"Some people make a collage, but for us it's never a collage," Torkian says. "Even when we were writing, we were very careful about what spectrum of sound is taken, literally, in terms of frequencies to leave spaces for Carmen so we don't step on each other. It allows everything to fall into its rightful space."

Adds Ali, "As we recorded, we found it was so rich on its own, and as we incorporated the electronics we had to take some things out. Once we started taking things out, I told Loga we should consider releasing the acoustic versions, as well. We were concerned about it sounding redundant. Then when we finished the electronic version, we had a chance to listen again and agreed it was different enough."

The revelation of this exercise, though, may be that while the sounds are different, the essence, the emotions conveyed, stay the same.

"It shows that for all the marvelous technological advances we've made, we're still pretty much where we were in the 16th century," says Torkian. "Nothing has changed, humans desire to have an understanding of the divine, the heart shapes personal and cultural experiences. It's constant, not changed a bit."

And that constant that transcends the specifics of the contrasting musical settings gives the artists a sense of stability and meaning in the modern world, a way to keep their one-world vision in sight even when circumstances block the view.

"To maintain our cultural identity in the world we are living in as immigrants is a day-to-day struggle for us," Ali says. "Something seems to happen every day that reminds me I am an immigrant. That will play out in my expressions, but the music is such honest music. It really is who we are."

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