{{short description|American new-age music group}} {{Use mdy dates|date=April 2025}} {{Infobox musical artist | name = Opium Moon | image = | image_size = | image_upright = | landscape = <!-- yes, if wide image, otherwise leave blank --> | alt = | caption = | alias = | origin = Los Angeles, California, United States | genre = New-age music | years_active = <!-- {{start date|YYYY}}–{{end date|YYYY}} (or –present) --> | label = | associated_acts = | website = {{URL|www.opiummoon.com/}} | current_members = {{unbulleted list|Hamid Saeidi|Lili Haydn|MB Gordy|Itai Disraeli}} | past_members = }} '''Opium Moon''' is a new-age musical ensemble based in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its members are santurist Hamid Saeidi, violinist Lili Haydn, percussionist MB Gordy and bass guitarist Itai Disraeli.<ref name="Journal">{{cite news |last1=Mirken |first1=Steven |title=New Age Band Opium Moon Scores Grammy Nomination |url=https://jewishjournal.com/culture/arts/293469/new-age-band-opium-moon-scores-grammy-nomination/ |access-date=11 April 2022 |work=Jewish Journal |date=6 February 2019 |archive-date=30 July 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200730231940/https://jewishjournal.com/culture/arts/293469/new-age-band-opium-moon-scores-grammy-nomination/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Persian poet Hafez's work influenced its musical improvisation style.
== History == thumb|Lili Haydn and Itai Disraeli performing in 2014 In an interview with ''San Francisco Classical Voice'', Lili Haydn spoke about why she formed Opium Moon with Itai Disraeli following Donald Trump's victory in the 2016 U.S. presidential election: {{blockquote|When Trump got elected, I stopped feeling like words mattered. I got very depressed and rather than speaking about there being peace in the world — inclusion, reconciliation, and compassion — that’s when I created Opium Moon with Itai rather than speaking about it. I needed space because I felt like I’d said everything I had to say, so I turned my attention to Opium Moon and scoring projects.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Looseleaf |first1=Victoria |title=Polymath Lili Haydn Bids Sayonara to the Last Four Years |url=https://www.sfcv.org/articles/artist-spotlight/polymath-lili-haydn-bids-sayonara-last-four-years |access-date=12 April 2022 |work=San Francisco Classical Voice |date=2 February 2021 |archive-date=20 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210420130104/https://www.sfcv.org/articles/artist-spotlight/polymath-lili-haydn-bids-sayonara-last-four-years |url-status=live}}</ref>}}
In 2018, Opium Moon released their eponymous debut album through Be Why Music.<ref name="NPR" /> Steven Mirken in the ''Jewish Journal'' wrote that "Touches of jazz, rock, Middle Eastern and African sounds flit about" in their music, "but it never settles on a specific sound";<ref name="Journal" /> Priya Pathiyan in ''Hindustan Times'' called it "bliss inducing" and "so eclectic, it’s hard to categorise".<ref>{{cite news |last1=Pathiyan |first1=Priya |title=In world music, collaboration is the new cool! |url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/brunch/in-world-music-collaboration-is-the-new-cool/story-fJ5eL3554ISUYZjlTFTVJO.html |access-date=14 April 2022 |work=Hindustan Times |date=7 June 2020 |archive-date=8 June 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200608011158/https://www.hindustantimes.com/brunch/in-world-music-collaboration-is-the-new-cool/story-fJ5eL3554ISUYZjlTFTVJO.html |url-status=live }}</ref> The album later received the Grammy Award for Best New Age Album at the 61st Annual Grammy Awards.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Aridi |first1=Sara |last2=Messman |first2=Lauren |title=2019 Grammy Winners: The Complete List |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/10/arts/music/2019-grammys-winners-full-list.html |access-date=11 April 2022 |work=The New York Times |date=10 February 2019 |archive-date=11 February 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190211234405/https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/10/arts/music/2019-grammys-winners-full-list.html |url-status=live }}</ref>
Their second album ''Night + Day'' (2021) is composed of two song cycles, with six songs each, that model the passage of time in a day.<ref name="StringsMagazine">{{cite news |last1=Cahill |first1=Greg |title=Opium Moon Explores Atmospheric Arrangements and Sultry Melodies on 'Night + Day' |url=https://stringsmagazine.com/opium-moon-night-plus-day/ |access-date=12 April 2022 |work=Strings Magazine |date=15 December 2021}}</ref><ref name="BassMagazine">{{cite magazine |title=Itai Disraeli and Opium Moon Release Double Album 'Night + Day' |url=https://bassmagazine.com/artists/itai-disraeli-and-opium-moon-release-double-album-night-day |access-date=11 April 2022 |magazine=Bass Magazine |date=17 August 2021 |archive-date=2 September 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210902022519/https://bassmagazine.com/artists/itai-disraeli-and-opium-moon-release-double-album-night-day |url-status=live }}</ref> ''Strings'' magazine praised the group's "silky and sensual" sound in their review of the album, as well as Gordy's "treasure trove" of Middle East percussion and Haydn's electrical violin.<ref name="StringsMagazine" /> ''Night + Day'' was nominated for the same award for the 64th Annual Grammy Awards in 2022.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Horton |first1=Adrian |title=Grammy awards 2022: list of winners |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2022/apr/03/grammy-awards-2022-the-full-list-of-winners |access-date=11 April 2022 |work=The Guardian |date=3 April 2022 |archive-date=10 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220410190732/https://www.theguardian.com/music/2022/apr/03/grammy-awards-2022-the-full-list-of-winners |url-status=live }}</ref>
== Musical style and influences == The name Opium Moon and the group's "organic" improvisational style are inspired by the work of the Persian poet Hafez.<ref name="NPR">{{cite web|last1=Boilen|first1=Bob|url=https://www.npr.org/2018/07/11/627653228/opium-moon-a-band-of-immigrants-reflects-on-the-global-refugee-crisis|title=Opium Moon, A Band Of Immigrants, Reflects On The Global Refugee Crisis|publisher=NPR|date=11 July 2018|accessdate=29 December 2018|archive-date=30 December 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181230030238/https://www.npr.org/2018/07/11/627653228/opium-moon-a-band-of-immigrants-reflects-on-the-global-refugee-crisis|url-status=live}}</ref>
Three of the group's members are immigrants—from Iran, Israel, and Canada. According to Haydn, the global refugee crisis is an issue that is personally important to each of them; the song "Caravan" from their debut album is inspired by the immigrants they see in the news and through daily life.<ref name="NPR" />
==Discography== * ''Opium Moon'' (Be Why Music, 2018) * ''Night + Day'' (2021)
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== *{{Official website|https://www.opiummoon.com/}}
Category:Grammy Award winners Category:Musical groups from Los Angeles Category:American new-age music groups Category:American musical quartets