Azam Ali – To Pieces
“It is a song of destruction, of fire consuming everything in its path, yet within that annihilation lies the threshold of renewal, and the promise of something new,” explains internationally beloved singer/songwriter/producer AZAM ALI about her new single “To Pieces,” which is released today, September 4, 2025 via COP International.
Taken from her upcoming album Synesthesia which will be released on November 14, 2025, “To Pieces” is a gorgeously aural landscape of echoing strings, cinematic keyboard washes, and tribal percussions, with Azam’s ethereal vocals floating above it all like a luminescent spectre.
The first single released through her new label COP International (home of The Cassandra Complex, Stabbing Westward, Red Lorry Yellow Lorry), “To Pieces” is a visceral ceremony of sorts, creating a musical backdrop for Azam’s highly stylized vocal prowess. “This is perhaps the most raw and visceral piece on the album,” she explains. “As I was creating it, I kept envisioning a primal scene: the wilderness at night beneath a blood-red moon, fire crackling, and the untamed spirit of something breaking free. At its core, the song speaks of betrayal; the betrayal we inflict upon one another as human beings, and the ruthless betrayal of nature itself, which devours without mercy or distinction.”
Like her critically-hailed previous album Phantoms (2019), Synesthesia was written, performed and produced by Azam and is her second all-English album. Her ground-breaking uniqueness in a genre dominated by male artists has been one of the touchstones of her career as one of the few female electronic artists, creating a textured tapestry that defies genre and definition by incorporating electro, ethnic, post-punk, classical and avant-garde elements into her music.
Deeply layered both musically and lyrically, her sixth solo album Synesthesia is an escape from this tumultuous world, but not without the impact of the cultural and political upheaval. Named after the sensory phenomenon that allows individuals to experience the senses in a different way such as tasting colors or feeling sounds, “synesthesia” is a concept that runs throughout the album. The title track’s accelerating beat contrasts with Azam’s wispy vocals, generating a neural response that is comforting yet daunting. “This song is very special for me because I tried to capture what the sense of synesthesia that I experience is, the way my senses sometimes overlap, blending sound, color, and texture into a single, immersive perception.” The gauzy and delicate “Autumn of Goodbye” offers a softer and radiant ambiance with Azam holding onto the final moments before letting go (Walk with me / Under the sky / And offer me / The stars / On the way down). Synesthesia also offers two eye-opening covers: Tim Buckley’s “Song to the Siren” and Natalie Merchant’s “This House Is On Fire.” The former is a moody take on the original, highlighting Azam’s octave jumping vocal prowess, while the latter transforms Merchant’s languid calypso beat into a propulsive song with Middle Eastern flourishes.
“My music is an invitation to step beyond the confines of time, place, and the fragile vessel of flesh into a universe without borders,” Azam explains. “I want the listener to feel carried into the vastness of the ethereal, where freedom breathes, and every note reveals our part in a greater design. In this realm, we are no longer solitary beings, but shining stars drawn together into galaxies, each tone a reminder that we are participants in a cosmic symphony far larger than ourselves.”
As a citizen of the world (she was born in Iran, raised in India, and now based in Los Angeles), Azam can’t help but be vocally in tune with the events unfolding in the U.S. as well as the Middle East. “Society often expects artists to remain silent on politics, as though our only duty were to create beauty untouched by the world’s wounds,” she says. “Yet history shows otherwise. Artists have always stood at the frontlines of social and political transformation. My own life has been shaped by war, displacement, and the relentless weight of politics, realities that cannot be separated from my art. How could such experiences not weave themselves into my music, when the essence of art is honesty of expression?”
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