Azam Ali, "Elysium for the Brave."
Azam Ali, vocalist of Vas and Niyaz, has always been a closet goth. Her wordless vocals tended toward the minor key. In her first English language album, she brings out the black nail polish with her dark, contemplative lyrics about war and unrequited love. The music she and her cohorts construct are dark ambient techno pieces liberally accented with the Persian and Indian music that she developed in both her other projects. Danceable rhythms sinuously percolate, while exotic instruments play against a tapestry of delayed guitar effects and swirling keyboards. The sorrowful chord progressions wouldn't sound out of place on a Siouxsie or Robert Smith album, and the compositions - courtesy of such collaborators as Axiom of Choice's Loga Ramin Terkian and Niyaz's Carmen Rizzo - meld traditional and electronic instrumentation seamlessly. The ace in the hole, of course, is Ali's beautiful, rich voice. She turns English into alien language, twisting vowels into odd and magical shapes. In the past, she's sounded like Lisa Gerrard here, or Sheila Chandra there. On this album, Ali sounds like herself. Erotic, mysterious and melancholy, it's not too early to call this the ethereal album of the year.
| 1 | Endless Reverie
Drums, Tom Tom [Toms] – Pat Mastelotto Lyrics By – Azam Ali Music By – Azam Ali, Carmen Rizzo Drums, Tom Tom [Toms] – Pat Mastelotto Lyrics By – Azam Ali Music By – Azam Ali, Carmen Rizzo |
5:47 | |
| 2 | Spring Arrives
Music By – Azam Ali, Loga Ramin Torkian Words By – Azam Ali Music By – Azam Ali, Loga Ramin Torkian Words By – Azam Ali |
5:17 | |
| 3 | In Other Worlds
Bass – Tyler Bates Music By, Lyrics By – Azam Ali Bass – Tyler Bates Music By, Lyrics By – Azam Ali |
6:07 | |
| 4 | Abode
Lyrics By – Hayedeh* Music By – Sadegh Nojouki* Violin – Keyavash Nourai Lyrics By – Hayedeh* Music By – Sadegh Nojouki* Violin – Keyavash Nourai |
5:59 | |
| 5 | Forty One Ways
Lyrics By – Azam Ali Music By – Azam Ali, Tyler Bates Lyrics By – Azam Ali Music By – Azam Ali, Tyler Bates |
6:09 | |
| 6 | The Tryst
Lyrics By – Azam Ali Music By – Azam Ali, Trey Gunn Lyrics By – Azam Ali Music By – Azam Ali, Trey Gunn |
6:04 | |
| 7 | From Heaven To Dust
Music By, Lyrics By – Azam Ali Music By, Lyrics By – Azam Ali |
4:19 | |
| 8 | I Am A Stranger In This World
Music By – Azam Ali, Jeff Rona, Loga Ramin Torkian Ney – Omid Torbatian Programmed By, Keyboards – Jeff Rona Words By – Azam Ali Music By – Azam Ali, Jeff Rona, Loga Ramin Torkian Ney – Omid Torbatian Programmed By, Keyboards – Jeff Rona Words By – Azam Ali |
7:24 | |
| 9 | In This Divide
Music By, Lyrics By – Azam Ali Music By, Lyrics By – Azam Ali |
5:18 |
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