Born into a family with many generations of involvement with Sufism, he began his formal music education by joining the Opera Choir at Roudaki Hall. He was introduced as "Soley" on National Iranian Radio and Television when he was a student of Sociology at the University of Tehran. He then began composing music for himself and undertaking extensive research in literature, poetry, and different styles of music. Before he left Iran in 1986, he produced several "New Age" style albums for international audiences, inspired by the teachings of Sufism and based on the poetry of Rumi, Hafez, Roudaki, and Sohrab Sepehri. His albums, "Vaghehe," "The Water," and "The Rainbow" are the results of this journey. Soley joined Lian Ensemble in 2002, initiating his involvement with Persian Classical music.
