Customer Reviews

Offerings

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

If you've been hearing that Vas is the second coming of Dead Can Dance, I'll be gentle - they're not quite that good. But they are excellent! Azam Ali's vocals are sweet, melodious, and pure, and easily transcend 90% of the "ethereal" music out there today. Greg Ellis' percussion is commendable, although his variance is more in his instruments than in his tempo. There is not enough variance to christen this a masterpiece - upon the first few listens, you'll have difficulty distinguishing between songs, which keeps each from having a unique identity. And Azam Ali does not have the range of emotion or inflection you may be hoping for. All in all, this is a fine, beautiful release by a strong up-and-coming ensemble, who will undoubtedly impress us for years to come. Due to the repetitive nature of the music, it doesn't quite live up to all the hype - but it does come close! :)

This album can NOT be compared to any musical effort whatsoever. I've seen reviews of this album being compared to many other efforts such as Dead Can Dance, and I yield to this comparison. I have even heard someone mentioning Loreena McKennitt and thought, "absolutely not! Loreena stands on her own as does DCD!" VAS's album titled "Offerings" is ultimately different from the other two recordings. VAS does a "fairly" good job at making each album distinct from the other. I found myself loving "Sunyata" and listening to it periodically, but one morning I woke up and have been going for "Offerings" much more. "Sunyata" is beautiful, but not as unique with its instruments as "Offerings". Azam Ali uses her voice a little less instrumentally this time and uses the music composed by Gregg to do its job, while she stands back.

On track 9, called "Wajad" she allows a man by the name of Omar Faruk Tekbilek to take over and unleash his own soul, while she is absent and most probably admiring him. His emotion is much like Azam Ali's own and his voice ageless.

What I love about this recording is the lack of lyrics which can be understood. One will never understand her soul. That is what's so admirable of Azam Ali. She has the emotion and integrity of a gentle goddess. Her ways of using her voice as a tool to soothe a listener's soul is brilliant! I cannot say more admirable things about this recording.

"Offerings" is a success and should be praised! I am in love with VAS! They are the most eccentric musicians! Goodness, can they make me feel and weep. It feels like pure release from this realm of a world.

This cd is their most complex I think. The first song, Svarga, moves from very sparse droning & a reticent Persian violin to what is by far the most mind-blowing polyphony I've ever heard, & I have a large polyphony collection. After that the songs are all so beautiful, each with its own thriving soul. Vas is not Dead Can Dance, though. They never will be. The endlessly unravelling vocal harmonies of Azam Ali are a unique marvel. Greg Ellis's adeptness on tabla & other drums is great. The truth is the musical composition is more western than anything else, with worldly instruments & timeless energy. Greg drums with a western rhythmic sensibility. A great western rhythmic sensibility in their modern western music that's so unique in its themes & variations that it feels exotic. From driving, but serene, hammered dulcimer to very sparing, dark, almost ambient music, this cd is most highly recommended.

Vocalist Azam Ali and percussionist Greg Ellis of Vas continue their emotive, improvisational explorations of voice and rhythm, taking up where their debut album "Sunyata" left off and adding new layers of expression. This time the duo broadens their venue to include guest musicians for a fuller and more diverse sound: cellist and sarangi player Hans Christian (of Rasa), Arabic violinist Nabil Azzam, guitarist Steve Stevens and flutist/percussionist/singer Omar Faruk Tekbilek. All are well chosen and fit in well with Vas's exotic, eastern style. The tempos of "Offerings" are somewhat more upbeat than those of "Sunyata", but all of the selections are still gentle rather than frenetic, offering grace and artistry in their restraint. Of particular note are the first track, "Svarga", which builds to a swirl of truly transcendental vocal multi-tracking, and "The Promise", a lovely, sweet song that features voice, cello and guitar and is more conventionally melodic (in a Western sense, that is) than most of Vas's repertoire. Hans Christian and his wife Kim Waters forms the duo Rasa, and their albums "Devotion", "Union" and "Shelter" have similarities to the work of Vas. The multitalented Omar Faruk Tekbilek also has many releases of his own.

It happens to the best of us. Reality impinges, takes a bite out of our equanimity, and makes off with our peace of mind. These are times when those that belive in an inner sanity struggle to find something that provides pure focus, music that is there for itself, with no distracting overtones.

Azam Ali has a rare talent - the ability to take the sounds and tones of her voice and, almost magically, make them into words and sentences completely free of meanings and hidden agendas. In this pure atmosphere, accompanied by the thoughtful percussion of her companion Greg Ellis, there is a place for reintegration as well as the appreciation of something beautiful.

Ali is Iranian, the melodies and structures of that land haunt Vas's music. It would, however, be unfair to classify this music as belonging to one region or culture. The are too adept to fall into that trap. The delicacy of the music arises in a careful weaving of eastern and western tradition. Guitar, cello and violin make the sound familiar and alien at the same time. I'm not a great percussion fan, but I find the edges added by Ellis's work add to the serenity and fascination of the music.

I purchased both Sunyata and Offerings without hearing any of their work. You can not imagine how pleased I was when the sound that came to my ears was soothing music accompanied by Ali's voice. This is not just singing. Her voice transcends language bringing you the deeply soulful emotion which stirs the core of ones essence. Such a gentle strength to her singing. Wonderfuly rhythmic percussion. Greg's talent is unsurpassed. The combination of instruments and song conjure images of graceful dancers of the east. I love all of the tracks on Offerings! I never tire of this CD. What a find! I hope they come out with a new CD soon!

This is a wonderful follow-up to their first release and i even think it even may surpass it. I was pleasantly surprised to hear a few tracks that contained an acoustic guitar- very fluid and not at all "wanky". It added alot of depth to the already lush, crystal water-like qualities of Azam's voice. I haven't been able to find out much about these artists in Vas... This is perfect music for a bath, or a ritual.. very magickal and full of goddess energy. I totally recommend~~~!!

My friends, here is an extremely unusual group of musicians, and their work indeed deserves all the implications of the word SUBLIME...However, I must support the Oakland-reviewer- Ali's voice is unbelievable, and the overall atmosphere created by the pieces is a dream-like one..But the singing may indeed get monotonous at times ..The melodies lack a CATHARSIS, a listener aches for a resolution which never comes and that may leave an effect similar to that of unsatisfaction.Those claiming this album to be similar to Dead Can Dance completely mislead the readers. Nevertheless, Vas's work is truly magnificent and should be attended by every unusual-music fan.I see their next album In The Garden of Souls is coming up.I can hardly wait.

Since hearing this cd, no other music I know registers to me as "spiritual." Intelligent,. maybe, which this cd is too. Brilliant. Greg Ellis's masterful drumming on an eclectic variety of drums, the selections of instruments from around the world, & Azam Ali's voice combine to form something truly beautiful & transcendent. Dead Can Dance? No. Vas isn't like DCD; Vas is a vessel for its own edifications of twilight & sun. For me as a serious music lover, something extremely appealing about this album is the repeated figures that dominate instrumental sections while Azam Ali's voice treks powerfully through its own contrapuntal, polyphonic compositions. If you have an errant & honest curiosity, this cd will be a vehicle that will deliver. It doesn't sound like Sunyata, rather more secluded in a kind of sylvan complexity; like In The Garden of Souls, rather less dark & more spiritually elevating; or like Dead Can Dance. Vas takes similar influences of world music & ancient music & doesn't want to take it all the same place as DCD. Particular songs that stand out for me are the first, The Promise, & A Garland of Breath, but they're all so emotionally & intellectually replete that...well...

Vas is my favorite group. All three albums are excellent. Amazon recommended them to me and they were right, I fell in love with this music. Throughout Vas's 3 CDs, Azam Ali sings in a nonlanguage with words she made up herself that may not mean anything, but it sure sounds nice. Occasionally she slips in a few real words borrowed from Persian, Sanskrit, or Hindi. Offerings has the song "Veiled" which is unique in Vas's oeuvre because Azam Ali actually sings intelligible words in a real language, Persian. The text is Quatrain 185 by Jalal al-Din Rumi: ay jân ze del-e to bar del-e man râhast / vaz jostan-e ân râh delam âgâh ast / zirâ del-e man cho âb sâfi o khvosh ast / âb-e sâfi âyeneh-dâr-e mâh ast. The CD booklet provides a translation: O my soul, there is a link between your heart and mine / And my heart is looking for that path / My heart is clear and pure like water / And pure water is a perfect mirror for moonlight. After that, Azam sings "ay yâr, ay yâr" (O Beloved), which is not part of the poem but is a real phrase in Persian. She must have really loved Rumi to depart from her usual nonlanguage. The beautiful spiritual love of this poem gives you an idea of what's in her heart expressed through her singing.