Rostam Batmanglij

In 2010, Rostam came out as gay in an interview with ‘Rolling Stone.’ “As a person who doesn’t identify as straight, any love song I write is contextualized by a queer identity,” he said. Since then, he has been openly gay, and talked about his sexual orientation in the magazine ‘Out’ as well.He said that Ed Droste of the band Grizzly Bear influenced him to publicly come out.

He says he is proud of his Iranian roots, and in fact, plays a 12-string guitar tuned like an Iranian instrument called a “tar.”

Rostam Batmanglij was born on November 28, 1983, in Washington, D.C., to Iranian parents who had migrated to the US. His mother Najmieh Batmanglij is a cookbook author, devoted to the traditions of Persian cuisine, and his father Mohammad Batmanglij founded Mage Publishers, a small press that promoted Persian culture. His brother Zal Batmanglij is an independent filmmaker.

His parents had first met at a party in Tehran. They attended college together in the US. After the Iranian Revolution in 1979, they moved to France where their elder son Zal was born. However, the rigidity of the French society troubled them, and they feared that their children would lose connection with their Iranian roots. The family, therefore, moved to the US, and settled in Washington, D.C.

With Iranian culture remaining the focus of his parents’ American lives, Rostam went to the Potomac School, a prep school south of D.C. He recalls spending a lot of time in school singing traditional songs with his teachers.

Rostam majored in music at the Columbia University. There he met Ezra Koenig, Chris Tomson, and Chris Baio, with whom he eventually formed a rock band Vampire Weekend (2006), named after a movie of the same name. The band quickly found success with their brainy lyrics and melodious music.

After he graduated, he produced the band’s self-titled debut album, which was released in January 2008. At that time he was also working different jobs including an internship at the Oxford English Dictionary. The album included the singles ‘Mansard Roof’, ‘A-Punk’, ‘Oxford Comma’, ‘Cape Cod Kwassa’, and ‘The Kids Don't Stand a Chance’, which were appreciated by critics.

Vampire Weekend’s second album ‘Contra’, which was released in 2010, was again a commercial success. Rostam sang, played the guitar and keyboard, and co-wrote the songs.

In September 2011, Rostam released a solo track ‘Wood’, which earned 4 out of 5 stars from Timeout Chicago's Brent DiCrescenzo. In November 2011, he sang a solo song, ‘Don't Let it Get to You’, which became the Hottest Record in the World on BBC Radio1.

The band’s third album ‘Modern Vampires of the City’ was released in May 2013, and was co-produced by Rostam and Ariel Rechtshaid. This was the first time the band worked with an outside producer.

The album ‘Vampire Weekend’ by the eponymous band sold over 27,000 copies in the first week of its release in the US, debuting at number 17 on the Billboard 200. By January 2010, it had sold nearly half a million copies. In the UK Albums Chart, it peaked at number 15.

The band’s third album ‘Modern Vampires of the City’ debuted at number 1 on the Billboard 200 chart. The album sold about 10,000 units on vinyl alone, debuting at number 1 on the Soundscan Vinyl Charts. It also charted number 1 at the Indie, Alternative, and Digital charts.