Siavash Shams Ghah-Farokhi (; born 26 January 1963), also known as Siavash-e Sahneh () after his hit song "Sahneh", is an Iranian-American singer, songwriter and record producer. He rose to prominence in the late 1980s with the songs "Dokhtar Irooni" ("Iranian Girl") and "Sahneh" ("Stage"), and is regarded as one of the best-known figures in Persian-language pop music of the diaspora. Other well-known recordings include "Yavash Yavash", "Chikeh Chikeh", "Dokhtar Choopoon", "Nagoo Kieh" and "Boro Digeh Doost Nadaram".
Early life Shams was born in Ahvaz, Iran, and spent his early childhood in the southwest of the country until the age of five, when his family moved to Tehran, where he completed primary school. At the age of 13 he emigrated to the United States with his older brother Siamak and settled in San Diego. He attended middle and high school in the United States before enrolling at the University of California, where he studied music and computer science.
In 2003 he married Caroline Cooley, who had previously worked as his manager. The couple adopted two sons, Noah Johan (2007) and Rocco Cyrus (2008). Shams lives in California, dividing his time between Los Angeles and San Diego.
Career Early albums Shams began his professional music career in 1985 with the debut album Hamsayeha (Neighbors), produced by Farrokh Ahi and released in collaboration with his childhood friend Alireza Amirghassemi. Most of the lyrics were written by the poet Leila Kasra, who published under the pen name Hadieh. The album reportedly sold more than 500,000 copies, which would make it one of the best-selling albums among Iranians in exile. Its best-known tracks are "Dokhtar Irooni" and "Nagoo Kieh".
Sahneh and the 1990s In 1993 Shams released Sahneh (Stage), for which he wrote most of the lyrics and music himself and which established him as a composer as well as a performer. The album gave him the nickname by which many listeners still know him. Its best-known tracks include "Sahneh", "Chikeh Chikeh" and "Yavash Yavash".
Pedar (Father) followed in 1995; on the track "To" he combined the Iranian zarb drum with techno elements. Other tracks from the album include "Pedar" and "Dokhtar Choopoon". The 1996 album Didar produced the songs "Maryam" and "Ghasre Yakhi".
With Faryad (Scream, 1997), which he largely wrote and produced himself, Shams reached audiences beyond the Iranian diaspora; the album charted on Eurodance and Latin pop listings. The track "Boro Digeh Doost Nadaram" became a hit, as did the Spanish-language "Historia de Amor" and the English-language "Grace".
Own label and later work Seda (The Voice, 2001) featured songs in Persian, English, Spanish and Greek and was the first of his albums to be handled by an international distributor. Together with his manager Caroline, Shams founded the label The World Music Records, which also released Haft (Seven, 2009). In 2003 he bought a recording studio in Los Angeles and has since worked as a producer.
Since 2010 Shams has released mainly singles, among them "Gole Man" (2010), "Dorough" (2011) and "Mohtaj" (2012). For "Mohtaj" he wrote the melody, with lyrics by songwriter and producer Shahram Kabiri; the video was directed by Ramin Kabiri. The song passed 1.5 million downloads and views within a short time and became one of his most popular recordings.
Discography Studio albums Year Title Label 1985 Hamsayeha (Neighbors) Caltex Records 1993 Sahneh (Stage) Caltex Records 1995 Pedar (Father) Caltex Records 1996 Didar Caltex Records 1997 Faryad (Scream) Avang Music 2001 Seda (The Voice) The World Music Records 2009 Haft (Seven) The World Music Records
Selected singles "Gole Man" (2010) "Dorough" (2011) "Nemidoonam" (2012) "Mohtaj" (2012) "Delbare Naz" (2012) "Yek Do Se" (2012) "Nafas" (2012) "Hesse Man" (2013) "Khoshhalam" (2013) "Gerye" (2015) "Oghyanous" (2017) "Ashegham Kardi" (2019) "Ghahveye Ghajar" (2021)
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