BBC Music Introducing Featured
artist-songwriter
Produces music for live events and sync licensing for film, television, and advertising.
About
Dariush Rashidi was born in Hull, England. His family, originally from Iran, moved to Worcestershire when he was five.He considers himself a world citizen and believes that“the earth is but one country and mankind its citizens”.From a young age, Dariush loved music and started with the recorder at school. At five, he wanted to learn the keyboard. By eleven, he was listening to guitar-driven music like heavy rock, punk, and grunge, and decided to learn guitar, which later became his main songwriting instrument.At school, Dariush joined bands and began experimenting with songwriting. He learned to play bass guitar and performed with several groups. In his teens, he also sang in some of these bands.Traveling at a young age broadened his musical tastes and led him to explore softer styles. At sixteen, he bought an acoustic guitar, a decision he is still happy about.As he gained experience, he began writing songs as a solo artist and traveled from city to city, performing at live venues, bars, pubs, and cafes.He opened for well-known artists at a popular venue in High Wycombe, including Tom Hingley from the Inspiral Carpets and Snow Patrol, who became famous just weeks later while touring for their debut album ‘Final Straw’.A few years later, Dariush released singles like ‘Emma’ and ‘Unsure’, both of which were played on BBC Hereford and Worcester’s BBC Introducing radio show. For a short time, he changed his stage name from ‘Dariush Rashidi’ to ‘Darsh’, before switching back to ‘Dariush Rashidi’.He continued writing and recording demos, and performed live at open mics and gigs in Birmingham.Around 2010, Dariush moved to London and took an extended break from music.In 2019, he moved back to Worcestershire.He attended a retreat organized by the Bahai community at Stanton House, near the Cotswolds. There, he met other Bahai musicians who sang and played music inspired by the writings of Baháʼu’lláh, the founder of the Bahai Faith. Joining in, he felt a deep spiritual connection. The experience moved him and changed his approach to songwriting.During the 2020 lockdown, Dariush felt inspired to create again. He picked up his guitar and started writing songs using the writings of the Bahai Faith as lyrics.Years later, Dariush started recording his music again after a long break. He shared his songs on Zoom calls, which was a new and interesting way for him to get feedback from others.Alongside his songwriting, he started an online open mic called One People Collective. Musicians, artists, and poets performed on a Zoom call that was broadcast on social media, and after the show, they had meaningful conversations about virtues and uplifting topics.At the end of 2022, Dariush released ‘O My Friend in Word’, which was played on BBC Hereford and Worcester’s BBC Introducing radio show and was internally recommended to Tom Robinson's BBC Introducing Mixtape on Radio 6. It was his first song to feature the writings of Baháʼu’lláh. Later, his song ‘Our Story’, about ten Baha’i women executed for their beliefs in 1978, also received airplay from Andrew Marston. He spoke on the BBC’s “Story Behind The Song” segment, where he shared his musical journey with BBC Music Introducing.Dariush also provides creative performance coaching to help independent artists overcome creative blocks and find direction in their careers.
Contact
For all bookings, interviews, and other enquiries, please fill in the form below:
Thank you
I'll respond to you as soon as possible.