Rostam announces new album ‘American Stories’

Rostam has confirmed details of his third solo album, ‘American Stories’.

The record - which is the former Vampire Weekend man’s follow-up to 2021’s ‘Changephobia’ - will be released via his own Matsor Projects imprint on 15th May, and will see him explore his Iranian-American identity. 

As he explains: “At some point in making this record I realised the album I wanted to make was one that reflected my identity as both Iranian and American. Pushing the most Iranian elements right up against the most American ones brought me a certain kind of joy. The first time I put microtonal saz melodies over Western guitar chords, I was thrown off by the way the two rubbed together. But the more I listened the more I became drawn to that rub. I became addicted to it.”

He’s also shared a first track from it, ‘Like A Spark’, alongside its video (which is taken from a forthcoming longer live film, American Stories: A Concert Film). He’s roped in a handful of musical pals in various roles across the record too, including The Voidz’ Amir Yaghmai, Clairo and Tobias Jesso Jr.

Of its cover art, which features the American flag upside down, he adds: “The presentation of the flag upside down is something that the Left, the Right, and the Native American Land Back movement have all made use of. It’s a symbology that’s shared by all these groups and yet could mean different things to each of us. I’m interested in that conversation; that conversation is fundamentally American.” 

Check out ‘Like A Spark’ and ‘American Stories” cover art below.