NIYAZ FEATURING AZAM ALI

Electro-acoustic outfit Niyaz breaks new ground with “The Fourth Light,” a far-reaching album that defies most standards of “world music” and makes a bold statement to a global audience. On the heels of three successful albums which have topped the world music and radio charts and placed them in front of international audiences around the world for the past decade, Niyaz has created what is arguably their most mature work yet. Mixed by Grammy nominee producer/ electronic musician Damian Taylor (Bjork, The Killers, Arcade Fire), the album unveils nine compelling songs featuring exotic rhythms, outstanding acoustic performances and the bewitching melancholy of front woman Azam Ali’s voice, all seamlessly blended together into a sleek production of richly textured arrangements, sweeping choruses and electronic beats that make their music both authentic as well as unimpeachably original. Yet with all the mysticism and allure of the East which is dominant in their musical heritage, these are musicians not limited by geographical and cultural boundaries. Niyaz offers listeners, with a convincing truth, a bridge between the East and the West- a sanctuary in the modern world of polarized ideologies.