Dariush Rashidi was born and raised in Hull, England, UK. His family came from Iran and they all moved to Worcestershire when he was five years old.
He is a world citizen at heart and believes that “the earth is but one country and mankind its citizens”.
Since his childhood, Dariush was very fond of music and played his first instrument which was the recorder in school, but he soon had a desire to learn the keyboard at age five. By age eleven, he began listening to guitar-based music such as heavy rock, punk, and grunge – he decided at that point that he wanted to play the guitar. This was an instrument he would go on to write music with.
Dariush was joining bands at school and experimenting with songwriting. He picked up the bass guitar and played in a number of bands. In his teens, Dariush joined some bands where he would sing.
Traveling the world at an early age influenced his change in musical taste and opened him up to explore more mellow music. He bought an acoustic guitar when he was sixteen and has not regretted it.
With experience, he went on to write songs as a solo artist. He would travel from city to city playing at live venues, bars, pubs, and cafes.
He opened for some well-known artists at a popular music venue in High Wycombe; names included Tom Hingley from the Inspiral Carpets and also Snow Patrol who became a worldwide name just weeks later – they were touring for their debut album ‘Final Straw’.
Several years later, Dariush released a few singles; ‘Emma‘ and ‘Unsure‘ were both played on BBC Hereford and Worcester’s BBC Introducing radio show. For a short while, his stage name went from ‘Dariush Rashidi’ to ‘Darsh’, and then he decided to change it back to ‘Dariush Rashidi’ again.
He would continue to write and record a number of demos and do live performances at open mics and gigs in Birmingham.
Around 2010, Dariush moved to London and took a long break from music.
In 2019, he returned back to Worcestershire.
One day, he went to a retreat event organised by the Bahai community in a place called Stanton House located at the edge of the Cotswolds. There he met some fellow Bahai musicians who were singing and playing music joyfully in the evening program. The music was inspired by the writings of Baháʼu’lláh, the founder of the Bahai Faith. Dariush joined in with the singing and felt something very spiritual in that moment. The experience and atmosphere really moved Dariush and made him change his whole approach to songwriting.
During lockdown in 2020, Dariush became compelled to be creative again. He turned to his guitar and began to write music using writings from the Bahai Faith as his lyrics.
Years later, Dariush began to record his music again, which he had not done in a long time. He played his songs on Zoom calls. It was a new and interesting experience for him, but it was a good way of getting feedback from others.
Alongside his songwriting, he also initiated an online open mic called One People Collective, where musicians, artists, and poets came to perform on a Zoom call that was broadcasted on social media, and meaningful conversations about virtues and uplifting topics would take place after the show.
Dariush released his song ‘O My Friend in Word’ at the end of 2022, and was broadcast on BBC Hereford and Worcester’s BBC Introducing radio show. It was the first song he had recorded that included the writings of Baháʼu’lláh.
The support he receives from his followers encourages him to write and record more music. He is currently in the process of making more songs and doing live performances.