Morpheous Music, CD Review >>
Atmospheric, moody electronics, Middle Eastern aesthetics and gloriously fluid female vocals. Azam Ali here presents a powerful blend of sonorous frame drums and digital percussives that underpin her emotive songs - an array of traditional acoustic instrumentation such as ney flute and stringed lafta ground the album whilst the singing soars and fills the air with a devout clarity, passionate intensity, supremely confident and commanding. Bringing together her schooling in Western classical, Indian, Persian and Eastern European vocal traditions Azam's voice and style transcend cultural barriers stirring deeply emotive visions of hazy mystique and intimate reverie. English lyrics in a very un-English setting, contemporary expertise producing timeless beauty - a new turn into a fresh territory of sonic delights for a singer whose stature is deservedly growing all the time.
The front cover features a chiaroscuro close-up portrait of the singer, air-brush smooth against an intense blackness - the lustre of a metal bracelet and matching ring. The limited palette makes the colours all the more vivid and vibrant - titles luxuriating in graphic swirls and splashes. I have only the promotional sleeve and so can't comment on the remainder of the packaging, but if what I have is anything to go by, the quality is of a high standard - very tasteful.
Azam Ali is becoming increasingly well known from her work with Vas, her solo material, her film score collaborations and last year's project Niyaz. The chances are you've heard her somewhere even if you didn't know who it was. Here she presents her second solo CD following 2002's highly acclaimed Portals Of Grace. Here Ali brings a more synthetic backdrop to her music - synthesizers and programming establishing a range of lush shades and silken textures against which the organic elements are all the more radiant. This exploration of electronic/acoustic is most effective and hopefully something the singer will continue to develop in the future. Elysium For The Brave is an excellent album with obvious class and individuality - doubtless this will appeal both to reverential global music purists and fans of world fusion.
08/08/06 >> go there
