Ahoora Mahone

Percussionist, Producer, Singer, Researcher, Teacher

´Iranian and Kurdish rhythmic traditions reimagined through contemporary performance and research´

About Ahoora Mahone

Ahoora (Hosseini) Lehto known artistically as Ahoora Mahone is a Kurdish-Iranian percussionist, music educator, and artistic researcher based in Helsinki, Finland. Holding a Master’s degree in Global Music from Sibelius Academy (Uniarts Helsinki), he specializes in darbuka and Iranian rhythmic traditions, where time stretches, breathes, and pulses through embodied coordination rather than fixed beats.

With over 15 years of performance experience—including collaborations with masters like Jalal Zolfonoun and Farhad Andalibi—Ahoora bridges traditional Iranian ecologies (Reng dance rhythms, southern coastal grooves) with Finnish intercultural scenes. His 70+ events span electro-acoustic fusion (Disco Divooneh, Navatronics), ensembles (Middle Eastern Orchestra, Global Club), and festivals (GloFest, MEjam Fest), alongside activism projects like Woman Life Freedom.

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My Services

Bringing rhythms to life through teaching, performing, and research.

Performances

Engaging live shows blending tradition with modern energy.

A focused moment during a teaching session with students learning frame drum techniques.
A focused moment during a teaching session with students learning frame drum techniques.
Stacks of research papers and notes beside a tombak, hinting at deep study.
Stacks of research papers and notes beside a tombak, hinting at deep study.
Teaching

Personalized lessons to master Iranian and broader South West Asian styles.

In-depth articles exploring rhythms and cultural history.

Research
Close-up of hands skillfully playing a daf drum under warm stage lighting.
Close-up of hands skillfully playing a daf drum under warm stage lighting.

Current Project

Fluid Pulse — Artistic Doctoral Research

Fluid Pulse is an artistic research project investigating how rhythmic time in Iranian performance expands and contracts through gesture, breath, movement, and shared anticipation. Rather than treating rhythm as a fixed grid, the project approaches timing as a flexible field jointly produced by performers.

The research combines fieldwork in Iran, rehearsal-based embodied laboratories, and compositional experimentation in Helsinki. Its outcomes include new performance works, an analytic model of elastic rhythm, and practical tools for teaching embodied timing in intercultural settings.

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Selected Artistic Work

  • Independent Film Productions, Director: Gian Majidi (2024 - 26)

Music Producer | Assistant to Director | Actor

  1. The Soldier (2023)
    Independent film by Gian Majidi, featured in multiple film festivals

  2. 7/9 (2026)
    Independent film by Gian Majidi, currently in production

Worked across several areas of film production, including music production, creative collaboration and assisting the director with practical and production-related tasks.

  • Kaustinen Music Festival (2026)

Performer

Performing with MoodSuprim and Asa Pinnallinen

  • Farsi & Kurdish Summer Camp (2024)

Organiser & Music Lead

Organised a multidisciplinary children's summer camp for 25 children combining music, dance, poetry and visual arts. Coordinated the planning and implementation of the project, hiring of teachers and workshop leaders, and managed the day-to-day of the project.

  • MEJam Festival (2023 - present)

Organiser & Performer

Co-organiser of MEJam summer festival, focusing on the art of SWANA region and in collaboration with the city of Helsinki, Lapinlahden lähde, Stoa cultural centre, Interkult, and Mieli ry

a close up of a person's arm with rings on it
a close up of a person's arm with rings on it
Contact

Reach out for performances, collaborations, or questions.

Email

ahooralaheto@gmail.com

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