Two Lands by Azamiah

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Azamiah draw on jazz roots while touching on everything from electronica to dubby low-end, taking the listener on a journey across moody and light landscapes. Their 2023 debut album ‘In Phases’ won praise from The Skinny and CLASH and received plays on BBC 6Music and NTS.

Last summer Azamiah - INDIA BLUE (vocals), Josef Akin (keys), Alex Palmer (drums), and Norman Villeroux (bass) - decamped to rural Suffolk for a writing residency. Inspired by this bucolic idyll in a remote corner of the English countryside, the group turned inwards, reflecting on creation and emotional landscapes. Title track ‘Two Lands’ was built during this time surrounded by bucolic countryside. “It represents that moment. It felt symbolic of this time of music-making,” explains INDIA BLUE. “I’m never really separate from nature, because I myself am part of nature, and I always have access to that. This song is about going to a natural environment, planting some seeds in a fertile land and leaving it to nature to let them grow.”

Recording took place at Gorbals Sound Recording Studio, with INDIA BLUE taking the role of producer. The sessions pulled Azamiah in multiple different directions before resolving into one central message. Moving through heartache and grief, the new songwriting speaks of resilience, and digging deep to unearth long-held connections. “I guess it’s about the inevitable suffering that we as human beings face in this life,” the vocalist notes. “Persevering through pain and allowing it to become a gift. It’s about choosing love, rather than negative emotions.”

A bridge between first album, and second, ‘Two Lands’ resonates with emotional honesty and is played with a fresh intensity. “In a way, the songs feel more full… just because we’re giving it more energy, and more power,” says Norman.

Opening track ‘My Lonely Heart’ sets the tone for the EP; INDIA BLUE’s gorgeous, mellifluous vocal is framed by gossamer electronica, nimble percussion, painterly daubs of keys and a nimble house groove.. A song about heartbreak and rejuvenation, it connects Azamiah’s musicality to a higher purpose. “Times of pain or grief are necessary for growth – they teach you things,” says the vocalist. “Pain isn’t permanent, because nothing in life is permanent. Don’t worry, because everything’s going to be OK!”

“Let Dust Settle” was forged by INDIA BLUE experimenting with a friend’s Loop Station, layering her vocals into grand tapestries of sound. Citing the groove of BadBadNotGood’s “Time Moves Slow” as a key inspiration, Norman notes: “Our taste in music is so vast – it’s not just jazz! Between us, there aren’t any limitations.”

“River Native” is an old song, something INDIA BLUE has been working on for three years; thematically, it deals with “humanity taking so much from nature, and never giving back.” Closer “Pressure Point” was inspired by a quote from musician Christian Scott, an attempt to take “something dark and turn it into something beautiful, something that can resonate with different people,” explains the vocalist.

Freedom music that seeks out independent pathways, this remarkable four-piece are in line to become the next crossover phenomenon from the UK’s jazz underground.

Azamiah draw on jazz roots while touching on everything from electronica to dubby low-end, taking the listener on a journey across moody and light landscapes.

Freedom music that seeks out independent pathways, this remarkable four-piece are in line to become the next crossover phenomenon from the UK’s jazz underground.