# Opium Moon
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{{short description|American new-age music group}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2025}}
{{Infobox musical artist
| name = Opium Moon
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| origin = [Los Angeles](/source/Los_Angeles), [California](/source/California), United States
| genre = [New-age music](/source/New-age_music)
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| website = {{URL|www.opiummoon.com/}}
| current_members = {{unbulleted list|Hamid Saeidi|[Lili Haydn](/source/Lili_Haydn)|MB Gordy|Itai Disraeli}}
| past_members =
}}
'''Opium Moon''' is a [new-age](/source/New-age_music) musical ensemble based in [Los Angeles](/source/Los_Angeles), [California](/source/California), United States. Its members are [santur](/source/santur)ist Hamid Saeidi, [violin](/source/violin)ist [Lili Haydn](/source/Lili_Haydn), [percussion](/source/percussion)ist MB Gordy and [bass guitar](/source/bass_guitar)ist Itai Disraeli.[{{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 }}] Persian poet [Hafez](/source/Hafez)'s work influenced its [musical improvisation](/source/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](/source/Donald_Trump)'s victory in the [2016 U.S. presidential election](/source/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.[{{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}}]}}
In 2018, Opium Moon released their eponymous debut album through Be Why Music.[{{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 }}] The album later received the [Grammy Award for Best New Age Album](/source/Grammy_Award_for_Best_New_Age_Album) at the [61st Annual Grammy Awards](/source/61st_Annual_Grammy_Awards).[{{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 }}]
Their second album ''Night + Day'' (2021) is composed of two [song cycle](/source/song_cycle)s, with six songs each, that model the passage of time in a day.[{{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}}][{{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 }}] ''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.[{{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 }}]
== Musical style and influences ==
The name Opium Moon and the group's "organic" [improvisational](/source/Musical_improvisation) style are inspired by the work of the Persian poet [Hafez](/source/Hafez).[{{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}}]
Three of the group's members are immigrants—from Iran, Israel, and Canada. According to Haydn, the global [refugee crisis](/source/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.