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After honing her sound within the downtown NYC music scene, Haale’s career kicked into high gear in January 2007 with the release of two EPs, Morning and Paratrooper. A year of touring was set in motion during which Haale and her band played 90 shows, including the David Byrne-curated series at Carnegie Hall, the Bonnaroo festival, European festivals, and numerous rock clubs and concert halls across America.

When Haale wasn’t touring, she was hard at work recording her breathtaking, full-length debut, No Ceiling (March 18, 2008). At a time when so many bands sound painfully alike and imitative, Haale is a much needed voice. On this fresh and startlingly original album, she injects classic and psychedelic-influenced rock with new life, by drawing on her dual heritage and resuscitating the rock music she loves with a breath of Persian mysticism.

Haale (as in halle-lujah or jale-peno) is a Bronx-born woman of Iranian descent. Her name means ‘the halo around the moon.’ She grew up on Hendrix, Peter Gabriel, and Dylan while Persian traditional music whispered in the background. “At a certain point I perked my ears and realized I had this beautiful music and mystical poetry to dig into,” Haale says, speaking of her Persian heritage. “I felt there was a connection between the psychedelic rock music I was listening to and the Sufi music and poetry I was waking up to. Both of them are about breaking through to the other side, traveling the axis from pain to pleasure. I became interested in bringing them together in my own songs.”

Haale, of course, isn’t the first one to embark on the West goes East path. Brian Jones dipped into Moroccan vibes, the Beatles hit the ashram, and Zeppelin forged its rock with Muslim mysticism. Haale is on a similar route, reviving a critical theme of rock and roll, only thanks to her birthright, she revives it with even more truth and experience. “I’m just digging deeper inside myself. I wouldn’t be expressing myself fully if I didn’t incorporate both worlds in my music.”

The synthesis is riveting. The ten songs on No Ceiling encompass a musical journey in the truest sense. The intensely atmospheric ‘Middle of Fire,’ percussive ‘All These Miles,’ and charming ‘Off-Duty Fortune Teller’ evoke Thom Yorke, Bjork, and the Beatles. This opening trio of songs are all in English, wearing their Persian influence subtly in the percussive stylings, mystical themes, and trance inducing quality of the music. On the next track, ‘Chenan Mastam’, Haale introduces Persian lyrics by Rumi in this victoriously beautiful song that mixes languages seamlessly. On the title track, “No Ceiling” which sonically brings to mind Zepellin III, Haale lyrically conveys the mystical idea that there is no ceiling or limit to the bliss that humans can experience through self-transformation and freeing of the mind.

In the second half of the album, the Persian influence unfolds further with explosive energy, in songs like “Ay Dar Shekasteh” and the melodious chant, “Hastee”. On the powerful “Zero to One,” another track in English, her singing, set against a stark backdrop, captivates with sensuality and a dash of ’70s punk. Like a post-modern diva or a resurrection of a female Jim Morrison, Haale can take her vocals from a whisper to a wail without losing nuance or melody. Add to that her impressive guitar playing and her striking image and you have the complete package: artist, woman, entertainer, visionary.

Made in partnership with percussionist/producer Matt Kilmer, and a number of NYC musicians, No Ceiling is a group effort. Haale and company have earned a secure place in the downtown scene while also generating opportunities for more mainstream exposure. She has recorded with Sean Lennon (on “Before the Skies”), has been presented by David Byrne, and has worked with producer Dougie Bowne (Cibo Matto, Chris Whitley, Cassandra Wilson). She has dazzled audiences at SXSW, Bonnaroo, the Mimi Festival in France, and shared the stage with Frank London of the Klezmatics as well as the legendary Hugh Masakela and Odetta on the Songs of Spirit tour.

Indeed, Haale’s substance and versatility stand in stark contrast to today’s fashion-show mainstream pop. “In the ’70s it was not about what you looked like; it was about what you sounded like and what you were saying,” she says. “That’s where I’m coming from.”

As for politics, Haale prefers not to preach. Though her musical product hails from two disparate political polarities, she’d rather communicate in terms of art and culture over politics. “I just want to play music and try to bring out the beauty of both cultures and find a way for them to meet harmoniously. There’s actually beauty to behold here, what a relief.”