Discoveries: Laleh

Iranian musicians know how to do it, especially when they are outside Iran. I can name you at least five Iranian performers, who have done great in the music niche. Now it is high time I met you with Laleh, an Iranian young female singer living in Sweden. I found her by accident, but after listening to a few tracks by her I realized that this girl needs more attention.

Although she is not new, already two albums released, she is less known outside Scandinavia, which is quite a pity. She sounds like Björk meets Regina Spektor, but with less piano and more vocal experiments. She may not fit everyone's taste, especially if you are more into more radio-friendly voices, but don't ignore her if you are ready for some more indie, mixed with anti-folk, acoustic and alternative. Plus her music has plenty of originality of its own and hides more surprises the deeper you go.

Recommendation Weekly: Azam Ali

Azam Ali is anything, but a new name in the music business and still she may not be familiar to many of you. Perhaps you remember her from the world projects Niyaz and Vas or you might associate her with Lisa Gerrard from Dead Can Dance. All of your assumptions are quite right, although the born in Iran, raised in India and living for many years in the States Ali stands for herself. She had a very distinctive singing and quite an amazing vocal range, which many compare to such singers as Lisa Gerrard and Loreena McKennitt. I'd agree with these comparisons only to a certain extent, because Azam Ali is an excellent performer of her own and she only demonstrates the inspirations drawn Medieval, World and Gothic music, without trying to resemble anyone.

Her solo works differs from her teamed up projects Niyaz and Vas, although the ethno element has the biggest part in any music she creates. Her debut album "Portals of Grace" is closely related to Medieval music, in contrast to her second release, which can be classified as contemporary ethnic music. Most of her songs are slow tracks, which some define as lullabies of the forgotten times and others as emotional ballads with a mellow touch. Her music is definitely not for fast consumption and it is not accessible to every ear, which doesn't mean that her music is elitist...it just requires time and desire to go beyond the borders of music and embark on a journey back to a past where honor, love till death do us apart and spiritual purity were still not just articles in a dictionary.