Kavus Torabi

Kavus Torabi (born 5 December 1971) is a British-Iranian musician, composer, record label owner and radio broadcaster.

A multi-instrumentalist, he is known for his work in the psychedelic, avant-garde rock field (primarily as a guitarist).

Torabi was one of the founding members of the Monsoon Bassoon (as singer, guitarist and one of the two primary composers), was a member of cult progressive rock group Cardiacs, and fronts and plays guitar for the current lineup of legendary psychedelic band Gong.

Torabi also leads his own group Knifeworld and is a member of Guapo and The Utopia Strong.

He sometimes tours and records with Mediæval Bæbes and Rob Crow, and frequently collaborates with other notable artists working in left-field music.

Torabi was born on 5 December 1971 in Tehran, Iran to an Iranian father and an English mother.

His family moved to Plymouth, UK, when he was eighteen months old; originally planning to return once his father had made sufficient money, but ending up settling permanently following the 1979 Islamic revolution in Iran.

"Most" of Torabi's relatives remain in Iran, but he himself has never returned.

Torabi remembers that his family were not particularly musical (although his mother knew a few guitar chords) but that he himself was interested in music from an early age (in particular the music from TV shows).

Torabi taught himself music by inventing his own form of notation and using it to score out the theme from CHIPS.

When he was seven, his family bought a piano and he used it as a compositional tool – already writing songs of his own, he showed little interest in learning those of others.

From 1980, he became interested in pop music (initially becoming inspired by Brian Setzer and the Stray Cats) and began teaching himself how to play guitar.

Eight years later, aged sixteen, he discovered his main musical touchstone in the form of Cardiacs, although in the interim he had taught himself more about music by sequential obsessions with various other bands and music forms.

Torabi's first significant band was Die Laughing, formed in 1988.

This was a psychedelic/thrash metal group formed in Torabi's native Plymouth in which he played guitar and in which he first met his close friend and collaborator, Dan Chudley.

Since the mid-1990s Torabi had had a close working relationship with Tim Smith, the lead singer and songwriter for Cardiacs, who produced the majority of The Monsoon Bassoon's recordings.

(Chudley – a fellow guitarist and singer – has been part of Torabi's life for most of his musical career, and the two are noted for their interlocking, highly complex guitar style.) Die Laughing released three demos before they eventually split in 1993.

In 1994, Torabi reunited with Chudley, who had been playing in a band called Squid Squad since the previous year.

The two formed a new band called The Monsoon Bassoon, in which they were joined by bass player Laurie Osbourne and two more Squid Squad members (singing clarinet/flute/sax player Sarah Measures and drummer Jamie Keddie).

Their musical – an energetic and tuneful form of psychedelic math rock – was built around Torabi and Chudley's singular compositions.

The group soon relocated from Plymouth to Leyton, East London and began to gain underground attention, releasing recordings on their own Weird Neighbourhood Records label.

Despite scoring several Single of the Week awards in New Musical Express, the Monsoon Bassoon failed to get signed to a larger label or make a significant commercial breakthrough, although they did receive critical acclaim and a cult following for their unorthodox approach and sound.

Having been Cardiacs' guitar technician since around 1995, Torabi joined the band as second guitarist in 2003, replacing Jon Poole.

His first appearance with Cardiacs was at their now legendary three-date Garage concerts at which they played only archive material from their first two cassette releases, although he was not publicly revealed as a full member until the next round of concerts.

The band released a lone, well-regarded studio album (I Dig Your Voodoo) and five singles, and split up in 2001 following the exit of Keddie.

Many of the band's recordings remain unreleased.

Torabi joined the instrumental avant-psychedelic/progressive rock band Guapo as permanent guitarist in 2006.

Torabi featured on Cardiacs' 2007 single, "Ditzy Scene", for which he also wrote the lyrics.

He also contributed to recordings for a subsequent album tentatively titled LSD which remains unreleased.

Cardiacs suspended activities in 2008 following the hospitalisation of Tim Smith, and the line-up remained on hold during his period of illness.

Knifeworld is Torabi's current main band.

Originally a solo project, it has since become a full band.

Knifeworld originated from around the time of the Monsoon Bassoon's breakup, but only released its first material eight years later following a long recording period.

Knifeworld is currently Torabi's main compositional vehicle, in many ways continuing ideas and approaches to polyrhythmic songwriting and arrangements that were germinated in The Monsoon Bassoon.

Torabi started the label Believers Roast in 2009, initially as a platform to release his own music, however since the release of 2010's The Leader Of The Starry Skies it has released music Torabi feels particularly strongly about, including The Gasman, Thumpermonkey and Redbus Noface.

Between 2010 and 2018 Torabi co-presented "The Interesting Alternative Show" with former snooker player Steve Davis on Brentwood radio station Phoenix FM.

The show focussed largely on experimental, avant-progressive, psychedelic, electronic, folk and rock music with an emphasis on new releases.

He has toured extensively with the band, and has co-written all albums since 2013.

In 2021 the band (while retaining the same lineup) took on a new identity as The Holy Family, releasing an eponymous debut album in July of that year.

Torabi regularly plays guitar and cuatro as a recording and touring musician and occasionally writes with the Mediæval Bæbes.