Mohsen Namjoo was born in 1976 in a traditional Iranian family in Torbate-jam (a small city famous for it’s Dotar players), but he primarily grew up in the city of Mashhad. His passion for music began in early childhood. And at the age of twelve, and after the death of his father which affected him enormously, his elder sister and mother decided to send him to vocal class organized by the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance in Mashhad.
There he began the study of Iranian traditional vocals as well as music reading and writing under the master, Nassrolahe Nasseh-Pour. Recognizing his obvious talent, he was also chosen to study in a special school for gifted children, but took music more seriously than vocals, against the wishes of his family. Later, this music would take over his life. He persisted with singing for over six years and completed the repertoire of Iranian traditional singing under master Nasseh-Pour and even became his best student during this period. At the age of eighteen however, he decided to take the university entrance examination for the degree of Art/Music. The entrance examination required that he play a musical instrument. He chose the Setar, a traditional Iranian stringed instrument.
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In 1994 he was offered a chance to study Drama at the University of Dramatic Arts in Tehran, along with his spot for Music at Tehran University. Mohsen chose to pursue drama first as well, as the music course at Tehran University would begin a year later. Becoming familiar with drama and the theater affected him greatly and later he incorporated what he had learned in that short period to performing his music. In 1995, he eventually joined the undergraduate music course at Tehran University, where he was a student under Mr. Alireza Mashayekhi, Dr. Azin Movahed and Dr. Khosro Molana. Mohsen also taught himself how to play the guitar and has learned much from listening to western singers and musicians such as Jim Morrison and Mark Knopfler. In Khorassan he took lessons from masters of Iranian folk music, such as Haj Ghorbane Soleimani and Alme Joghi.
Mohsen began recording some of his compositions as a solo and then with two different bands in 2003 . He also writes poetry with a unique modernist flair. In his trademark style, he sometimes uses satirical lyrics and blends them with classical poetry of Hafez, Rumi or Saadi. His music and words are very emotional and he creates an exceptional fusion between various styles from traditional Iranian to blues and rock.
