Roya Arab (born 1967) is a British musician and

archaeologist Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of Artifact (archaeology), artifacts, architecture, biofact (archaeology), biofacts or ecofacts, ...

. Born in

Tehran Tehran (; , ''Tehrân'') is the capital and largest city of Iran. It is the capital of Tehran province, and the administrative center for Tehran County and its Central District (Tehran County), Central District. With a population of around 9. ...

, she is an exile of the

Iranian Revolution The Iranian Revolution (, ), also known as the 1979 Revolution, or the Islamic Revolution of 1979 (, ) was a series of events that culminated in the overthrow of the Pahlavi dynasty in 1979. The revolution led to the replacement of the Impe ...

Early life and education

Roya Arab was born in Tehran, Iran. She attended Maktabe Tarbiat school in Tehran, while also studying at summer schools in Montana, Switzerland, and St Georges in Ascot. After the 1979 revolution she boarded at Ancaster House School in Bexhill-on-Sea, before taking her A-levels at North Westminster Community School. She then completed one year of a copywriting/advertising course. She joined the Institute of Archaeology (UCL) in 2000 to complete an Archaeology BA and Public Archaeology MA and remained as an Honorary Research Associate from 2008 until 2015. She is currently undertaking research into music in Iranian films and what it reveals about society’s attitudes to music and musicianship. In 2020 she was made Associate Member of SMEI and CIS at

SOAS The School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS University of London; ) is a public research university in London, England, and a member institution of the federal University of London. Founded in 1916, SOAS is located in the Bloomsbury area ...

, University of London.

Musical career

Arab learned the craft of singing during jam sessions around London in the early and mid-1990s. She was the first Iranian female to receive a publishing and recording deal from a major Western label, when she was signed as a member of

Archive An archive is an accumulation of historical records or materials, in any medium, or the physical facility in which they are located. Archives contain primary source documents that have accumulated over the course of an individual or organ ...

Island Records Island Records is a multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It was founded in Jamaica by Chris Blackwell, Graeme Goodall, and Leslie Kong in 1959, and was eventually sold to PolyGram in 1989. Island and A&M Records, another ...

in 1994, and the album ''

Londinium Londinium, also known as Roman London, was the capital of Roman Britain during most of the period of Roman rule. Most twenty-first century historians think that it was originally a settlement established shortly after the Roman conquest of Brit ...

'' was released in 1996. The band broke up shortly after. Arab went on to work with various artists, including Leila in

Like Weather ''Like Weather'' is the debut studio album by English electronic musician Leila. It was released on 30 March 1998 by Rephlex Records. Critical reception Reviewing ''Like Weather'' for AllMusic, John Bush noted the album's "tremendously ecle ...

, Grooverider in ''Mysteries of Funk'', followed by some work in

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 ...

with

Zend Avesta Zend or Zand () is a Zoroastrian term for Middle Persian or Pahlavi versions and commentaries of Avestan texts. These translations were produced in the late Sasanian period. ''Zand'' glosses and commentaries exist in several languages, including ...

and Naab, before working on a project with

Mike Figgis Michael Figgis (born 28 February 1948) is an English film director, screenwriter, and composer. He was nominated for two Academy Awards for his work on '' Leaving Las Vegas'' (1995). Figgis was the founding patron of the independent filmmakers' ...

. '' Courtesy of Choice'' (2000) by Leila was the last album Arab appeared on before a hiatus to study archaeology. In 2008 Arab sang on ''Blood, Looms and Blooms'', before joining Leila on a European tour in 2009. Arab started working with young Iranian musicians leaving Iran including Hichkas and Ash Koosha, and performing live again. In 2011 the live recording of ‘Killing fields’ with Hichkas was made available to the public. ‘Mooye Parishoon’ was released in 2013 for raising awareness of domestic violence and abuse. She appeared on Rosko John 's debut solo album Call to Arms. Arab started collaborating wit
Arshid Azarine
in 2018 and recorded a song for his 2019 album. A collaboration with Rone appeared in 2021.

Archeological archiving and socio-political commentary

During and after Arab's studies in public archaeology at the UCL she has catalogued historical documents including the Wertime Collection and the Campbell archives. Arab promotes the cultures of the MENA region with a special interest in

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 ...

. She has worked with organisations and festivals such as Nour (RBKC) and the London Middle East Institute at

SOAS, University of London The School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS University of London; ) is a public university, public research university in London, England, and a constituent college, member institution of the federal University of London. Founded in 1916, ...

to curate cultural and educational events celebrating the heritage of Middle East and North Africa. In 2019, Arab co-edited an issue of '' The Middle East in London'' covering Iranian cinema.

Selected discography

* 1996: 

 (Island Records): "All Time", "So Few Words", "Ubiquitous Wife" (a.k.a. "Headspace"), "Darkroom", "Londinium", "Nothing Else", "Parvaneh (Butterfly)", "Last Five", "Ubiquitous Wife Remix" (hidden song) * 1998 & 2020: Leila, Like Weather: "Blue Grace" (R. Arab, L. Arab) * 1998: Grooverider, Mysteries of Funk: "Rainbows of Colour" (Roya Arab, Grooverider, Optical) * 1999: Naab, L’étranger: "L’étranger" (R. Arab, Naab) * 2000 & 2020:

, Organique: "À la Manière" (Roya Arab, Rebotini) * 2000: Leila, Courtesy of Choice: "Different time" (R. Arab, L. Arab, G. Jones, Woolley) * 2008: Leila, Blood, Looms and Blooms: "Daisies, Cats and Spacemen" (R. Arab, L. Arab) * 2011: R. Arab & Hichkas, "Killing Fields" live (R.Arab & Hichkas) * 2012: Rosko John, "Tactical light" (Rosko John and R.Arab) * 2013: Funkshy, Think before you do: “Funkshy’ (T.Omar & R.Arab) * 2013: Hichkas, R. Arab & Dariush "Mooye Parishoon" (Hichkas, R. Arab, Dariush & Mahdyar Aghajani) * 2014: R. Arab, "Siren's call" film score for ''Hinterland'', a short film by Sebastian Lister * 2014: Rosko John, Call to Arms: "March Forth" (Rosko John, R. Arab & M. Aghajani) * 2019: Arshid Azarine, Sing me a Song “Hidden Hell” (R.Arab & A.Azarine) * 2021: Faubourg, Rith Banney and Roya Arab ''Lost'' * 2021: Rone, Rone & Friends, “Twenty 20” ( Rone, R.Arab)

Selected publications

* Arab. R & Rehren.Th 2004. "The pyrotechnological expedition of 1968". In: Th. Stöllner, R. Slotta and A. Vatandoust, eds), Persiens Antike Pracht, Bergbau Handwerk Archäogie, Deutsches Bergbau-Museum, Bochum: 550–555. * Arab, R. & Rehren, Th. 2004. ‘The Wertime Pyrotechnological Expedition of 1968’, IAMS, Vol 24: 29–34. * Arab, R. 2005. Student Guide Book for IHF educational programme in conjunction with the British Museum exhibition British Museum with Achaemenid assistance from S. Razmjou, edited by F. Hakimzadeh & R. Dwyer. * Arab, R. 2009. "Comments and Reflections on ‘Archaeology in Conflict: Cultural heritage, site management and sustainable developments in conflict and post- conflict states in the Middle East" in www.wikiarc.org * Arab, R. 2010. "Open letter on Iranian heritage". ''Public Archaeology'', Vol 9, No 2: 108–120. * Arab, R. & N. Earl. 2011. "Persians, Classics and Secondary Education", ''The Journal of Classics Teaching'', no. 24, Autumn 2011: 11–14. * Arab, R. 2013, "Terror and I", 23 July 2013 in www.mediadiversified.org. * Arab, R. 2014. "Campbell, John Nicholl Robert ii. The Archives", ''Encyclopædia Iranica''. * Arab, R. 2015. "Review and reflections on Culture in Crisis Conference V&A April 2015". 20 May 2015 in www.wikiarc.org * Arab, R. 2015. "Can Composition and Performance be Research?" 25 November 2015. City University Blogspot. * Arab, R. 2016. "Swaying to Persian and Middle Eastern tunes in London", ''The Middle East in London''. Vol 12, No 2, February/March 2016: 19–20. * Arab, R. 2016. "The changing use of music in Iranian films reflects a complex culture in flux". 30 April 2016 in www.mediadiversified.org. * Arab, R. 2017. “How Men Became the Sole Adult Dancing Singers in Iranian Films” in Music on Screen: From Cinema Screens to Touchscreens. Musicology Research (online) Autumn 2017, Vol. 3. * Arab, R. 2019. “Parviz Sayyad: Socio-political commentator dressed as village fool” in The Middle East in London. Volume 15 – Number 2 February–March 2019

Reports

* 2009. "Review and reflections on: Is the kingdom of Saudi Arabia prepared to defend Human Rights, Civil Liberties and Fight Terrorism". A Conference by Society Outreach, House of Lords, 7 December 2009. * 2009. "A report of the seminar for National Interfaith week" at the Zoroastrian Centre in London ( ZTFE), 18 November 2009. * 2010. "An overview of ‘State terrorism and Libya’s record on human rights: fact of fiction? A Conference by Society Outreach", House of Lords, 27 January 2010.

References

External links

Roya Arab personal website

Roya Arab page at the Institute for Archaeo-Metallurgical Studies
{{DEFAULTSORT:Arab, Roya Living people 20th-century Iranian women singers 1967 births Alumni of the UCL Institute of Archaeology British archivists British women archaeologists Exiles of the Iranian Revolution in the United Kingdom British music historians British women guitarists British women pianists Iranian guitarists Iranian pianists Iranian women guitarists Iranian women pianists Musicians from Tehran Iranian women archaeologists 20th-century British women singers 21st-century British women singers