Beginnings Born in
Tehran before moving to England while still a baby, Torabi had previously played with a succession of bands. Beginning his career in Die Laughing in
Plymouth, he moved to
London and came to public attention as one of the two singing guitarists in
the Monsoon Bassoon. Playing what Torabi described as "
lysergic funk" and various reviewers described as
psychedelia and
math rock, the Monsoon Bassoon scored three Singles of the Week in a row in
New Musical Express in 1997 and 1998 and released a single album,
I Dig Your Voodoo before splitting up in 2001. During this time Torabi had become a well-established member of the group of musicians focused around
Cardiacs, whom he joined as guitarist in 2003, playing with them until the group's enforced halt in 2008. Torabi had formulated the ideas for Knifeworld as a solo project at around the time of the breakup of the Monsoon Bassoon, but took eight years to assemble, finalise and record the songs.
Solo project For the band's first recordings, Torabi played the bulk of the instruments himself (guitars, bass guitar, keyboards, santoor, melodica, violins and "devices") as well as singing the majority of the lead vocals and writing, producing, and arranging all of the material. Former
Sidi Bou Said drummer
Melanie Woods sang the rest of the lead vocals and also sang backing vocals. The recording sessions featured further contributions from a broad swathe of musical collaborators drawn from Torabi's contacts on the London art-rock scene. Drums were played by
Khyam Allami (ex-Ursa and Art of Burning Water). James Larcombe (
Stars in Battledress/
North Sea Radio Orchestra) played piano and Ben Jacobs (a.k.a.
Max Tundra) played keyboards and trumpet.
Katherine Blake (
Mediæval Bæbes) played recorder and Crawford Blair (Geiger Counter/Foe/The Slow Life) contributed some bass guitar parts. Torabi's former Monsoon Bassoon bandmate Sarah Measures contributed saxophone, clarinet and flute, and further vocals were provided by Shona Davidson and former
Ring singer Johnny Karma. The debut Knifeworld album,
Buried Alone: Tales of Crushing Defeat, was released on Torabi's own Believer's Roast label (via Genepool distribution) on 17 August 2009. It was preceded by the download single "Pissed Up On Brake Fluid" on 13 July 2009. Looking back on Knifeworld again in January 2026, Torabi reflected "I loved that band but financially it was a catastrophe. Every tour was like setting fire to a suitcase full of money. Gong came a-calling and Knifeworld became unworkable. I like to think I split my Knifeworld energies into Gong and my solo stuff. Gong inheriting the angular riffing, progressive structures and extended instrumental passages, while my solo stuff took on the more introspective, pastoral, self-recorded side." ==Personnel==