Niyaz Singer Azam Ali Creates Corona Benefit Song & Video
Singer Azam Ali of Niyaz has just dropped a beautiful, extended meditation, “All That Is Left Is Sky.” It’s a deliriously languid track of Azam’s layered voice intoning wordless vocals over ritual percussion and swirling synth pads. It’s all set to some pretty epic nature visuals, much of it from drone video which has really changed the way nature is viewed these days, capturing the vastness and workings of the environment in ways we didn’t often see before. But this track, which you’ll be hearing on Echoes, carries its own visuals of mystic nights, slow motion dancers, tribal rituals and deep meditations.
It’s also a benefit single. Azam has created a gofundme page, UPLIFT- Azam Ali’s Fundraiser for Artists asking people to donate to a fund to benefit artists stricken by the financial effects of the Corona Pandemic Quarantine.
Azam Ali writes: I ask you to give whatever is within your means. It can even be $1. All the money raised will be distributed evenly among the artist community. In the spirit of transparency, every single artist who receives funds will be named publicly along with the amount that they receive so that donors know exactly where & to whom their contributions are going.
Of the video she says: This 9-minute meditation/ceremonial piece entitled “All That is Left is Sky,” is inspired by nature and the psychic transformation we are all experiencing collectively. I am certain I am not alone in my experience that everything even the sky seems different these days. Or maybe I am just learning to slow down and adopt the pace of nature…to appreciate and bear witness to the eternal dance of creation…from the ephemeral transformation of clouds to the intoxicating smell of roses which I am now making time for.
I’m generally not a fan of nature videos, but this one, with its wide-angle heavenly perspective and slow motion effects is worth putting up on your big TV screen. Or just close your eyes and let the visuals play out in your mind’s eye as Azam Ali’s deep, entrancing voice swirls through your head. For more, listen to Azam Ali’s Phantoms, Echoes October 2020 CD of the Month. You can also hear a great interview with Azam in the Echoes Podcast.