The reveries of an old world elegance meet the progressive temperaments of the avant-garde in the music of Ami Saraiya & The Outcome. Led by the accomplished singer/songwriter Ami Saraiya, the group’s music is a steam punk blending of diverse sonic palettes, a worldly staging of gypsy folk, chamber and jazz cabaret.

Saraiya is a veteran of the Chicago eclectic and varied music scene with past projects including pop collective Radiant Darling and R&B band Pelvic Delta. A classically-trained pianist and a former music major at Indiana University, Saraiya also lends her hand to guitar and accordion. With a playful voice that can belt out furious roars and growls, but at softer moments channel the timeless vibrato of Edith Piaf and Billie Holiday, Saraiya owns a vocal styling that at once fuses classic Parisian and Nordic melodies with an ethereal post-modern indie-rock feel..

Drawing from a wealthy array of cultural influences, Saraiya’s 2009 debut solo album, Archaeologist,
established her and The Outcomes as a collective fearless to making unexpected juxtapositions, crafting enigmatic arrangements bursting with dramatic twists and turns. Though accordion, violin guitar, and stand-up bass mixed with orchestral style drumming provide much of the record’s dark ambiance, Saraiya’s voice: theatrical, folk-inflected and drifting with fierce harmonies, sustain its overall warmth. Add in a lyrical prowess that hinges on surrealist songwriting and listeners are treated with tension-filled arrangements fastened together by dreamlike imagery past and present.

Ami Saraiya & The Outcome’s latest self-titled 7” has the group building on their sound, enlisting again the work of producer Mark Messing (Mucca Pazza). Set as a 7” release on Grape Juice Records, the record offers two different avant-garde approaches to song crafting. From the modern take of the classic cabaret in “Hanging by a Thread” and Musette-style waltz of “Cattle Prod Hands,” to their gritty offering of “Purging Purging,” Saraiya and The Outcome move from all the sonic textures effortlessly. Lyrically, Saraiya stands determined to push the reaches of the imagination with lyrics that are dark, romantic and sinister, but always thought-provoking and beautiful.

Saraiya performs live with her band, The Outcome, which includes Ben Gray (Mucca Pazza) on drums, Marc Piane on upright bass, Ronnie Kuller (Mucca Pazza) on violin, Gary Kalar on the electric guitar (Mucca Pazza) and Shirley Caen Rogiers and Courtney Glascoe on vocals. The Ami Saraiya & The Outcome self-titled EP is available 12/12/11 on 7” vinyl and download.