Vas
Vas was an "alternative world" musical group consisting of Persian vocalist Azam Ali and American percussionist Greg Ellis. Vas is frequently compared to the Australian band Dead Can Dance. At present the band has released four full length albums, and both artists have released a few solo albums and participated in side projects. After their last album Feast of Silence, Ali and Ellis continued on their own separate ways. Azam Ali was raised in India and moved to Los Angeles, California in 1985, where she began studying the dulcimer-like santur under the guidance of Manoochehr Sadeghi. Greg Ellis was born and raised in Los Gatos, California, where he first learned to play the drums at age twelve. Ellis moved to Los Angeles in 1984 and started work as a percussionist. The two musicians met at UCLA in 1995 after hearing each other perform; they formed Vas shortly thereafter.