With a career spanning more than three decades, encompassing fifteen solo and collaborative albums, two prestigious JUNO Award nominations, a Hollywood Music Award, global tours, and featured solo vocal performances in some of Hollywood’s most iconic film and television scores, Azam Ali has firmly established herself as one of the most visionary and transcendent voices in contemporary music. Renowned for her otherworldly voice and uncompromising artistic integrity, Azam’s distinguished career has been defined by boldly defying genres and commercial expectations to heed her singular creative instincts which have earned her the respect of both her peers as well as music critics worldwide.
This fall, Azam Ali unveils SYNESTHESIA, a luminous expansion of her signature sound, merging deeply emotive songwriting with haunting melodies, richly textured electronic soundscapes, and her unmistakable, transcendent voice. Entirely written and produced by Azam, the album stands as a powerful testament to her evolving artistry and growing presence among the vanguard of female electronic music producers.
A continuation of the ethereal sonic world she explored in her critically acclaimed 2019 solo album PHANTOMS, SYNESTHESIA further asserts her creative autonomy with elegance and depth. More than a collection of songs, SYNESTHESIA is a sensorial experience that dissolves the boundaries of language, culture, and form. It invites the listener to feel deeply, to remember what has been forgotten, and to awaken to the quiet truths that only music can reveal. With this release, Azam Ali reaffirms her place as a visionary artist of profound depth, a pioneer who continues to shape the evolving contours of global music through uncompromising authenticity and a devotion to beauty that resonates far beyond sound, echoing into something timeless, evocative, and profoundly original.
Born in Iran, raised in India, and now based in Los Angeles, Azam’s most notable work is with the ground-breaking electro-acoustic project Niyaz, which she co-founded in 2005, and with whom she continues to tour internationally. Niyaz are considered trailblazers in pioneering a new sound in contemporary world music. The group has released four best-selling, critically acclaimed albums on Six Degrees Records, all debuting at #1 on iTunes, and they have been prominently featured by NPR, the BBC, Billboard, SPIN, Huffington Post, and PRI. In 2013, Niyaz expanded their groundbreaking vision with The Fourth Light, an immersive, multisensory concert experience that fuses live music, sacred dance, and interactive technologies. Presented at some of the world’s most prestigious performing arts venues, the project exemplifies Azam’s commitment to innovation and her deep belief in the transformative power of art. In 2023 SPIN Magazine voted Niyaz’s performance of “The Fourth Light” at the prestigious Royce Hall in Los Angeles, as one of “The Best Concerts of 2023” across all genres.
Outside of her own creative guises, Azam has been an in-demand artistic force with a majestic and malleable musicality that’s been featured in a myriad of contexts from collaborations with famed artists such as Serj Tankian of System of a Down, Peter Murphy of Bauhaus, The Crystal Method, Mickey Hart, Zakir Hussain etc., to some of Hollywood’s most eminent film composers such as Mychael Danna, Michael Giacchino, Brian Tyler, Ramin Djawadi, Michael Abels and Tyler Bates.
Azam’s otherworldly and distinctive voice can also be heard on some of some of the biggest film and television scores among which include “John Wick: Chapter 4”, “John Wick: Chapter 3 Parabelum”, “Thor- The Dark World”, “Matrix- Revolutions”, “Prince of Persia- The Sands of Time”, “300”, “John Carter”, “The Fight Club”, “Children of Dune”, “Acolyte”, “Sandman”, “Tyrant”, “True Blood”, “Alias”, “Prison Break.” She is also a well-known musical force in the videogame world. A cross section of titles she’s contributed to include “Uncharted 3,” “Call of Duty”, “Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands”, “Darksiders”, “Modern Warfare”,and “Syphon Filter: Logan’s Shadow” for which she won “Best Original Song” at the Hollywood Music in Media Awards in 2007.
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Music written, performed and produced by Azam Ali
Guest Musicians:
Loga Ramin Torkian- Electric Guitar, Guitar-Viol
Gabriel Vinuela- Keyboards
Iman Ali Torkian- Cello
Mixed by Michael Patterson
Mastered by Emily Lazar at The Lodge
Album Artwork and artist portraits by Tas Limur