Azam Ali - Elysium for the Brave
List Price:
Our Price: $9.23
You Save: $7.75 (46%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $7.69 (click here)
Category: Music CD
See more CD details
Buy this Music CD at online store in your country
Canadian Music Store
Canadian Music Store
CD Details
Artist: Azam AliEdition: Music CD
CD Release Date: 2006-07-25
Music Label: Six Degrees
Soundtracks:
- Endless Reverie
- Spring Arrives
- In Other Worlds
- Abode
- Forty One Ways
- The Tryst
- From Heaven To Dust
- I Am A Stranger In This World
- In This Divide
Music reviews of Elysium for the Brave
Music Review: Pure and captivating.
Rating: 5 Stars
Azam Ali was born in Iran, raised in India, and currently resides in the USA and she blends her polycultural influences beyond what the human mind can imagine. Known for her collaborations with a vast array of musicians, including members from Nine Inch Nails, the guitar virtuoso Buckethead, the Turkish world music composer Mercan Dede, and the Grateful Dead drummer Mickey Hart, she also fronts two amazing bands: Vas and Niyaz. Elysium for the Brave is her second solo statement, which she has co-produced with Carmen Rizzo (Niyaz) and sees her taking her already amazing style several steps further.
This time around, she is supported by King Crimson's Pat Mastelotto whose amazing percussion work on the opening song "Endless Reverie", blended with Ali's impossibly beautiful vocals, is like the perfect combination of tribal beats and electronics, something we've never heard from Ali before. Another Crimson member, Trey Gunn, also appears on the album, and even co-wrote the mood-intensive piece "The Tryst", employing minimal guitar effects that underlie Ali's vocal lament. Her velvet vocals convey sensuality and heartfelt emotion, and are carefully placed atop an ethereal guitar theme. It is amazing to hear Ali sing in English -- her older fans know how moving she can get when she sings in Persian and Indian, but to see that she is actually capable of applying her talents to more "straightforward" pieces is nothing short of astounding. Unlike her works with Vas and Niyaz, there are a few non-Eastern songs on this album, such as the album opener and this one, where you'll get lost in the beauty of forlornly ringing guitar notes and dark mysticism.
That said, while the titles are in English, not all of them are sung in this language. Ali still uses lots of Persian and Indian lyrics in her songs. Her artistic strength mostly lies in crafting unique Middle Eastern pieces highlighting her vocals and it is hard to capture the intensity without using the region's language and instruments (as on the Indian dirge "Abode"). Her voice is so vulnerable and beautiful I don't even know how to describe it. Having discovered her on Mercan Dede's Breath album where she does her unique Persian-styled vocal melodies mostly going for wordless harmonies, I felt compelled to seek everything she participated in and was absolutely thrilled she experiments with the same style on songs like "I Am a Stranger in This World", which she co-wrote with Loga Roman Torkian, her partner in Niyaz; and the mesmerizing "From Heaven to Dust", an atmospheric elegy drenched in western beats and Indian percussion. "In Other Worlds" is one of the darkest songs on the CD -- it contains strummed acoustic guitars that slowly disappear under a wall-of-sound keyboards that blanket everything but Ali's wonderful voice. Though there is a vague Persian sadness incorporated into the song, this is yet another attempt to branch out and explore new territories.
The production and sonic quality of the album are mindblowing. An incredible amount of nuance and coherent body of work serve to heighten the unmatched emotional power of Ali's voice and compositional skills to a higher level. She has now proved that she is so much more than just a singer with a great voice; her understanding of melody, rhythm, and vocal arrangement leaves me speechless. Check this disc out even if you're remotely interested in world music that is unafraid to infuse electronics and minimalism into its tapestry.
Description of Elysium for the Brave
"Elysium For The Brave", Azam's second solo album, signals a new turn in her musical evolution. The album, her most ambitious work to date, brings together musicians from varied musical backgrounds performing in diverse permutations. The result is a highly coherent body of work that seamlessly weaves together all of Azam's cultural and musical influences into a haunting tapestry of atmospheric rock, electronic, and global sounds. Singing predominantly in English for the first time, the songs are based on lyrics written by Azam herself and reveal a poetic lyricism heard only in glimpses in her previous work.For this, her second solo album, Azam Ali, lead vocalist of Vas and Niyaz, takes her patented polycultural blend of ancient and contemporary influences even farther beyond the stratosphere. That she is now a veteran of numerous film scores, including Children of Dune, Earthsea, and Matrix Revolutions, perhaps explains her present more cinematic direction. Born in Iran, reared in India and the US, and gifted with a voice of improbable tonal breadth, flexibility, and beauty, she is backed by collaborators like Trey Gunn (King Crimson), Chris Venna (Nine Inch Nails), Turkish DJ/composer Mercan Dede, the Japanese ensemble Kodo, and Grateful Dead drummer/world percussion enthusiast Mickey Hart. One of the more interesting conundrums inherent in Ali's work is that no matter how much electronic technology she employs, her immersion in her heritage unfailingly comes across loud and clear. Whether she is singing in English, which predominates on these sessions, Farsi, or another language, a prayerful sensuality informs every note. It's as though a sexy Tanagra temple figurine or silk-clad court lady from an antique parchment were to suddenly turn her lovely head and step daintily into the modern world, unfurling precisely the kind of voice one expected but never could have imagined. --Christina Roden
International CDs
Music Genres
Bestsellers in International CDs
Hopscotch - Wishful WayRelease date: 2003-11-03; Music CD
Price in other shops:
![Coral Sea Dreaming [VHS] Image](/images/noimg.gif)
David Hannan - Coral Sea Dreaming [VHS]Compass Records; Release date: 1998-11-17; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Best price: $6.25
Price in other shops:
![20th Anniversary Celebration [VHS] Image](/images/20th-Anniversary-Celebration-VHS-6302274060-X.jpg){kind=small}
Steeleye Span - 20th Anniversary Celebration [VHS]Shanachie; Release date: 1995-04-16; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Best price: $5.94
Price in other shops:
Chris Rea - Return of the Fabulous Hofner BluenotesRelease date: 2008-03-11; Music CD
Best price: $38.91
Price in other shops:
A Concert Of Angels mini: Music From J.S. Bach To Gustav Mahlerby edel Classics GmbH
Edel Classica Gmbh; Published: 2006-11-06; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $9.13
Price in other shops:
Tanzkurs Vol. 4 - Rumba & Cha Cha ChaRelease date: 2007-06-08; DVD
Best price: $10.91
Price in other shops:
Sascha Hehn & The New Symphonic Orchestra - Peter Und Der Wolf/ Karneval Der TiereRelease date: 2010-04-27; Music CD
Best price: $5.00
Price in other shops:
Jurgen Fritsche, Sven Gortz - Edgar Allan Poe: Das Grauen IIRelease date: 2009-12-08; Music CD
Best price: $6.30
Price in other shops:
Sorene. CD. Kinderlieder aus Äthiopien - Children's Songs from Ethiopiaby Peter Pannke
Sunnymoon Distribution; Published: 2000-03-01; Audio CD; Book
Tibetan Meditation Music: For Quiet Mind and Peaceful Heartby Nawang Khechog
Soundstrue; Sounds True 2007-04-01; Published: 2007; Audio CD; Book
Best price: $0.98
Similar CDs
Stellamara - The Golden ThreadRelease date: 2009-08-15; Music CD
Best price: $15.67
Price in other shops:
Vas - SunyataRelease date: 1997-04-08; Music CD
Best price: $6.13
Price in other shops:
The Seven ValleysRelease date: 2004-10-25; Music CD
Best price: $11.90
Price in other shops:
Irfan - SeraphimRelease date: 2007-11-06; Music CD
Best price: $8.59
Price in other shops:
Vas - Feast of SilenceRelease date: 2004-05-18; Music CD
Best price: $6.15
Price in other shops:
Niyaz - NiyazRelease date: 2005-04-19; Music CD
Best price: $9.09
Price in other shops:
Vas - In the Garden of SoulsRelease date: 2000-05-09; Music CD
Best price: $8.29
Price in other shops:
Azam Ali - Portals of GraceRelease date: 2002-07-30; Music CD
Best price: $8.84
Price in other shops:
Niyaz - Nine Heavens (Dig)Release date: 2008-06-24; Music CD
Best price: $12.60
Price in other shops:
Azam Ali - From Night to the Edge of DayRelease date: 2011-04-12; Music CD
Best price: $11.24
Price in other shops: