The ancient Persia was home of many modern instruments. Indian sitar is linked to the Persian tar, European violin to kemenche, dulcimer is a Western relative to santoor. Iran can be proud of a long history of classical music and the devotional sufi rituals.

Contrary to the inland regions, Persian gulf coast, which is Iran's southern border, is heavily influenced by Arabian music. Here the beats get faster and the melodies more pungent. The southern Bandari territory became vital source for Iranian hitmakers. Three decades ago, Aghassi made this region famous with his now classic song "Ameneh", recently a dance party hit "Dokhtar Ahvazi" came from here.

But the Bandari tunes played in the small towns and villages of Bushehr sound very different. What the locals sing is not as polished and not always easy to dance to as tunes, say, at a wedding in Tehran.

The singer Mahmoud Jahan started his Bandar-neshinan Bushehr Ensemble in 1985. The band can be easily recognized by the piercing sound of the twin whistle, which sounds very much like the Balkan bagpipe.