Elysium is a state of grace or paradise, a word whose origins are the land of the same name in Greek mythology that is the home of the blessed dead. Before anyone jumps on the "paradise awaits the warrior who dies with the sword in his hand" shit that is fed to suicide bombers and tries to impose that on this disc, this refers to the true version of a beautiful concept that has been perverted by unscrupulous people for their own purposes.
All the dead are blessed for all the living have struggled against forces of some sort or another. Some of them win and some them lose their battles; it is based on the results of those battles that we make judgments on our fellow humans. In death those judgments no longer exist so we all have achieved that state of grace where we are free from struggle and war.
Elysium For The Brave is Azam Ali's way of honouring those who have taken risks with their lives in an attempt to rise above the circumstances life gave them. Using traditional instruments, electronics, and her vocal prowess, she creates atmospheric impressions that attempt to recreate emotional experiences that both honour that struggle and give examples of it.
One of the ironies of this type of album is the more successful tracks almost always seem to be the ones not sung in English. That rule of thumb holds true on this album as well. Although there is nothing wrong with those tracks, they lacked the emotional impact of the ones sung in Farsi or other languages. But I don't think that is completely the fault of Azam.
As a listener, I know when I hear English lyrics I will immediately begin to "think" about the song and what the lyrics are saying, instead of letting the emotional flow carry me. I wonder how a Farsi speaking person would react in the reverse circumstances, or is it just that English lends itself to rationality so readily?
While there was only one song that really stuck out in that manner, "Forty One Ways", I still found all the English songs would pull me slightly out of the atmosphere created by the other songs. That being said, the moments of absolute beauty and wonder through out disc far outshone those few distractions.
For the most part there is perfect harmony between the electronic and acoustic instruments and the mixing of traditional percussion with drum machines went a long way towards creating the unworldly atmosphere required to ensure the proper mood and feeling were created. As my own personal preferences are towards acoustic and traditional instruments, I hesitate to criticize what I feel was an over reliance on electronics but at times I felt the sound was bordering on distortion because there was so much happening at once. Again, this could just be a case of my ear not being used to this type of sound but I think the effect could have been achieved equally well if not even better with sparser arrangements.
Article comments
1 - Triniman
I have the three Vas CDs in my collection. I wonder if she will tour with this album.