Azam Ali | In Other Worlds
Who is Azam Ali? The story behind “In Other Worlds” from Elysium for the Brave, featuring King Crimson members and the voice behind Matrix, 300, and Thor.
Quick Facts: Release Date, Genre, and Credits
“In Other Worlds” was released on July 25, 2006, as track 3 on Elysium for the Brave, Azam Ali’s second solo album. The track runs 6:07 and blends downtempo electronics with Persian and Eastern acoustic instrumentation. Co-produced by Azam Ali and Carmen Rizzo, with Loga Ramin Torkian (Ali’s husband) on guitarviol, lafta lute, electric guitar, and baglama saz, and Tyler Bates on bass. Recorded at Nandi Sound in Los Angeles between November 2005 and February 2006. Mixed at Suite 775, Hollywood. Mastered by Chris Bellman at Bernie Grundman Mastering, Hollywood. Released on Six Degrees Records. The album reached #10 on Billboard’s World Albums chart.
What Is “In Other Worlds” About?
The title is almost autobiographical. Azam Ali was born in Tehran in 1970, moved to Panchgani, India at the age of four, and then relocated to Los Angeles with her mother in 1985. Three countries, three cultures, three languages before she was fifteen. She has described her life as perpetual displacement: “I came into this world like the rest of you... a blank canvas. My life quickly became complicated so I did too.”
“In Other Worlds” carries that displacement in its sound. The track floats between Eastern and Western musical traditions without settling in either, creating a space that belongs to no single geography. Ali’s voice moves through the composition like someone who has learned to feel at home in the space between places rather than in any place itself.
Story Behind “In Other Worlds”
The Santoor Player Who Found Her Voice by Accident
Azam Ali didn’t set out to be a singer. After arriving in Los Angeles as a teenager, she began studying the santoor (Persian hammered dulcimer) under master Manoochehr Sadeghi. It was Sadeghi who accidentally discovered her vocal abilities during their lessons together. As one account put it, “It was through his encouragement that Ali began to explore her voice as the vehicle through which she would finally be able to fully express herself.”
That accidental discovery led to formal training in Western classical vocal technique, which Ali then layered with Indian, Persian, and Eastern European singing traditions. By the time she recorded Elysium for the Brave, she could move between medieval European chant, Persian folk, Arabic devotional music, and contemporary electronica within a single album. “In Other Worlds” sits at the intersection of all these influences: a track that sounds ancient and modern simultaneously, rooted in multiple traditions and beholden to none.
From Vas to Hollywood to Elysium
Before Elysium for the Brave, Ali had already built a remarkable career. In 1996, she formed the world fusion group Vas with percussionist Greg Ellis after meeting at a UCLA concert. Four albums followed between 1997 and 2004. Her debut solo album Portals of Grace (2002) explored medieval European music through her unconventional voice.
Then Hollywood came calling. Ali’s voice began appearing in film and television scores, eventually including Matrix Revolutions, 300, Children of Dune (singing in the fictional Fremen language), Thor: The Dark World, Prince of Persia, Fight Club, and Uncharted 3. She worked with composers including Harry Gregson-Williams, Ramin Djawadi, Brian Tyler, and Michael Giacchino. This cinematic experience shaped Elysium for the Brave. The album has a scope and production scale that feels like a soundtrack to a film that doesn’t exist yet.
“In Other Worlds” Recording and Production Details
Nandi Sound and the Carmen Rizzo Partnership
Elysium for the Brave was recorded at Nandi Sound in Los Angeles, Ali’s creative base. The album was co-produced by Ali and Carmen Rizzo, a two-time Grammy-nominated producer and remixer who had also co-founded Niyaz with Ali and her husband Loga Ramin Torkian. Rizzo handled programming, keyboards, and synthesizers across most of the album, building the electronic architecture that supports Ali’s acoustic performances.
“In Other Worlds” features Loga Ramin Torkian on guitarviol, lafta lute, electric guitar, and baglama saz. Torkian, an Iranian multi-instrumentalist and Ali’s husband, plays instruments that most Western listeners have never encountered, creating timbres that sit outside any familiar sonic category. Tyler Bates contributed bass to the track, bringing a rock sensibility to the Eastern-electronic fusion.
King Crimson Members in the Mix
The broader album features a remarkable cast of collaborators. Trey Gunn and Pat Mastelotto, both members of King Crimson, appear on multiple tracks. Gunn plays Warr Guitar on tracks including the album opener “Endless Reverie,” while Mastelotto provides drums and tom-toms. Andre Harutounyan adds Turkish dhol, darbuka, and nagara percussion. Keyavash Nourai contributes violin. Jeff Rona (known for his film scoring work) co-produced one track.
The mix of King Crimson’s progressive rock muscle with Persian and Turkish acoustic instruments, layered over Carmen Rizzo’s electronic production, gives Elysium for the Brave a texture that belongs to no established genre. Mixed at Suite 775 in Hollywood and mastered by Chris Bellman at Bernie Grundman Mastering, the album’s sonic clarity allows each of these disparate elements to breathe.
Notes About “In Other Worlds” by Azam Ali
Release Date: July 25, 2006
Duration: 6:07
Genre: Downtempo / World / Electronic / Ethereal
Album: Elysium for the Brave (2nd solo album, track 3)
Writers: Azam Ali
Producers: Azam Ali, Carmen Rizzo
Label: Six Degrees Records
Studio: Nandi Sound, Los Angeles
Mixed at: Suite 775, Hollywood
Mastered by: Chris Bellman at Bernie Grundman Mastering, Hollywood
Chart Performance: Album reached #10 on Billboard World Albums chart
Azam Ali “In Other Worlds” Era Details
Album Details
Album: Elysium for the Brave
Release Date: July 25, 2006
Label: Six Degrees Records
Producers: Azam Ali, Carmen Rizzo (tracks 1-7, 9), Jeff Rona (track 8)
Studio: Nandi Sound, Los Angeles (Nov 2005 - Feb 2006)
Format: CD (digipak), digital
9 tracks, approximately 52 minutes
Personnel
Azam Ali - Voice, hammered dulcimer, daf, frame drums, zils, producer, arrangements, mixing
Carmen Rizzo - Programming, keyboards, synthesizer, co-producer
Loga Ramin Torkian - Guitarviol, lafta lute, electric guitar, baglama saz, engineer (tracks 1-3, 7-9)
Tyler Bates - Electric guitar, acoustic guitar, bass, keyboards (tracks 3, 5, 9)
Trey Gunn - Warr Guitar (tracks 1, 6)
Pat Mastelotto - Drums, tom-toms (track 1)
Andre Harutounyan - Darbuka, nagara, Turkish dhol, shakers (tracks 2, 7, 8)
Keyavash Nourai - Violin (track 4)
Jeff Rona - Programming, keyboards, co-producer (track 8)
Satnam Ramgotra - Tabla (tracks 8, 9)
Omid Torbatian - Ney (track 8)
Michael Snyder - Arrangements
Chris Bellman - Mastering (Bernie Grundman Mastering)
Artist Context
Born Tehran, Iran (1970), raised in Panchgani, India, moved to LA (1985)
Studied santoor under master Manoochehr Sadeghi, discovered voice accidentally
Co-founded Vas with Greg Ellis (1996-2004, 4 albums on Narada Records)
Co-founded Niyaz with husband Loga Ramin Torkian and Carmen Rizzo
Formed Roseland duo with Tyler Bates (2003-2007)
Voice featured in: Matrix Revolutions, 300, Children of Dune, Thor: The Dark World, Prince of Persia, Fight Club, Uncharted 3
Collaborated with: Serj Tankian, Buckethead, Peter Murphy, The Crystal Method, Mercan Dede, Mickey Hart, Zakir Hussain, Omar Faruk Tekbilek
Two JUNO Award nominations
Sings in Persian, Arabic, Turkish, Urdu, Ladino, Latin, English, French, and the fictional Fremen language
Interesting Facts About “In Other Worlds”
The Voice That Bridges Hollywood and the Ancient World
Azam Ali occupies a unique position in music: she is simultaneously one of the most heard and least known voices in modern entertainment. Millions of people have heard her without knowing her name, through scores for Matrix Revolutions, 300, Thor: The Dark World, and dozens of other films and TV shows. She has worked with nearly every major Hollywood composer. Yet her solo albums exist in a different universe entirely, rooted in Persian folk tradition, Sufi poetry, and the acoustic instruments of cultures that predate the film industry by centuries.
“In Other Worlds” captures this duality. The production is modern and cinematic, shaped by Carmen Rizzo’s electronics and Tyler Bates’s rock-influenced bass. But the soul of the track is ancient: Ali’s voice carries the weight of Persian classical training, Indian musical immersion, and a childhood spent absorbing traditions from two of the world’s oldest continuous cultures. The title isn’t just a lyrical conceit. It’s a description of where the music actually lives.
The Husband and Wife Who Built Their Own Sonic Language
Loga Ramin Torkian plays instruments on “In Other Worlds” that most listeners can’t name. The guitarviol is a hybrid bowed guitar. The lafta is an ancient lute. The baglama (also called djura) is a Turkish stringed instrument. Together with his wife Azam Ali, Torkian has built a body of work across multiple projects (Niyaz, their collaborative album Lamentation of Swans) that creates its own musical language: neither purely Eastern nor Western, neither traditional nor electronic.
In a recent interview, Ali described her creative process: “I create as an act of self-healing, a way to transmute pain into beauty, and in that alchemy, I’ve discovered that others, too, find resonance and healing within my music.” That transmutation is audible on “In Other Worlds”: a track that takes the pain of displacement and turns it into something that sounds like home.
Common Questions
Q: Who is Azam Ali? A: Azam Ali is an Iranian singer, composer, and multi-instrumentalist born in Tehran in 1970, raised in India, and based in Los Angeles. She is known for her solo work, the groups Vas and Niyaz, and her voice on dozens of Hollywood film and TV scores including Matrix Revolutions, 300, and Thor: The Dark World.
Q: What is “In Other Worlds” about? A: The song reflects Ali’s experience of living between cultures: born in Iran, raised in India, living in America. The music blends Eastern acoustic instruments with Western electronic production, creating a sound that belongs to no single place.
Q: What album is “In Other Worlds” on? A: Elysium for the Brave (2006), Azam Ali’s second solo album, released on Six Degrees Records. The album reached #10 on Billboard’s World Albums chart.
Q: What genre is “In Other Worlds”? A: The track blends downtempo electronics with Persian and Eastern acoustic instrumentation, sitting between world music, ethereal, and electronic genres. It features instruments including guitarviol, lafta lute, and baglama saz alongside synthesizers and programmed beats.
Q: Who plays on “In Other Worlds”? A: Azam Ali (voice, instruments), Carmen Rizzo (programming, keyboards, co-producer), Loga Ramin Torkian (guitarviol, lafta, saz, electric guitar), and Tyler Bates (bass). The broader album also features Trey Gunn and Pat Mastelotto of King Crimson.
Q: How did Azam Ali discover her voice? A: Ali was studying the santoor (Persian hammered dulcimer) under master Manoochehr Sadeghi in Los Angeles when he accidentally discovered her vocal abilities during lessons. His encouragement led her to explore singing, eventually training in Western classical, Persian, Indian, and Eastern European vocal techniques.
Q: What films feature Azam Ali’s voice? A: Her voice appears in Matrix Revolutions, 300, Children of Dune (singing in the fictional Fremen language), Thor: The Dark World, Prince of Persia, Fight Club, Uncharted 3, and many others. She has worked with composers including Harry Gregson-Williams, Ramin Djawadi, Brian Tyler, and Michael Giacchino.