As Ney

Personnel: Cymin Samawatie (vocals); Benedikt Jahnel (piano); Ralf Schwarz (double bass); Ketan Bhatti (drums, percussion).
Boasting band members from India, Europe, and Iran, Cyminology creates spare, piano-based music that draws on Eastern and Western traditions. Fronted by Iranian singer and songwriter Cymin Samwatie, who writes lyrics in Farsi and takes inspiration from Persian poetry, Cyminology feels mythic and contemporary at once. The ambient, often melancholic feel of the songs on AS NEY, the group's ECM debut, is evocative, as is the blend of jazz, chamber music, and torch song intimacy. These qualities mixed with the group's multi-cultural make-up make Cyminology a house band for the global village.