The award-winning Israeli-Persian singer Liraz returns with a new single "Azizam" from her upcoming third album 'Roya' (due out on 7 October 2022 on Glitterbeat). A collection of 11 tracks that enrich her signature blend of tradi-modern rhythms and retro-Persian sonics, 'Roya' ("fantasy" in Farsi) is music as a magic portal, an arched gateway to a place of peace, joy and unfettered, chador-waving freedom.Liraz and her Israeli sextet (three women, three men) recorded 'Roya' over ten days in Istanbul, in a basement studio hidden from public view and crackling with creativity. With them, on violin, viola and the tar, the wasp-waisted wooden Iranian lute, were composers and musicians from the Iranian capital, Tehran. The same clutch of anonymous players who previously collaborated with Liraz online, no questions asked, no faces shown, under the radar of Tehran’s secret police, for her feted 2020 album, 'Zan'.

This time everyone worked collectively, face to face, heart to heart. The ever-present sense of danger and fear eventually surrendering to the joyfulness of the shared adventure. “All I remember are fragments: the fear and anxiety I felt when I knew they were on their way. The tears of joy and relief we all cried as we embraced,” Liraz says. “And the music we made! Such music!”With strings snaking through pulsing electronics and wah-wah-guitars, the album’s first single "Azizam" ("Dearest" in Farsi) is a psychedelic wonder, strobing around lyrics that tell of unhinged obsession (“You are the evil killing me/I, who is in love with you”).

Liraz tells us more about the new single:“Azizam is a joyful and rhythmic love song, with an open and honest way of viewing relationships. Two lovers. Hearts bonded together, bodies miles apart. Their longing for each other overpowers all other emotions, a feeling of madness engulfing them. They are crazy about each other, and crazy with unfulfilled wants and desires.These lovers are us. They are a reflection of my relationship with my Iranian friends. We are bonded together, yet physically distant. Mad with longing, crazy with desire and yet - happy in our love. The emotions are raw and real. The craziness is a reflection of the uncertainties of our world, and the love a reminder that amidst all the chaos, there is still so much laughter and happiness surrounding us.”