Sooge Sohrab" is part of a series of works written in response to my arrest, interrogation, and torture in December 2012 in my homeland, Iran. The piece draws upon The Tragedy of Sohrab from the 10th-century Persian epic Shahnameh (The Epic of Kings) by the poet Ferdowsi. It tells the tragic tale of the hero Sohrab, who was slain on the battlefield by his own father, Rostam, while Rostam was unaware of his opponent’s identity.

The composition incorporates pre-recorded material from Tasu'a and Ashura, Islamic rituals dedicated to mourning the third Shia Imam, Husayn ibn Ali, who was unjustly killed during a power struggle among the Caliphs in 680 AD. These rituals involve chanting, weeping, and in extreme instances, self-flagellation.

Throughout the history of my homeland, millions of "Sohrabs" have been oppressed and killed by their own "fathers," who fail to realize that those they wound are, in fact, their own offspring and compatriots. The Sohrabs of Iran are constantly accused of treason, riot, and heresy. "Sooge Sohrab" is a threnody for those whose voices were never heard, for those who were silenced, and for those who disappeared into the night and fog.