In any case, the “Sepehr” presented by state television in the early 1990s stood worlds apart from the musical sensibilities of a large segment of society, whose preferred music was arriving from Los Angeles. Yet, within that unfamiliar environment and amid the limited access available to citizens at the time, the opening line of Soheil Mahmoudi’s lyrics, “Call Upon the Spring,” became etched in the minds of those who heard it. Compared with other musical productions of the Islamic Republic of Broadcasting (IRIB), listeners sensed a subtle but noticeable difference.
Sepehr never severed ties with the artistic community of earlier generations. Photographs that remain from those years testify to this, showing him alongside a wide spectrum of artists: Touraj Negahban, Anoushiravan Rouhani, Nematollah Aghasi, Homayoun Khorram, Nasser Malek-Motiei, Fardin, Bijan Taraqi, Nader Golchin, Nasser Masoudi, Pouri Banayi, and many others whose names alone could fill a book.
