AVITAS is derived from Kinan Atassi and Victoria Wilson-James. Kinan hails from the mystical land of Syria in the Levant (Arab Mediterranean) and Victoria from Los Angeles by way of the Mid-Western section of the United States of America.From a very early age, Kinan was sighted as somewhat of a prodigy. By the time he was 18, he had won the Voce & the National Association of Teachers of Singing competitions for California. Over this period Kinan began to envisage a way of synergising Arabic, western classical, ancient, and indigenous/world music influences that he was constantly exposed to. As he progressed in his formal musical studies, the desire to comprehensively combine different genres of music became paramount! He pondered: Why can one not fuse all genres of music - The scales of the West (pentatonic, major, minor, etc.) Intermingled with the modal system of early music, and fused with those of Arabic and eastern origin (musical traditions incorporating 1/8th & tones and rhythmic variations generally absent in Western music) to create extraordinary and symbiotic compositions?Having always been interested in the fields of science and technology, His pursuit of musical studies logically progressed to music programming and technology. With the advent of VST (virtual studio technology) instruments and analog sequencing, Kinan found the platform on which to bring his dream of musical symbiosis to life.Victoria Wilson-James immigrated from the U.S. to England shortly after her graduation from the prestigious Los Angeles Academy of Theatre Arts, when former Elton John manager, John Reid, spotted her in an audition and invited her to England. After a disappointing first 18 months in the UK, she had the good fortune of meeting up with Jazzie B. and became the featured vocalist on their classic cut A Dreams a Dream, taken from their critically acclaimed album: Club Classics Vol. II - A New Decade as well as being a front woman on their sell out one time only world tour where she received rave reviews. She then went on to record her debut solo album Perseverance (released on SONY / Epic) which yielded the top 20 Billboard hit Through. Disenchanted with having to spend so much time in the U.S., Victoria returned to her beloved England. It was shortly after this time that she met up with Mr. C of the new meteorically rising techno-pop band The Shamen, where for the next 6 years, she made her mark on the techno music scene as the bands front woman. It was during this time that she was offered another solo project by SONY / Dance Pool and released her Colorfields album and the single Reach 4 the Melody which not only boasted productions and re-mixes by the likes of Boris Dlugosh and Alex Party, but also topped dance charts around the world.Destiny caused their paths to cross at a dinner party in the Summer of 2000, and shortly thereafter they began experimenting together to envisage a way of synergising the ancient, as well as, contemporary musical influences of the Occident and the Orient. Incorporating East & West, Arabia & India, Classical & Medieval Europe, and the indigenous world music influences of Asia, Africa, and the Far East.Kinan and Victoria had the additional good fortune of meeting up with legendary producer/engineer Kenny Jones (The Smiths, Nigel Kennedy, Dead Can Dance, Bauhaus & Lisa Stansfield to name a few) just as Kenny was setting up his new recording facility in North London. It was then that the stage became set for the next evolution in World / Dance music! The result is their glorious debut album A Course in Miracles, a glorious fusion of world rhythms, swirling synths and celestial vocals and profound messages in such breathtaking combination that it is surely set to raise the bar.
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