Deleyaman are a four piece band whose international line up includes a Swede, two French and a founder member who is an American/Armenian born and raised in Istanbul and this conglomeration of nationalities and cultures combine on a unique and fascinating debut album which blends spiritual themes with Eastern and Oriental musical influences and some haunting ethereal vocals. "Ayn Kisher" could almost be an outtake from Bowie's "Low" period, "Dance of Sisyphus" stirs the very soul with it's Turkish inspiration and "2001" features some menacing Twin Peaks style bass lines but overall this is a fine eclectic album of multi-cultural sounds. -Steve Ward

00/1 is the aptly titled 2001 debut album of French band Deleyaman (Their other two albums also have sequential titles: Second and 3 ). The group consists of members whose background includes Armenia, Turkey, France Sweden and USA. Their resulting collaboration is a rich tapestry of ethnically-diverse songs with a strong emphasis on Middle Eastern melodies and percussion as well as medieval Celtic folklore and a touch of darkwave. Both ancient and contemporary instruments were utilized to heighten the ageless element. The songs are sung in Armenian and founding members Aret Madilian and Béatrice Valantin share vocal duties. They both have hypnotically dazzling voices that are perfectly suited to this kind of music yet they also know the power of silence and use it quite often throughout the songs on 00/1 to great effect. A beautiful, haunting debut. -Ron Sawyer

Swedish/French/Armenian American collective Deleyaman claim The Stranglers, Hendrix and The Cramps among their influences, not that you‚ll hear any of that on this remarkable debut. Instead, there is a rich spirituality inspired by Armenian and Soviet Georgian liturgical chants, and the baroque stylings of Handel and Bach; none of which sounds very appealing on paper. In the flesh though, it‚s like entering a time warp and emerging at a time when true alternative music was being shaped in the hands of Transglobal Underground, Dead Can Dance and Cocteau Twins. As a result Œ00/1‚ refines a template imbuing it with a depth and beauty matched only by recent efforts from Natacha Atlas. Not that they limit themselves to purely Eastern stylings; ŒAlmast‚ adds a rich layer of pastoral folk in The Wicker Man tradition ˆ bringing the welcome memory of Britt Ekland dancing naked in her bedroom. Irresistible. -Michael Ornadet

Multi-ethnic mixture of religious music by post-punks Armenian lithurgic chants and Joy Division may not be the most obviously winning influences, but Deleyaman (also including French, Turkish, Swedish, Georgian Orthodox, Anglican and Bach inspirations in its four-piece fold) create a charismatic, shifting, sensual ambience from these dirge-like elements. It's gypsy cathedral music, exotically sacred and nomadically slippery, plus a touch of the dancefloor and the spy film, with unearthly male and female spiritual cries. -Nick Hasted