Artist of the Week: Armand Mirpour, Sweden’s Secret Sensation

Let’s just say Warner Music Sweden A&R Mattias Wachtmeister has a really good track record when it comes to discovering musicians who either appeal to Iranians, or are Iranian themselves. Though the majority of artists he has worked with are not of Iranian descent (bonafide U.S. big-stage anchors The Sounds and electro-pop viral sensations Basshunter and Gunther & the Sunshine Girls are just a few of the myriad of chart-topping acts Wachtmeister has worked with or directly signed to Warner), his artist roster is peppered with Iranian-born sensations like Arash, DJ Aligator and Laleh.

Wachtmeister seems to have his finger on the melodic pulse of Sweden, Iran, Europe and beyond.
His latest discovery, however, may potentially be his best. His name is Armand Mirpour, and after engaging in a bidding war for Mirpour with a couple of other labels, Wachtmeister signed the lanky, Iranian-Swedish crooner to a multi-album deal with Warner Sweden. The agreement calls for an EP this summer, and a full-length album, tentatively dubbed Boy Will Sing for Directions Home,  later in the fall.

Mirpour is an eccentric talent and former model whose music can best be described as Tracy Chapman meets The Smiths meets Belle and Sebastian meets The Decemberists. Get it? Boy Will Sing for Directions Home will reportedly be a concept record with a storyline that you can follow from song to song. And how can you not love a guy who proposes a video game challenge to his fans online? “I really enjoy videogames! Super Smash Bros.in particular,” Mirpour relayed a Swedish blogger a few months ago. “My friendcode is 4725-9375-8797. Anyone who wants a good challenge can send me theirs on MySpace.”

Even if his eclectic sound isn’t your cup of tea, you can’t deny that based on solely his looks and affinity for video games, he’s got to be one of the coolest new singers you’ve ever heard of.

Check out some Swedes playing dodgeball in the official music video for “Curly Boys Law (Step Aside)“:

We’ll keep you updated on when Mirpour will be touring the U.S., as well as his album release.