We sat down with multidisciplinary artist and filmmaker Firouz FarmanFarmaian to explore “PALAZZO,” the captivating single from his experimental rock project, FORRM (released July 4, 2026). Recorded at Bloom Studios in the Gulf of Saint-Tropez under the production banner of WRTN Music, the track bridges alternative rock, art-rock atmosphere, and a sweeping cinematic sense of space. Born out of an impromptu jam session at Venice’s historic Palazzo Dandolo during FarmanFarmaian’s Inexistent Voyage in Inexistent Lands exhibition, “PALAZZO” translates a site-specific creative spark into a direct, rhythmic, and hypnotic listening experience.
Displaced by the Iranian Revolution of 1979 and living across Paris, New York, London, and Morocco, FarmanFarmaian approaches music through a distinctly nomadic lens. Rather than relying on algorithm-driven streaming culture, FORRM prioritizes independent radio, specialist press, and direct-to-listener ecosystems through their FORRM BOUTIQUE platform. Below, Firouz opens up about preserving organic studio energy, resisting technological authority, and expanding FORRM’s multidisciplinary universe toward their upcoming concept album, BOUTIQUE.
Interview with FORRM
FORRM: FORRM is essentially an extension of my journey as a multidisciplinary artist. I’ve always worked between visual art, cinema and music, and I don’t see any reason to separate these disciplines. As someone displaced by the Iranian Revolution of 1979, I’ve spent most of my life moving between cultures. That experience has naturally shaped my vision of art and music in a borderless way. FORRM brings together musicians and collaborators from different backgrounds and different places. We’re not interested in defining ourselves through a particular genre or scene. It’s more about creating a collective language, something organic that continues to evolve through our encounters and experiences.
FORRM: PALAZZO was born during an impromptu jam session at Palazzo Dandolo in Venice, around the time of my Inexistent Voyage in Inexistent Lands exhibition in September 2025. A really good riff and a particular feeling came out of that session, and we decided to build on it. We had previously worked on longer, more cinematic compositions, less immediately suited to radio, although tracks like GALACTICA had already begun opening other possibilities. With PALAZZO, we wanted to explore something more direct, more rhythmic, without sacrificing the atmosphere and experimental dimension that define FORRM. It wasn’t a calculated move towards a more commercial sound. It simply felt like the right direction at that moment.
FORRM: The most important thing is that we write music organically. A lot of ideas emerge when we’re reunited for a studio session or a performance, and we work from there. I think the original PALAZZO jam lasted around twenty minutes. That improvisation is actually available as a limited-edition tape through our Forbidden Boutique Tape Deck platform. From there, we sculpted the music back into shape in the studio until we arrived at something more definite, more constructed and layered. But the reverse can also happen. Some songs on BOUTIQUE were composed from the acoustic guitar upwards, through a much more classical songwriting process. There isn’t one formula. What matters is preserving the original energy of the composition.
FORRM: After spending two years in Athens, I relocated to the south of France, where I started several new collaborations, notably with Marin Henrion of Bloom Studios, in the Gulf of Saint-Tropez, and Bill Cox of Coccinelle. Marin and I developed a very constructive relationship. He was able to really delve into my vision, and it was a pleasure developing the production and mixing together at his studio. We followed that same nomadic creative approach, layering contributions from musicians working in different places. The bassline of PALAZZO was originally written by Kamyar Rahmani Kia, and Marin subsequently developed its Juno synthesizer arrangement, giving it that particular electronic feel. I like that dialogue between live instrumentation and electronic textures. Neither is there to replace the other. They complement one another.
FORRM: I’ve been living between cultures my whole life. My family and close collaborators are spread across New York, London, Paris, Spain and Morocco, so working internationally has become a natural part of my existence. I’ve always had a particularly strong relationship with New York, where many of my musicians are based. It’s also an important hub for We Are The Nomads. But I don’t think creative scenes are geographically confined anymore. There was a time when the contemporary art scene was concentrated in New York around Basquiat, in Paris around Picasso, or when London became the epicentre of a particular musical revolution around artists like Jimi Hendrix. Today, the scene can be here and everywhere. What’s important is a unity of vision that allows people to come together beyond borders. That’s also why we called our company We Are The Nomads. We genuinely see ourselves as cultural nomads.
FORRM: I don’t understand why so much musical discovery should be controlled by algorithms. Music is supposed to be about curiosity, encounters and individual expression. When discovery becomes increasingly dictated by automated recommendations and commercial priorities, we risk losing precisely what makes it interesting. It plays into a much larger system where everything is measured, categorised and optimised, often at the expense of genuine artistic exploration. I’m not against technology. On the contrary, technology has given independent artists extraordinary opportunities. But it should remain a tool, not become the authority deciding what deserves to be heard. With FORRM, we’re trying to encourage a more organic circulation of music, through independent radio, genuine editorial support, live encounters and people who actually care about what they’re discovering.
FORRM: To reconnect with what I was saying earlier, there’s really one word: exclusivity. Not exclusivity in an elitist sense, but the possibility of a one-to-one exchange, a feeling of being respected as a listener. I think audiences are increasingly looking for something personal, something that doesn’t feel manufactured or endlessly pushed at them. Whether it’s a limited-edition cassette, an intimate concert, a direct exchange or an independent platform, the idea is to create a relationship that has meaning. We want people to feel that they’re participating in an experience rather than simply consuming another piece of content.
FORRM: The video is really an extension of the visual world surrounding PALAZZO. The images of Venice were shot in September 2025, during our exhibition at Palazzo Dandolo. The same team reunited the following June for a live performance at Domaine de la Croix, an intimate concert set in a vineyard in the south of France, which is now available on Bandcamp. It felt like a natural evolution of the project, and we thought that this very exclusive, intimate concert would be the perfect setting to develop the song’s visual identity further. It’s not always easy to translate music into images, or images back into sound. But I think the video succeeds in capturing who we are in a very sincere and authentic way. Everyone you see in the video is part of our actual team. It’s a genuine reflection of our collective creative journey. I don’t think of cinema and music as two separate disciplines. They share a sense of rhythm, atmosphere, tension and narrative. A piece of music can suggest an entire visual world without necessarily illustrating anything. With FORRM, we’re interested in creating that space where the listener constructs their own imagery. We don’t want to dictate what people should see or feel. The cinematic quality comes from that freedom of interpretation rather than from a predetermined visual concept. In that sense, PALAZZO is cinematic not because it was written for an image, but because it leaves room for one.
FORRM: We’re building a collection of different environments, almost like a house with many rooms, each with its own atmosphere, identity and universe. You can move from one room to another and discover something entirely different, while remaining within the same creative world. We also understand that releasing an album today is no longer simply about putting out a collection of songs. You have to build a narrative, a world that gradually reveals itself and comes together. That’s the direction we’re taking with BOUTIQUE, step by step, allowing each release to contribute another piece to the larger picture. And as a matter of fact, one of the songs on the album is called House of Rooms. So be ready. There are quite a few doors left to open.
FORRM: PALAZZO is really just the beginning of a much wider adventure. We’re gradually unveiling BOUTIQUE, our upcoming concept album, while continuing to explore the connections between music, cinema and contemporary art. Our documentary PATH is currently making its way through the international festival circuit, and I’m preparing my next feature film, Season of the Witch, which we’ll be shooting in Morocco this winter. Music plays an essential role in that project too, with its soundtrack becoming another important chapter in our creative journey. On the visual arts side, we’re also looking at the prospect of participating in the Bukhara Biennale, in Central Asia, which would bring us back to some of the cultural and historical territories that have always informed my work. I don’t necessarily see these as separate projects. They’re different expressions of an ongoing exploration, with people, places and disciplines constantly intersecting. Ultimately, that’s what interests me most: allowing one creative adventure to open the door to another, without knowing exactly where it will take us.
Summary
With “PALAZZO,” FORRM delivers a compelling manifestation of art-rock that transcends simple digital release models. By fusing the historical weight of Venice with Saint-Tropez studio production and a fiercely independent, grassroots philosophy, Firouz FarmanFarmaian reinforces the vital necessity of organic artistic discovery. As the project builds toward its upcoming concept album BOUTIQUE and continues its journey across film festivals and international biennales, FORRM proves that true art flourishes when boundaries are dismantled. Experience “PALAZZO” on all platforms and explore limited physical editions directly through the FORRM BOUTIQUE ecosystem!
