"Don't censor artists, society also needs protestation..." is part of Mohsen Avid speech in his new controversial talk.

Recently, in a discourse, Mohsen Avid spoke about the fact that in Iran, due to auditing, censorship, and pressure, artists prefer not to enter the category of protestive music, and further said that despite the pressure exerted by the society, art should be flourished and to stop the feeling of frustration to lead us through forgetting our great goals in life.

He also says that not many attempts have been done in this area; protestive music is perhaps the most accurate concept of the music of concern, and it presents socio-political problems to the audience. Mohsen Avid, also known as Mohsen Parhizkar, an Iranian singer, songwriter, and composer, says that "music and poetry have the potential to have an emotional impact and create a physical boost in the listeners, and can certainly be a strong stimulus for commotions."

An artist can be the voice of the people

"Art can take on a protest aspect in all cases, and it is not just about music," Mohsen said. "Painting, theater, poetry, and books can affect because they use artistic coordinates. Art is a category that can influence thoughts, minds and be durable. In all fields, art can present the events of a society beautifully and effectively."

If we look at music, in particular, the meaning of this art is verbal music, and when it comes to protest, objection mostly manifests itself in words. "Verbal music, if originated through the people's wishes and is close to the lives conditions of the people, it will make very deep effects on the people of the society."

The singer continued: "We live in a society where poverty puts pressure on people and annoys them. An artist with his artworks can deliver a social problem like poverty to those who need to hear it. An artist can be the voice of the people and influence the public's mind to make people aware of the problems of the society."

Subsequently, Mohsen Avid said: "When I say we do not have protestive music, it does not mean that we do not have objectional music at all. I mean, we do not have protestive music as much as society desires. These days, we should distribute protestive music and artists must be free so that they can cry the voice of the people through their works of art. This will not happen until audits, censorship, and pressure still exist. According to these circumstances, artists usually prefer not to pour themselves into this category. We have had protestive works over the last years, and I have done a few protestive works. If you listen to "gang life", almost 6 out of 8 tracks on this album are objectional. "No Matter" is the first work I have officially presented to the world of music, it is also a protestive work. "Blowdown" is my last work which I sang in my concert, however, this song has not been released yet, which is a completely protestive work and is based on the conditions of today's society. Numbers of artists have made efforts and we have created some works. These efforts do not satisfy the needs of society and these works aren't abundant. An artist cannot easily obtain a license. The words are censored to the point that the main message won't be delivered." The government is fully responsible, and the freedom of artists in the frame of artworks is not as it should be."

Yet, Mohsen Avid is one of the hard-working musicians in Iran who has wonderful records on worldwide platforms. The high views of his music on the platforms have always indicated how famous and popular they are.