Azam Ali – From Night to the Edge of Day
Reviewed by Sadie O., 4/21/11
Arabian lullabies by Iranian-born singer. Don’t be put off by the concept of “lullabies” – there is absolutely nothing cloying and cute about this, although there is much that is gentle and dreamlike. There is also – as with Niyaz, her and her husband’s band – an intelligent fusion of very traditional Arab/Persian music and modern production. There’s a beautiful quote about Ali’s take on lullabies in the one-sheet. I wish my mother had sung to me this way, but my mom couldn’t even carry a tune.
Enjoy this – it’s simply stunning.
FCC clean – duh! I think it’s mostly in Farsi(?)
1. 4:53 **slow fade-in to drone and gentle vocals. Low-key and trance-y.
2. 4:09 ****intro like far-off call to prayer, then big hand drum, gorgeous vocals. Slow and relaxing, but also cool and mysterious.
3. 5:16 ***violin, Arab-style, and sort of a wind sounding drone, builds with hand drums and finally, after about 2 minutes, gentle vocals, much of them a duet.
4. 6:25 **ethereal stringed instrument and floating, lyric-less vocals for two minutes, then lead vocals float over top of what has become a sort of layered drone. No beat.
5. 5:32 ****lovely hand drum and strummed instruments – utterly evocative of 1001 Nights (in the best way).
6. 5:27 **drones, bulding, harmonizing and resolving, very peaceful but almost a bit depressing. Sweet vocals, no beat until halfway through, when a very slow and low-key hand-drum comes in.
7. 5:52 ****rather spritely ensemble, almost a dance, really lovely traditional Middle Eastern sound. Sung in Arabic rather than Farsi, also features male vocals.
8. 6:40 **floating drone, VERY low-key, VERY slow, pretty alto singing. Utterly hypnotic.
9. 3:40 ***gentle chanting intro, then full ensemble, pulsing rhythm.
10. 3:02 **floating Arab violin intro, oud, bits of vocals, sort of a dreamy, echo-laden patchwork – very much what you might hear in your dreams if you fell asleep listening to this record.