Questions to the musicians: Azilut!

Julie Sassoon talks about To The Power Of Three

What does the name Azilut! mean and why an exclamation mark?

When we were looking for a band name I came across the word 'azilut' in a very simplified book on the Kabbalah. I instantly liked the sound of the word, and it was described in the book as a 'triad' made up of three equal major energy forces. Our trio is not led by anyone. It is the music of three quite different yet equally strong individuals, so a triangle, or triad of equal sides is a good symbol for the band. The word azilut seemed perfect. We all agreed on the name, however Bart insisted on adding an exclamation mark! - so we did. I have since discovered that Azilut means something totally different. "...The azilutic triangle hosts the world of divine emanation....the enlightened kingdom.....the realm of causes... " WHAT? I thought it was a posh word for an equilateral triangle! Apologies to any offended Kabbalistic scholars reading this.

How long have you been going?

We first got together in Amsterdam during Summer 1999, developed material and did our first gig in February 2000 over there.

How did you meet?

I met Lothar in 1994 in Berlin. I was living there and saw him playing with a Dutch band. His sound really impressed me. The next night he heard me perform my solo piano compositions and was equally impressed, so we decided to work together. We formed a duo - 'Inside Colours'.Lothar and Bart have enjoyed playing together for over 10 years in various bands and projects in Holland. It was Lothar's idea to bring the 3 of us together and start a new project in 1999 when I was over in Amsterdam.

How do you split the composing credit?

All 3 of us started writing music for the trio. We all have different musical styles and backgrounds.

How often do you get the chance to get together?

We get together more or less every 2 months to either work on new material or just to play/improvise together.

What music have you been listening to and is there any which you would recommend?

Urban Moods from France, Björk’s new album.