Piona Dariavach

Piona was born in winter 1962 in Tehran, Iran. She spent a happy childhood in the popular area of Tehran’s University. Her distant memories are a patchwork of Wisteria blossoms falling on the walls of neighboring houses, the Russian poems of her grandfather Andrey, her mother’s fashion house, Mrs. Mesropian reading the Turkish coffee and the house in Kelougan.

Autumn 1967- Her first days at the nursery of Jeanne d’Arc French school started with tears and a heart full of sorrow to leave her mother. June 1980- 13 years later at the same school, she obtained her bachelor’s degree in the tough times of revolution in a city under curfew.

At the age of 18, Piona left her beloved land and started her studies at the University of Montpellier, France. She obtained her PhD in Molecular and Cellular Biology in 1989 and soon after, she joined the Laboratory of Molecular Biology at the Medical Research Council, Cambridge, UK, where she had the privilege of working with brilliant colleagues and masters such as Sir Michael Neuberger and Sir Gregory Winter, 2018 Chemistry Nobel Laureate.

At the beginning of 1990’s, Piona was appointed Associate Professor of Immunology at the University of Montpellier where she began her research project in the field of Allergy. Her works led to the discovery of new treatments for allergic disorders and were published in international scientific journals. More recently, Piona’s research highlighted the potential of a new drug of which she is the patent holder, in reducing colorectal cancer tumor growth.

Music and singing were all times companions, both on happy and sad days of her life. The dream of performing in front of an audience became true on an evening of year 2011 and since then, she has been blessed with moments of grace that singing brings to her.

The apotheosis of her musical transformation was definitely her meeting with the Corsican guitarist and composer Jean Bernard Rongiconi who guided her by his visionary spirit. Babylon is the first album that captures the genesis and the essence of their collaboration.

The album was recorded during the winter 2019 at Jean Bernard’s studio, in the warmth of the fireplace of his family old stone house, hidden in the Corsican mountains, and far from the snowy heights of Tehran…

Their friend and great drummer Loïc Pontieux joined them for the recording sessions and made an incredible performance on this album.

Babylon is a patchwork reflecting the languages and the cultures among which Piona grew up. But above all, Babylon –Ã?Â?Ã?Â?Ã? – is a tribute to her mother tongue, the Assyrian language.