In The Garden of Souls

Indie

Feast of Silence

In Stores May 18, 2004

Percussionist Greg Ellis and vocalist Azam Ali began working together as Vas (Latin for “vessel”) in 1995, creating a unique and evocative sound best described as ‘alternative world’ — defined by the duo as music that transcends cultural and geographic boundaries.

FEAST OF SILENCE is their first album in three years, after two solo projects and extensive recording and touring with the Dead’s Mickey Hart, Japan’s Kodo drummers, and Zakir Hussain. The band have significantly expanded their compositional range, with a wider array of vocal stylings in evidence than on any of their three earlier Vas albums — incorporating Indian, Middle Eastern, Eastern European and, for the first time, songs with English lyrics. They have also broadened their instrumentation, incorporating guitar and bass and other elements into their signature blend of multi-ethnic percussion, cello, and bansuri flute.

Sound clips

Track Name
1 Amrita
2 In Our Faith
3 Mandara
4 Izgrejala
5 Moksha
6 The Reaper And The Flowers
7 Bardo
8 Feast of Silence
9 Kali Basa



From Azam Ali ~

NIYAZ - release date April 19, 2005 on Six Degrees Records. From Azam Ali and Loga Ramin Torkian of Axiom of Choice, featuring programmer/producer Carmen Rizzo, and percussionist/ vocalist Arash Khalatbari of Ekova. An electronic/acoustic project exploring the mystical poetry of Urdu and Persian Sufi poets. www.niyazmusic.com (site in progress, check back if link isn't active yet.)
~

ROSELAND features Azam singing entirely in English against a rock/ambient soundscape . Roseland is a partnership between Azam and prominent film composer/ guitar player Tyler Bates, featuring drumming and percussion of Greg Ellis as well and a number of other talented musicians. For more information on Roseland and the release of their first album please visit www.Roselandmusic.com For more information on Tyler Bates please visit www.Tylerbates.com. (Sites in progress, check back if links aren't active yet.)





Portals of Grace

Vas’ evocative vocalist Azam Ali renders innovative interpretations of medieval sacred and love songs, masterfully weaving traditional European period instruments — hurdy-gurdy, rebec, and vielle — with the rich vocal ornamentation and instruments of her own Middle Eastern heritage.

Featuring the renowned percussionist Greg Ellis, this eclectic assemblage includes exquisite songs in French, Latin, Arabic, Judeo-Spanish, and Galician, as well as instrumentals from Brittany and Sweden. Exotic and atmospheric, it will appeal to core world music listeners as well as aficionados of early and classical and ambient/new age/goth sensibilities.


Eastern voice, Western groove - the spellbinding sound of Vas. Bridging cultures and boundaries, Azam Ali’s entrancing voice and Greg Ellis’ elaborate percussion technique come together in an ethereal world music recording.

VAS’ new recording, IN THE GARDEN OF SOULS, blends their vast global influences into a sound entirely their own. This is most evident on the title track, where the duo uses Tibetan bowls, oud, and a processed cello (played by Cameron Stone, who is featured on many of the songs), over a harmonic vocal drone to produce a sound eerily ancient and modern at the same time. Unbecome, features Ali’s haunting solo voice surrounded by cello, temple bells, and drones in an evocative and powerful fusion of sound. Ceremony Of Passage is a percussion powerhouse, where drum is layered upon drum to sound like an entire village drumming. The effect is surprising melodic, as Ellis coerces tonal sounds from the drum skins.

IN THE GARDEN OF SOULS is a unique soundscape of voice, percussion, and sonic textures that defies genres, and creates for the listener a one of a kind musical experience.

Greg Ellis greg@rhythmpharm.com
Azam Ali azamali@earthlink.net

Greg Ellis greg@rhythmpharm.com Azam Ali azamali@earthlink.net