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Nine Heavens | 
 enlarge | Manufacturer: Six Degrees
Category: Digital Music Album
Buy New: $9.49
Rating:  22 reviews
Sales Rank: 2300
Genre: international-music
Media: MP3 Download
Running Time: 0 Minutes
ASIN: B001B6KX90
Publication Date: June 24, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Customer Reviews: Read 17 more reviews...
Sufi Musuc November 17, 2008
G. M. Sastry (Florida,US)
This is unusual to some extent-but still great Sufi Music. If you do not know about this music-you need to know what it is. The music spread Islam relegion, even in India. before sword was used to force the relegion. Regardles of ones relegion-this music is loved by most of people in south asian region. The singer, from Iran which was the source of this music-like the poetry by Rumi etc. It is beutiful and one need to listen with real pleasure and you dont have to be of any relegion. even lot of Bollywood music is Sufy style!!!
Sensuous mystical cross-cultural grooves October 31, 2008
J. TIMMERMAN (Lawson, NSW Australia)
Born in Tehran, Iran, Azam Ali grew up in India and as a teenager moved to USA with her mother in 1979. Her music career that began there now spans more than a decade and remarkably already includes four solo albums and six collaborative ones. These include four with multi-instrumentalist Greg Ellis in a duet called Vas and now two in a Los Angeles-based trio called Niyaz where she is joined by Loga Ramin Torkian, master of many traditional instruments from Europe, Turkey and his native Iran, and Grammy-winning producer/re-mixer Carmen Rizzo. Azam both sings and plays a santour or hammered dulcimer, and not surprisingly her music has been compared with that of Lisa Gerrard and Brendan Perry's Dead Can Dance - a fair comparison in terms of ethereality although her Vas recordings are not as punchy, more like later Loreena McKennitt but less florid. For Niyaz think Natacha Atlas plus Dead Can Dance and you are in the right ball park.
Nine Heavens is a double-CD with both electric and acoustic versions of nine deft, stylish arrangements of traditional folk songs as well as Medieval Farsi, Urdu and Sufi poetry from Persia, Turkey and India. Not that I found the listening experience between one CD and the other a whole lot different - it's all good, with very high production values all the way. It's a nice idea though to give the listener the choice between traditional and modern arrangements.
Where the music of Vas was interesting enough, the results here are far more exciting. Azam has clearly developed musically in leaps and bounds, and her rich sensuous voice is just right for this complex cross-cultural blend with its agreeable balance between old and new. This is highly penetrating stuff, ancient mystical music with an ultra-modern beat and deep ambient grooves that are musically and spiritually rich and engaging. Azam's depth of expressive feeling, the technical mastery of the various traditional instruments or electronica and the imaginative arrangements result in a series of haunting, exhilarating soundscapes.
A must for anyone interested in Eastern-styled cross-over.
 Nine Heavens October 26, 2008
E. Anderson
I am a great admirer of Azam Ali, as a solo artist as well as her work with Vas. I always wanted to check out her latest project Niyaz but never got around to it until now. I recently was able to obtain a copy of Niyaz's new cd NINE HEAVENS. For the most part I do enjoy a lot of music that has a heavy middle eastern influence in the beats and melodies. To be perfectly honestly I found NINE HEAVENS repetitive. The opening track "Beni Beni" was pure monotonous. The droning got on my nerves which often happens in a lot of middle eatern music. The same can be said with "Tamana". On the upside, tracks 3 and 4 "Feraghi-Song of Exile" and "Ishq-Love and the Veil" is a lot of fun to listen to. Because Azam Ali was raised in India, I could hear the Indian influences in those songs the music. It does help that the songs do have a good dance beat. "Allah Mazare" is okay but after a minute or so, I feel the need to hit the forward button. "Iman" is a pleasant track. I like the minimalist feel of the sound. The haunting vocals of Azam Ali doesn't get bogged down by the obnoxious beats. The song would be ideal for meditation. The rest of the tracks were okay but monotonous. The second disc which contains acoustic versions was okay but I don't know if it was really necessary. I really wanted to like NINE HEAVENS a bit more but I couldn't no matter how many times I listened to the cd. The cd was too uneven and repetitive for me.
 Refreshing! October 2, 2008
Desert Rat (Black Rock)
I got hooked on Azam Ali the same way I go hooked on Loreena McKennit - I heard the sound of her voice and immediately had to track down who it was. This of course led me to find her numerous projects. Azam has an unmistakeable voice and Niyaz is a fantastic mixture of her voice with the abilities of Loga Ramin Torkian. They are well complimented by the quality of production brought to the mix by Carmen Rizzo (Seal).
Turkish, Persian, and Indian influences abound on this album. Mix it up with the subtle elements of trance and you have a one of a kind sound called Niyaz.
Solid Follow Up To Their Debut Album September 15, 2008
Reviewer
As others have said this one is a bit deeper and richer and less electronic techno beat (though I greatly enjoyed the first album)
I especially liked the acoustic versions of the songs.
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