Laibach : Alamut – new original symphonic work inspired by the 11th century Persian tale,
created in collaboration with Iranian composers and A/POLITICAL

Label: MUTE

The album takes inspiration from Alamut (1938), the telling of a story from eleventh century
Persia by Slovenian writer Vladimir Bartol about martyrdom and the Cult of Personalities
that went on to inspire the video game series Assassin’s Creed, as well as artists such as
Umberto Eco, Hawkwind and William S. Burroughs (who referenced the work in Naked
Lunch, The Nova Express, and The Red Night Trilogy).

The book’s central character is Hassan-i Sabbāh, the charismatic religious and political leader
of the Nizari Ismailis who founded the mysterious military formation known as the
Hashshashin, or Order of the Assassins. Hassan-i Sabbāh was a self-proclaimed prophet who
led a holy war against the Seljuk Empire from his eyrie – the castle of Alamut. Bartol’s novel
– known for its maxim “Nothing is true, everything is permitted” – examines the mechanisms
of propaganda at a time when their author was witnessing, first hand, the rise of Fascism in
Trieste (Italy).

In Laibach’s 9-track retelling of Alamut, these ideas of radical nihilism are interwoven with
the classical Persian poetry of Omar Khayyam, while the sensual verses of Mahsati Ganjavi
blend with minimalist orchestral colours derived from the Iranian tradition. Hassan-i
Sabbāh’s propaganda mechanisms echo in the industrial principle of the workings of the
orchestra and Laibach’s unique sound.

The album was recorded at the concert in Križanke Outdoor Theatre, Monastery of the Holy
Cross, Ljubljana, by Laibach and the RTV Slovenia Symphony Orchestra, conducted by the
Iranian conductor Navid Gohari.
Alamut was composed by Luka Jamnik (Laibach), Idin Samimi Mofakham, and Nima A.
Rowshan.