Zemzemeh: Rhyme & Reason

A post-digital spiritual gathering, a bold reimagining of ancient mystical ceremony through live music, immersive visuals, and sacred poetry. Created by genre-defying duo Zemzemeh—Siyavash Doostkhah & Greta Kelly—this multi-arts performance fuses Persian Sufi mysticism, electronic sound, visual storytelling and hip-hop aesthetics into a one-of-a-kind contemporary ritual.

Featuring projected translations, animated sacred geometry and original music that merges ancient instruments, tanbour and shah kaman, with hip-hop beats, synths, and samples. Persian-language vocals bring to life the verses of Rumi, Hafez, and Attar, offering a sound that sits somewhere between a spiritual invocation and a new form of mystical hip-hop. This fusion not only reimagines the ancient teachings for modern audiences but also revitalises the cultural narrative, making it relevant to younger generations seeking meaning and identity in a fragmented world.

While grounded in mysticism and innovation, the show culminates in a powerful collaboration that brings together a Sufi Sama ceremony with the spiritual music and dance of local Yuggera/Quandamooka people. This rare exchange, blessed by both Sufi and local Aboriginal elders, is a symbolic act of shared sacred expression, a convergence of two devotional traditions, each rooted in deep listening, rhythm, and connection to the unseen.

Overall, Rhyme & Reason explores universal themes of divine love, oneness, and inner transformation in an artistic dialogue between ancestral knowledge and contemporary longing, a search for meaning across sound, story, and spirit.

Featuring:
Siyavash Doostkhah (vocals, tanbour, synths, samples)
Greta Kelly (shah kaman, vocals)
Andrew Gibbs (live visuals)
Arash Zanganeh (zarb)
William Kane-Potaka (daf)
Gavin Tyson (vocals, clapsticks)
TBC (didgeridoo and dance Artist)
Nadia Milford (Sama dance)

About BEMAC Live

BEMAC Live is a series of professionally produced shows, underpinned by BEMAC’s programming principles, that champion and elevate diverse artists, and their artistry, as creators of original work of the highest quality and relevance possible. For more information about BEMAC’s program of upcoming events, visit bemac.org.au/season/

7:30pm, Friday 24 October 2025
Queensland Multicultural Centre
102 Main Street, Kangaroo
Tickets $35/$25

There is limited parking at the QMC. We encourage all guests to use public transport. QMC is only a 2-minute walk from the Holman Street Ferry Terminal and bus route 234. You can find more info about how to get to QMC at http://qmc.org.au/visit

Photo: Ange Costes Photography