When ZÖJ walks into the studio, there are “no plans, no ideas, no structures”. The music that emerges is entirely spontaneous, made in the moment.

ZÖJ – Brian O’Dwyer and Gelareh Pour. Photo © Noora Ziaee

“ZÖJ is very much an ongoing conversation,” Brian O’Dwyer tells Limelight. “We both come from very different musical backgrounds, so we’ve had to learn how to communicate musically with each other in an improvised setting. The more we play, the longer it goes on, the depth of that conversation grows, and our understanding of each other’s language grows.” 

ZÖJ – from the Farsi word for ‘couple’ or ‘pair’ – is an experimental, cross-cultural duo, a musical meeting between Iranian-Australian musician Gelareh Pour on vocals and kamancheh and percussionist O’Dwyer. In May, they released their third album, May The Devil’s Ear Be Deaf, and this month, they’re hitting the road with it on an East Coast tour before setting their sights on Europe in late October.

May The Devil’s Ears Be Deaf was recorded while...