Experimental Identities: Underground Parties Unveiled

During the height of Facebook’s era as a congregation space for Iranians of various socio-economic backgrounds, there was increased documentation of underground parties in Iran — something that had not been widely shared in the public realm before the advent of social media.

Many sub-narratives emerged from these public depictions of partying, whereby unique perspectives and attitudes from different subcultures was on public display in popular culture: many groups sought fame from this avenue, and others became encouraged to throw wilder parties and dress in attention seeking ways that competed for widespread recognition.

In a way, social media provided a safe space for Iranians outside of their government-sanctioned restrictions, a space where they could perform and experiment while negotiating their social identity through underground partying.

Culturally, this was partially fuelld by Los Angeles based pop musicians, and further launched the career of many Iran-based underground artists and rappers who began performing and producing from Iran while sharing their work with a wider audience, such as Amir Tataloo, Sasy Mankan, Hossein Tohi and Armin 2AFM, among others.