Inspired in part by Zohran Mamdani\u2019s NY mayorship, Rostam Batmanglij\u2019s gorgeous new album fuses Americana with sounds of the Middle East. So why isn\u2019t his mum happy?<\/p>\n
The first song Rostam Batmanglij ever learned to play on guitar was Chuck Berry\u2019s Johnny B Goode, the quintessentially American rock\u2019n\u2019roll hit about being an American rock\u2019n\u2019roll star. \u201cIt doesn\u2019t get more American than that,\u201d he says, with a smile.<\/p>\n
The 42-year-old superproducer (Frank Ocean, Charli xcx, Carly Rae Jepsen) and former Vampire Weekend member is sitting across from me in a coworking cafe in London, trying to explain the fixation he\u2019s always had with US culture. \u201cMy brother was born in France, my parents were born in Iran,\u201d he says. \u201cBut I was in my mum\u2019s womb when I first came to America. My position is different. So what is my relationship to the American flag? What is my relationship to American citizenship?\u201d<\/p>\n
![](\"https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/9cffe0a42ac657fe7a9c7a60965ab8e4eb79aab6\/206_0_2560_2048\/master\/2560.jpg?width=140&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=d6da399211382d3e9afac34f512d4a33\" "\\"\u2018My")
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