u said love was free
this year, i made a promise to deliver from heart. those pure murmurings from the unknown. this is just one of them.
my first painting series in a long while: "u said love was free." it's still becoming. at minimum 12 pieces, four artist proofs, where we are now.
for me, at this stage, this is a rebellion. from judgement, from cultural homogeny, anything not me, and above all, a reclaiming of human pinpoint attention.
a self expansion of form. everything, a vein into the larger system. all the attention, into all forms that speak, into the physical.
from afar
when i think of iran, there comes back to me a void.
a separation.
a place of endless beauty, yet no hope.
so much of it senseless.
one mistake after another
that has burned the lives of millions
for over four decades. but the land had not had relief,
even before that.
i am not there.
i am only there in memory —
once as a child, once as a teenager,
and then only through the memories of others.
now my connection is through the intricate cuisine.
i lost a friend there.
i don't know where she is now.
i have family there. worry persists.
i don't claim any solution without tradeoff.
it's not my place.
i don't blame others for their passions.
any solution leaves scars.
but i know it cannot stay like this.
a population that loses all hope is not sustained.
so i dream of better days,
from comfort,
ten thousand miles away.
Discussion on "Young Ali" on "Kicking the Seat" with Film Critic Ian Simmons
i recently did a virtual sit down with chicago film critic association member ian simmons on his video podcast, kicking the seat.
this episode runs a little under 1hr. i was dealing with a cold so enjoy the extra seasoning on my voice
upcoming Young Ali discussion on Kicking the Seat...
while dealing with a pesky cold, i had the pleasure of sitting down (virtually) with chicago film critic ian simmons to discuss young ali: those were the days on his kicking the seat podcast. episode comes out friday the 21st.
you can see why he loved the film for yourself on the new platform relay
and then come back to tune in on some of the granular details
MAN, Three Worlds, Whale and Rainbow Season now available to stream worldwide on Relay along with Young Ali
You can watch my 2018 feature releases, MAN and Three Worlds on the emerging streaming platform Relay. This is our preferred platform as of today.
Relay also includes my latest work Young Ali: those were the days (2024), and the music film Rainbow Season (2019) and my 2010 feature film, Whale.
They are offering a one week free trial as of now. Relay also shows other places you may find the work if you prefer, though its not conclusive on all the titles listed.
36 summerfield among other things...
a composition about ghosts, time loops, precognition and retrocausation
i directed a visual for this that releases NOW same day as the major streaming sites.
liner notes:
written, produced & mixed by amir motlagh
instrumentation, programming, & vocals by amir motlagh
performed as mirs
mastered by shawn hatfield at audibleoddities
art direction by amir motlagh
dedicated to rp
special thanks to arash m
℗ ANIMALS Publishing Worldwide
© 2025 ANIMALS / Amir Motlagh
“36 summerfield” among other things album art
rip ol' friend
my friend, collaborator Reza “Ray” Pormansor passed away yesterday morning, Sept 09, 2025, in the presence of his loving parents. they cared for him with every fiber of their being, and not an ounce less.
he was surrounded by friends just a few nights prior and many midway to see him. we all expected more time.
ray was my collaborator. he was also one of my closest friends during our personal fervent years. he was a fixture of the Orange County art/music scene at the time, sharing a lock-out at the infamous Bassland Studios in Santa Ana, CA for a time. a haunted place in hindsight, yet one that emanated an orb of creativity from its foundations into its inhabitants.
ray ray co-produced my first album, A DAY LATE: INSTRUMENTALS FOR ILLEGAL ALIENS, at 36 Summerfield, in a messy little room upstairs in the family home, next to a small man-made lake with sparkling water.
we had rudimentary digital recording gear, but mixed as much analog as possible using those early digital converters. something I had forgotten was that he also recorded the soundtrack for my first festival film, STILL LOVER. when I had festival screenings, he would make sure to come.
we were a great team because he was incredibly charismatic, able to connect with everyone & a perfect counterpart to my quiet and observant nature.
he played jazz fusion at the Temple Bar across the street from my Santa Monica apartment. he played flamenco punk. he studied with a master to learn the tabla. he genre-swapped because he loved sound, and also because he could play any instrument that he wanted. this was pure god-given talent and anyone that had met him would attest to this.
he made a movie, a terrible one, but he did it and had all of us help him because of that chaotic charisma and vision to see things through. I got on camera for it, and that might have been when I truly figured out that I preferred it behind the camera.
we had a gallery show at Star Shoes in Hollywood. after the show, Heather Graham had a private party in there, and he handed out his flyers to Adam Sandler and Fiona Apple, plainly not giving a fuck about their stardom, while PT Anderson smiled at his fearlessness. we hung out for a bit, but it soon got boring so we got into mischief elsewhere.
he released a handful of records (SOUND WOMB PROJECT, UNFAMILIAR OCCURRENCE, JAHLOBI JONES, JHANVIEH, etc.) under different project names. at some point he changed his performing name to Sam Oak for a few years. when you go back to listen, you realize that he was channeling the future. he mixed rock guitar with 303 acid basslines. always enigmatic.
he wrote two books, as far as I know, and of course both were dense. one was fiction, the other a philosophical one that integrated his core understanding of the world. a latticework of reference that was his original language, a codex of ray’isms. he would meet me at the coffee shop always with a handful of notes, full of diagrams, sketches, and arrows. his world was interdimensional, a pure autodidact.
he got a PhD and became a therapist.
he was a mad scientist, an artist, a musician, a poet, and a legendary figure. he was also a loving son, who truly cared for his friends and would die for them if necessary.
he was fiercely one of a kind, eccentric & infinitely curious about the world, life, people, art and science. the world doesn’t know how to handle this type of presence. too much love outward, too bright a light, too in love with the sensory life offered.
he was an abstraction.
rest in peace my brother.
we shall all meet again at home.
luv
am
Gods Rave out now!
available on all major platforms including social media:
Bandcamp
Apple Music
Spotify
Youtube Music
Amazon Music
*bandcamp purchase includes a collection of related images and video loops for your personal usage
Gods Rave album art
Young Ali: those were the days - available to check out at US Public Libraries
you can rent my latest work Young Ali: Those Were the Days at your local public library (US) through the Biblio+ system. all you need is a valid library card.
eg: here is the Boston Public Library listing. this listing will take you to the main biblio+ listing. again, all that is required is a valid library card, and districts that use the system.
young ali: those were the days at Biblio+
young ali: those were the days screening
we have a free screening of “young ali: those were the days” at Colombia College Chicago on April 29th, 6:30-9:30pm - click here to register
young ali: those were the days
Wells Blog
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