afghanistan" became wildly popular. It was accompanied by a video album shot entirely in Afghanistan released in 2004. On May 14 2004, Darya held a large concert at Kabul's Ghazi Stadium. Up to 45,000 enthusiastic people attended the concert, far above the number of tickets provided, in the first such major event after the Taliban regime when music was banned. The concert was listed as one of ''50 Great Moments in World Music'' by the British magazine ''Songlines'' in 2008. Darya described the event as "It was like a national independence day." Darya then collaborated with German rock musician
Peter Maffay Peter Alexander Makkay (born 30 August 1949), known as Peter Maffay (), is a Romanian-born German musician, singer, and composer. Being a veteran musician, he is often credited for motivating audiences with his emotional lyrics and powerful mel ...
with a new project for the benefit of children. This resulted in his first rock song - and the first Afghan mainstream rock song - named "Salamaalek", sung in both Dari and English, representing a greeting to the world that is both political and peaceful. The song appeared on Maffay's album ''Begegnungen – Eine Allianz für Kinder'' released by
Sony BMG Sony BMG Music Entertainment was an American record company owned as a 50–50 joint venture between Sony Corporation of America and Bertelsmann. The venture's successor, the revived Sony Music, is wholly owned by Sony, following their buyout o ...
on September 29, 2006. The album peaked at number 9 in the official German charts and the song Salamaalek was also popular in Afghanistan. Darya and the ensemble of other artists in the project performed at a ''Ein Herz für Kinder'' programme broadcast on
ZDF ZDF (), short for (; ), is a German public-service television broadcaster based in Mainz, Rhineland-Palatinate. Launched on 1 April 1963, it is run as an independent nonprofit institution, and was founded by all federal states of Germany ( ...
where 9 million euros were raised for helping children in need. In August 2007, Darya completed his new album ''HA!'' and it was later released in Afghanistan and elsewhere. Different from his previous work, ''HA!'' is considered "world pop" and was made with a fusion of Eastern and Western music. It included a music video for the hit song Dohle Bezan (Nazdeek Shodan) (meaning ''Talk To Me''/''Closer'') - a rock song with a fusion of Indian
dhol Dhol () can refer to any one of a number of similar types of double-headed drum widely used, with regional variations, throughout the Indian subcontinent. Its range of distribution in Indian subcontinent primarily includes northern areas such ...
- premiering on national television in February 2008, which called for national unity. He worked on the video for eight months and traveled to different parts of Afghanistan for it;
BBC Persian BBC Persian () is the Persian language broadcast station and subsidiary of BBC World Service which conveys the latest political, social, economical and sport news relevant to Iran and the world. Its headquarters are in London, United Kingdom. Pe ...
described the video as "a collection of scenes and symbolic movements that show the collective desire of the Afghan people for the beginning of a peaceful and common life". Regarding the unsusual genre of rock in Afghan music, Darya said in an interview: "Rock music is protest music, and in order to be able to convey this message louder to the world, this style of music, which is almost unknown in Afghanistan, is considered the best way." Darya's next album, ''Yaahoo'', was released in August 2008, calling it a "peace album" and distributing the CD for free in Afghanistan. It was created as part of a program supported by the German Development Service for promoting peace through music. The album was recorded at a studio near
Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...
and produced by Goar B.


Recent work

In 2009 he released new songs Atan, De Kor Deewaloona, and Sarzamine Man. Darya launched the ''Life Is Beautiful'' (Pashto: Zhawand Khkolai Dai) tour in 2010 traveling to different parts of the country to perform in the name of peace. This included a women-only concert in
Mazar-i-Sharif Mazar-i-Sharīf ( ; Dari and ), also known as Mazar-e Sharīf or simply Mazar, is the fifth-largest city in Afghanistan by population, with the estimates varying from 500,000-680,000. It is the capital of Balkh province and is linked by highway ...
on
World Peace Day The International Day of Peace, also officially known as World Peace Day, is a United Nations-sanctioned holiday observed annually on 21 September. It is dedicated to world peace, and specifically the absence of war and violence, such as might ...
with 15,000 in attendance, and even a concert in the war-torn
Helmand Province Helmand (Pashto language, Pashto/Dari language, Dari: ; ), also known as Hillmand, in ancient times, as Hermand and Hethumand, is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan, in the south of the country. It is the largest province by area, covering ...
in November 2010 where he safely sang to a crowd of 5,000 at the sports stadium in
Lashkargah Lashkargāh (; ), historically called Bost or Boost (), is a city in southwestern Afghanistan and the capital of Helmand Province. It is located in Lashkargah District, where the Arghandab River merges into the Helmand River. The city has a po ...
.
British forces The British Armed Forces are the unified military forces responsible for the defence of the United Kingdom, its Overseas Territories and the Crown Dependencies. They also promote the UK's wider interests, support international peacekeeping ef ...
hailed the concert, which was handled by the
Afghan National Police The Afghan National Police (ANP; ; ), also known as the Afghan Police, is the national police force of the Afghanistan, Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, serving as a single law enforcement agency all across the country. The first police officer i ...
. In 2011 he released a music video of the tour's title song Zhwand Khkolai Dai (ژوند خوکلی دی), and later released Dewhaaye Mast (دیوهای مست).Darya performed at the 7th Annual
ATN ATN is the Sydney Flagship (broadcasting), flagship television station of the Seven Network in Australia. The licence, issued to a company named Amalgamated Television Services, a subsidiary of Fairfax Media, John Fairfax & Sons, was one of the ...
Awards held in
Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, but spread chiefly to the west, or beyond its Bank (geography ...
in 2013 alongside Qais Ulfat, Valy Hedjazi, Latif Nangarhari, Jawid Sharif, Aryana Sayeed and Naghma. Darya's song Oo Ghaita (Pashto: او غایتا, meaning "those days") was released with a music video in February 2014, with Darya being both the composer and lyricist. Rather than describing hope and future peace, the song is about nostalgia of the past, in particular pre-war Afghanistan. A well-known song, it received some criticism about the language and meaning, though Darya denied that it had to do with politics, describing it as a "personal story". In 2019, there was a stir on Afghan social media about Darya quitting the music industry following a cryptic comment he made during a performance on '' Afghan Star''. He clarified in an interview with SBS Dari in Australia that it was about issues he had in his life at the time and how it "transformed" him. He released new songs in 2020: "Corona" and "Dashte Noqra". In defiance to the
Taliban , leader1_title = Supreme Leader of Afghanistan, Supreme leaders , leader1_name = {{indented plainlist, * Mullah Omar{{Natural Causes{{nbsp(1994–2013) * Akhtar Mansour{{Assassinated (2015–2016) * Hibatullah Akhundzada (2016–present) ...
's restrictions on music and artistry, he launched the Music Never Dies protest concert tour in 2022 and also debuted a new song, "Dar Molkake Ma".


Philanthropy and campaigning

Following his return to Afghanistan in 2003, Darya started a non-profit organization to improve the welfare of children. He later launched a project for street children named ''Kochah''. In 2006 his initiatives led to him earning considerable praise from high figures in Afghanistan, including a Human Rights Award. Darya became
UNDP The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is a United Nations agency tasked with helping countries eliminate poverty and achieve sustainable economic growth and human development. The UNDP emphasizes on developing local capacity towar ...
National Goodwill Ambassador of Afghanistan in 2008. He used music to "carry the message of peace", and said in an interview:
There is always a window from music to an individual's soul. That's why it has the strongest power, in my opinion. You don't need to use any force on people's minds to make them convinced ... it usicgoes directly to people's hearts.
He launched a blood donation campaign for the Afghan national security forces in 2014, 'Karzar Qatra Qatra ba Darya’, at Daoud Khan Military Hospital. Darya and his wife along with other artists campaigned for the #WhereIsMyName campaign to allow women to use their public names freely; it successfully led to a change in law signed by president
Ashraf Ghani Mohammad Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai (born 19 May 1949) is an Afghan former politician and economist who served as the president of Afghanistan from September 2014 until August 2021, when his government was 2021 Taliban offensive, overthrown by the Ta ...
in 2020. In 2020, Darya unsuccessfully wrote an open letter opposing the demolition of Kabul's historic Cinema Park, which went ahead on the order of the First VP
Amrullah Saleh Amrullah Saleh (Pashto/, ; born 15 October 1972) is an Afghan politician who served as the Vice President of Afghanistan, first vice president of Afghanistan from February 2020 to August 2021, and acting Ministry of Interior Affairs (Afghanist ...
. In 2022, he appealed to the president of Tajikistan
Emomali Rahmon Emomali Rahmon ( ; born 5 October 1952), born Emomali Sharipovich Rahmanov, is a Tajik politician who has served as the President of Tajikistan since 1994, having previously led the country as Chairman of the Supreme Assembly (Tajikistan), Su ...
to reconsider hosting homeless
Afghan refugees Afghan refugees are citizens of Afghanistan who were forced to flee from their country as a result the continuous wars that the country has suffered since the Afghan-Soviet war, the Afghan civil war, the Afghanistan war (2001–2021) or either p ...
. Darya and 14 female painters launched a visual arts campaign in 2023 in support of women in Afghanistan.


Recognition

A household name among many Afghans, Darya has been praised for promoting cultural tolerance and peace in the country. He has also received recognition in the Western media during the 2000s and 2010s amid the
International Security Assistance Force The International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) was a multinational military mission in Afghanistan from 2001 to 2014. It was established by United Nations Security Council United Nations Security Council Resolution 1386, Resolution 1386 ac ...
presence and the
War War is an armed conflict between the armed forces of states, or between governmental forces and armed groups that are organized under a certain command structure and have the capacity to sustain military operations, or between such organi ...
in the country. UNAMA described him as "Afghanistan's most popular singer" in 2009 and NPR "biggest musical star" the same year. Darya is also known in the other Persian speaking countries,
Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...
and
Tajikistan Tajikistan, officially the Republic of Tajikistan, is a landlocked country in Central Asia. Dushanbe is the capital city, capital and most populous city. Tajikistan borders Afghanistan to the Afghanistan–Tajikistan border, south, Uzbekistan to ...
, and in parts of Pakistan and Central Asia. Some Western media had nicknamed him ''Afghan Elvis'' because of his fame; Darya himself said it was "sweet" but that it was a Western invention and not something he is called in Afghanistan. The ''Afghan Elvis'' nickname is generally given to the 1970s star Ahmad Zahir.


Awards

*1990: Afghanistan: ''Singer of the Year'' by Youth Magazine/ Radio Afghanistan *1996: United States: ''Star Of The Contemporary Music Of Afghanistan'' by Afghan Radio (California) *2006: Afghanistan: Human Rights Award by Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission *2010: Germany: ''Best Male Artist'' ''of 2009'', Annual ATN Awards *2011: Netherlands: ''Best Male Artist'' ''of 2010'', Annual ATN Awards *2011: Afghanistan: ''Person of the Year'' (2010) by Radio Azadi *2013: India: ''Legend in Music'' by Annual ATN Awards


Discography

;Studio albums (Afghanistan-only releases) ;Studio albums (international releases) ;Video-only releases ;Derivative appearances *''Begegnungen – Eine Allianz für Kinder'' (2006) *'' Listen To The Banned'' (2010) *'' The Rough Guide To The Music Of Afghanistan'' (2010)


Filmography

Darya produced additional scoring and lyrics for ''Through Her Eyes'' a film by Mithaq Kazimi in 2007. Darya produced background music for the film ''In Foreign Land'' (1998).Review of ''In Foreign Land'' at Afghanland
Retrieved 1 December 2017.


References


External links


Official Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Darya, Farhad 1962 births Living people Pashtun male singers Afghan composers Afghan male musicians People from Kabul Hindi-language singers Pashto-language singers Persian-language singers of Afghanistan 21st-century Afghan male singers 20th-century Afghan male singers Afghan emigrants to the United States Afghan expatriates in the United States