Axiom Of Choice: Mamak Khadem (vocals); Loga Ramin Torkian (acoustic & electric guitars, saz, diwan); Ruben Haratoonian (clarinet, zurna, duduk); Andre Harutyunyan, Mammad M. Zadeh (percussion).
Additional personnel includes: Martin Tillman (cello, electric bass).
Producers: Loga Ramin Torkian, Mammad M. Zadeh.
If Deepak Chopra's Rumi was the lonely voice of the Sufi desert, Omar Khayyam in the hands of Axiom Of Choice is the caravan itself, full of drink, always on the move. On UNFOLDING, the US-based Persian collective (its members are originally from Iran) brings to life Khayyam's 11th-century verses.
Like Rumi, Khayyam was a mystic, and was no less preoccupied with matters of the soul and the heart. As voiced here by Mamak Khadem, his words are framed in a swirl of duduks, tablas, and songwriter Loga Ramin Torkian's quarter-tone guitar. "Turquoise Island" and "Ancient Sky" also feature electrifying performances by tabla player Bikram Ghosh.