"Baraye": The Remixes for the People of Iran

From the FUTUREMAG archive. Originally published in FUTUREMAG #03 — Afterlife (June 2023).

DOBé has partnered with other artists on a human rights project that supports the fight against oppression in Iran. Together they present "The Remixes for the People of Iran", on Human Rias's new label 7Rituals, with all proceeds going to the Woman, Life, Freedom foundation.

7Rituals' first release is a set of remixes of the powerful track "Baraye", written and produced by Iranian singer-songwriter Shervin Hajipour and inspired by the death of Mahsa Amini and its aftermath. Originally released on September 28, 2022, "Baraye" led to Hajipour's arrest the following day. He was released on bail on October 4, after a wave of international support, with high-profile names sharing his message and Coldplay performing the track at their Buenos Aires concert.

The story behind "Baraye"

After Mahsa Amini's death and the start of the protests, posts spread across social media, especially Twitter, in which people explained their personal reasons for protesting through phrases beginning with the word "for" ("baraye"). Capturing the essence of these sentiments, Hajipour wrote each line of the lyrics from a separate tweet. The result touches on low life satisfaction, women's rights, children's rights, refugees' rights, animal rights, the environment, recession and poverty, theocracy, outdated social and religious taboos, militarism, corruption, freedom of speech and more.

Iran's protest anthem was viewed more than 40 million times in less than two days and won the Grammy Award for Best Song for Social Change.

The remixes

The package includes remixes by DOBé, Human Rias, Jan Blomqvist, ANDATA, Pega, RSRRCT, Victor Ruiz and Tao Andra, blending contemporary electronic styles with renowned global artists. The remixes will be played at major festivals such as EXIT, Tomorrowland, Audio River, Sea Dance Festival, Sea Star Festival and No Sleep Festival.

The release supports the protest and the message of the brave women of Iran and everyone in the world fighting for women's rights and freedom. All proceeds from the release, and from the Customised Culture merchandise created for it, are donated to Woman Life Freedom, a foundation driving "global action in solidarity with Iranian women and girls who are courageously demonstrating peacefully for their fundamental human rights and liberty of Iran."