It’s been eleven years since pioneering electro-acoustic music collective NIYAZ released their groundbreaking and critically hailed album The Fourth Light which NPR described as “a swirling, whirling palette of colors fronted by Ali’s rich and precise voice.” On September 17, 2026, its much-anticipated follow-up SEVEN REALMS OF ATTAR will be unleashed via Terrestrial Lane Productions. The ultimate fusion between 12th Century Sufi mysticism and modern and innovative electronic musicianship, the new album brings together music and poetry into a fully mesmeric aural terrain that has been the calling card for the collective helmed by Azam Ali and Loga Ramin Torkian.
Inspired by the timeless wisdom of Persian Sufi poet Attar’s Conference of the Birds, a 12th Century poem, Seven Realms of Attar draws upon the allegorical tale of a community of birds in search of their king. Following a symbolic journey into seven valleys in order to reach the abode of Simorgh (a huge mythical flying creature from Persian legend credited with possessing great wisdom), each realm uncovers revelations encountered on this path toward self-discovery and truth.
“Today, with full hearts, Loga and I are honored to finally share the culmination of six years of devotion, our most ambitious artistic endeavor to date: Seven Realms of Attar,” says Azam. “It offers a space to contemplate our common humanity and the unseen threads that bind us together.”
Playing a variety of acoustic and non-acoustic global instruments including guitar, the Turkish saz, electric guitarvol (a 14th century European bowed guitar), Persian lute, and a variety of other Turkish and Kurdish instruments, Torkian creates a musical landscape that allows Azam’s ethereal and spellbinding vocals and enveloping programming to create a deeply immersive and captivating purlieu.
With each track following the mythic seven stages of spiritual awakening: Quest, Love, Knowledge, Detachment, Unity, Wonderment, and Annihilation, Seven Realms of Attar carries the listener through the musical and enlightening journey. Serving as the entry point to their mystical world, “Quest” is an enticing and entrancing percussive introduction, asking the listener to abandon certainty to venture into the unknown with an insatiable desire to discover a deeper truth. “Knowledge” advances the journey, drawing you deeper into the mythos, igniting the emotion of love that consumes reason, fear, and attachment through transformation. Each song brings the culmination of the odyssey closer to the destination of “Annihilation” which comes the self-realization that the divine presence has never been separate from their own being.
An important companion piece is the live performance element which Niyaz will bring to life at Los Angeles’ Royce Hall on October 4th. Blending live music, poetry, dance, 3D animation, sound- and motion-responsive projection mapping, and immersive visual environments, the work transforms the stage into a living, evolving cosmos, unfolding as a contemplative journey through longing, transformation, and unity. More information and tickets are available here: https://roycehall.org/calendar/details/niyaz-2026.
Created in collaboration with fourteen extraordinary artists in the U.S., France, Germany, Turkey, and Iran, this work is our offering to a world longing for healing, beauty, and connection. At once intimate and epic in scale, Seven Realms of Attar is a celebration of humanity’s enduring capacity for transformation. Inviting people of all cultural and spiritual backgrounds into a shared experience of reflection and wonder, the work offers a space to contemplate our common humanity and the unseen threads that bind us together. “To experience Seven Realms of Attar is to embark upon an inward journey, one that ultimately reveals that beyond the illusions of separation lies a deeper unity connecting all beings,” explains Azam.
A fascinating new chapter in Niyaz’s oeuvre, Seven Realms of Attar asks the age-old question that has echoed across cultures and centuries: How do we find meaning in a world marked by uncertainty, division, and impermanence? While the answer has been mused about, Niyaz believes it is far more central within our beings, which is the final haven in Attar’s The Conference of the Birds. As evidenced by their hypnotic album, Seven Realms of Attar, sometimes the journey is just as enlightening as reaching the destination.
“To everyone who has continued to listen, believe in our work, and patiently await this next chapter, thank you,” concludes Azam. “Your love and encouragement have carried us farther than you know.”
Seven Realms of Attar will be released on Terrestrial Lane Productions on September 17, 2026 and will be available on CD and vinyl, including many assorted bundles at https://www.indiegogo.com/en/projects/azamali/seven-realms-of-attar-project.