Meet Behnam Pour, the Iranian musician living in Belfast who wants to share the positive side of the country's culture with Northern Ireland.
The acclaimed musician played his latest sold-out concert in Belfast at the Accidental Theatre last week. He is known for playing the santoor, a traditional 72-string instrument believed to be thousands of years old.
Behnam came to the city a few years ago as an asylum seeker, after travelling around Europe and teaching music in universities throughout Germany and Poland for many years. He has also created music for a variety of Hollywood movies and TV series
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Originally from Kerman, Iran, he was forced to flee his home country after three years as a political prisoner, which resulted in a broken nose and injuries to his hips.
Despite living in many different countries over the years, the 46-year-old said he's "very happy in Northern Ireland."
"I have taught many people around the world and have played concerts in more than 100 cities worldwide. I have lived in many countries around the world but I'm very happy in Northern Ireland. The people are amazing here," Behnam told Belfast Live.
"After leaving Poland, I came to Belfast just for a visit for a few days then wanted to move onto Scotland and then London, as London is a big city where I could improve myself and my job. But now I'm here.
"After two days, I realised Belfast is the capital of music for UNESCO and decided to stay here.
"I have been helped along the way by Darren Ferguson from Beyond Skin. He helps people like asylum seekers and refugees, they sponsor at-risk artists.
"I'm very lucky, I've been helped to stay here by Darren. He has impacted on my life and I really appreciate what he's done for me."
Behnam said his music is deeply inspired by a connection to nature, which he said can be found in abundance here in Northern Ireland.
In particular, he loves how close you can be to the surrounding countryside while living in the heart of Belfast.
He said: "I have travelled all over the world and lived in many cities, but I can never forget one time, three months ago, when I made my first journey to Antrim.
"Maybe it's not so interesting for people from here, but I can't forget it. If I had a little money and a small car, I would stay there. I have to get inspired from nature.
"Here, after five or ten minutes of driving, you can be into the country and can see sheep and cows. I prefer to live surrounded by sheep now."
Although he has played a handful of concerts around Northern Ireland, Behnam said he would like to play more. He said his main driver and inspiration for this isn't money, but a way for him to spread joy and educate about Iranian music.
He said: "I get good feedback from people when I pay music here, and I'm very satisfied with how nice people here are.
"But as a professional musician, since last year I've only had a few concerts. It's not a good situation. I had a concert in Stockholm in 2019 and 4,500 people attended, they stood for 25 minutes and listened to my music. I think I can do this here, why not? But it's hard to get support.
"I've sent more than 100 emails to different organisations and promoters asking for support. I don't care about money. I want to integrate with Irish guys and play music, but I've had no response.
"I find it hard to get support with organising concerts here, just Gillian from Accidental Theatre and Darren, who have been a big help. They cannot support me enough, so I'm hoping to get some further help to play more concerts.
"At the last concert, an old woman came up to me and said she really enjoyed the music. The effect of my music on her made her very emotional.
"That part of my spirituality and performance is much more important to me than money. My art is very deep and traditional. It comes from the deep culture of Iran, the instrument is around 7,000 years old.
"People know Iran as a negative country as our government is a dictatorship. I'm trying to introduce Iranian people and show we're different from our government, and with my performance I want to introduce the culture of my people.
"When I play, people ask me about the history of Iran and its culture, and the history of music in the country. Playing concerts, I can teach people more about the culture of the country."
Behnam has said anyone who can help him with organising future concerts can get in touch on email at beni.ban@aol.com
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