MEHRNAVAA - The Song of the Phoenix (with Shahab Azinmher, Farnoosh Khodadadeh, Seraphine Stragier & Nathan Daems) (2026)

The debut album The Song of the Phoenix was created by a quartet: Iranian setar player and vocalist Shahab Azinmehr, saxophonist Nathan Daems, daf player Farnoosh Khodadadeh, and multi-instrumentalist Seraphine Stragier, who plays cello, the Turkish bowed tanbur (yayli tambur), and harp. All four also sing. The record’s central image is the mythical phoenix, which burns and is reborn from its ashes; through it the musicians reflect on the beauty of life, death, and resurrection. All compositions were written by Shahab Azinmehr, inspired by a poem from The Conference of the Birds, an allegorical work by the great 12th-century Iranian mystic and poet Attar of Nishapur. The sound blends Persian and Middle Eastern instruments (setar, daf, tanbur) with saxophone, cello, and harp.

Tracklist:
1. MEHRNAVAA - Shadow of the Phoenix (with Shahab Azinmher, Farnoosh Khodadadeh, Seraphine Stragier & Nathan Daems)
2. MEHRNAVAA - Neyshaburak (with Shahab Azinmher, Farnoosh Khodadadeh, Seraphine Stragier & Nathan Daems)
3. MEHRNAVAA - Sorrow (with Shahab Azinmher, Farnoosh Khodadadeh, Seraphine Stragier & Nathan Daems)
4. MEHRNAVAA - Restless (with Shahab Azinmher, Farnoosh Khodadadeh, Seraphine Stragier & Nathan Daems)
5. MEHRNAVAA - Mourning (with Shahab Azinmher, Farnoosh Khodadadeh, Seraphine Stragier & Nathan Daems)
6. MEHRNAVAA - Dance on Fire (with Shahab Azinmher, Farnoosh Khodadadeh, Seraphine Stragier & Nathan Daems)
7. MEHRNAVAA - Ashes, Silence and Rise of the Light (with Shahab Azinmher, Farnoosh Khodadadeh, Seraphine Stragier & Nathan Daems)
8. MEHRNAVAA - Reappearance of the Phoenix (with Shahab Azinmher, Farnoosh Khodadadeh, Seraphine Stragier & Nathan Daems)
9. MEHRNAVAA - Melody of Hope (with Shahab Azinmher, Farnoosh Khodadadeh, Seraphine Stragier & Nathan Daems)
10. MEHRNAVAA - Ardor (with Shahab Azinmher, Farnoosh Khodadadeh, Seraphine Stragier & Nathan Daems)