‘My generation have deluded themselves’: ex-Vampire Weekender Rostam on pop, protest and life as an Iranian-American

Inspired in part by Zohran Mamdani’s NY mayorship, Rostam Batmanglij’s gorgeous new album fuses Americana with sounds of the Middle East. So why isn’t his mum happy? The first song Rostam Batmanglij ever learned to play on guitar was Chuck Berry’s Johnny B Goode, the quintessentially American rock’n’roll hit about being an American rock’n’roll star. “It doesn’t get more American than that,” he says, with a smile. The 42-year-old superproducer (Frank Ocean, Charli xcx, Carly Rae Jepsen) and former Vampire Weekend member is sitting across from me in a coworking cafe in London, trying to explain the fixation he’s always had with US culture.

So what is my relationship to the American flag? What is my relationship to American citizenship?” Continue reading... Interview Shaad D'Souza Inspired in part by Zohran Mamdani’s NY mayorship, Rostam Batmanglij’s gorgeous new album fuses Americana with sounds of the Middle East. So why isn’t his mum happy? T he first song Rostam Batmanglij ever learned to play on guitar was Chuck Berry’s Johnny B Goode, the quintessentially American rock’n’roll hit about being an American rock’n’roll star.

“It doesn’t get more American than that,” he says, with a smile. The 42-year-old superproducer (Frank Ocean, Charli xcx, Carly Rae Jepsen) and former Vampire Weekend member is sitting across from me in a coworking cafe in London, trying to explain the fixation he’s always had with US culture. So what is my relationship to the American flag? What is my relationship to American citizenship?” Those questions come to the fore on American Stories, Batmanglij’s third solo album and best to date. It sounds quintessentially American (pedal steel) and Middle Eastern (Amir Yaghmai, a member of the Voidz, plays the lute-like Turkish saz throughout).

Few American political figures have inspired hate from the right quite like Mamdani, who was born in Uganda and is unapologetic about his left-wing politics. It made Batmanglij think about “the idea that there’s an agenda to say what is and isn’t American,” he says. “Zohran’s election is an expansion of what is part of American leadership. “She’ll never be happy!” Explore more on these topics Share Reuse this content Inspired in part by Zohran Mamdani’s NY mayorship, Rostam Batmanglij’s gorgeous new album fuses Americana with sounds of the Middle East. So why isn’t his mum happy?

The first song Rostam Batmanglij ever learned to play on guitar was Chuck Berry’s Johnny B Goode, the quintessentially American rock’n’roll hit about being an American rock’n’roll star. “It doesn’t get more American than that,” he says, with a smile. So what is my relationship to the American flag? What is my relationship to American citizenship?” Continue reading... ‘My generation have deluded themselves’: ex-Vampire Weekender Rostam on pop, protest and life as an Iranian-American