I’m always amazed by human endurance. In the world we as Americans live in, where everything is at our fingertips and the news is sanitized so it won’t ruin our Hungry Man TV dinner, there are those like Raman Kia (aka Buddahead)who grew up not with Saturday morning cartoons, but in Iran with revolutionary guards using his apartment as a battle zone. That’s more than any six year old should see, and is the case for so many children in war torn countries.
His survival is a perfect example where music became a life preserver, which started when he was just eight years old, recording songs from an old piano and a cassette recorder. Now in his late twenties, he’s climbed and conquered many hurdles, all of which burst out in waves of reflection, pain, and empowerment. Like a simple flower growing out of the rubble, Crossing the Invisible Line is Buddahead’s (a nickname bestowed upon him by friend and fellow musician Leona Naess) debut solo release.
From his to-the-sky vocals, backdrop of souring strings and tightly woven orchestration, to a simple guitar and his stories, the light is finally shining and the clouds are breaking for this musical survivor. Crossing… beams with optimism energy in the aftermath of darkness many of us will ever know, or would ever want to know. You can feel it even when he is reliving and revealing the inner parts of himself and past experiences that were no walk in the park. For his first time out, Buddahead seems to be well on his way to better days and a fruitful path as one of America’s newly adopted songwriters.
