Rostam Details Tour and First Album in 5 Years

Rostam has detailed the Changephobia follow-up he has teased in recent months. American Stories arrives May 15, with a tour of North America and Europe kicking off later that month. Check out the former Vampire Weekend member’s dates and listen to the single “Like a Spark” below. As well as the studio version, Rostam has shared a session video taken from American Stories: A Concert Film, directed by Antony Muse and due this spring.

American Stories combines Americana with traditional Persian influences, with input from Rostam’s fellow Iranian American musician Amir Yaghmai of the Voidz, a press release notes. Longtime collaborator Clairo contributes vocals to “Hardy” and Tobias Jesso Jr. co-wrote a couple of songs.

Rostam says in the press release, “At some point in making this record I realized the album I wanted to make was one that reflected my identity as both Iranian and American. Pushing the most Iranian elements right up against the most American ones brought me a certain kind of joy. The first time I put microtonal saz melodies over Western guitar chords, I was thrown off by the way the two rubbed together. But the more I listened the more I became drawn to that rub. I became addicted to it.”

The album art (see below) continues the theme, he adds. “The presentation of the flag upside down is something that the Left, the Right, and the Native American Land Back movement have all made use of. It’s a symbology that’s shared by all these groups and yet could mean different things to each of us. I’m interested in that conversation; that conversation is fundamentally American.”

Rostam is releasing American Stories through his own label, Matsor Projects, via Secretly Distribution. Other musical contributors include Daniel Aged, Paul Cartwright, Gabe Noel, Hamilton Berry, Henry Solomon, Andrew Tachine, and Joey Messina-Doerning. The record was mixed and mastered by Tom Elmhirst and Emily Lazar, respectively. Last month, Rostam shared his original version of the Vampire Weekend track “Campus.”