History Anomalous Leaf

Anomalous Leaf (formerly Anomalous) is the alias of musical and visual artist Irfan Azam. Emitting from a household pseudo-studio in the quiet suburbs near Raleigh, N.C. since 2004, the sound of Anomalous Leaf’s “experimental ambient space rock” music shifts like human emotion: abstract, stylistically unconfined, and typically played spontaneously. Originally starting out simply as “Anomalous,” Azam has recorded nine full-length albums, three EPs, and several singles, making a modest splash in specialty independent ambient, alternative and new age music scenes.

With Dusk of the Great Dawn, the debut collection of musical experimentation that was completed in late 2005, Anomalous delved in a style that had yet to fully re-emerge in the then-modern music scene, drawing comparisons to early experimental post-rock ventures as Pink Floyd’s A Saucerful of Secrets, and reflecting the apocalyptic mood of the political ambiance of the time. Though unreleased publicly, the next three albums exhibited the same quality of experimentalism while expanding and evolving the spectrum of sounds, tempers and thematic overtones.

Anomalous’ first public release came in March 2007 with All Needles Point North, Azam’s fifth and, at the time, most ambitious effort to date. Hailed for exhibiting a unique blend of lush soundscapes of original ambient post-rock music showcasing a trans-genre spectrum of styles ranging from ethereal hard-rock to breathtaking ambient melodies and just about everything in between, the album gained the artist modest online notability.

In 2009, Azam changed his alias to ‘Anomalous Leaf’ and re-released his 2008 album, Embers of November, under his own independent label after the closing of online-based TTH Label. Though beset by release irregularities, the music of the album did not disappoint the modest global fan base garnered through the burgeoning online social channels. Once again the album pushed the artist’s musical envelope and, for many, marked the crest of a wave. Following releases by Anomalous Leaf included an EP of unreleased archive recordings; Shines and Shadows, a compilation of tracks from the unreleased Anomalous years, and All Needles Point North [Remastered], a revised full-length album from the Anomalous era that was originally released in 2007.

In 2012, Anomalous Leaf announced work was underway on new material, and shortly followed up a late-2012 EP of new experimental music, whose sound introduced an approach to avant-garde jazz, with the full-length album You Are Here in 2013.

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