Contact: info@ofasaph.com

Of Asaph is the musical experiment and creative outlet of James Alleman.

The birthplace for much of this music was Sarajevo, Bosnia. James spent the summer there in 2004, writing songs that would eventually become his first full length album, ‘The Potential To Fill’. He eventually landed on the name Of Asaph. Culled from the Psalms. The astute reader would recognize that name as one of the few mentioned Old Testament musician – poets.

The detail in arrangement and the instrumental layers give a celebratory feel to many of the songs. Progressively more evident in more recent Of Asaph songs are the female vocals of James’ wife Cherie (reflecting the fact that he actually met and married Cherie during his writing process), which add warm harmonies, accents and color. A husband-wife combo is a rare thing, and the listener feels their connection.

This is not music for the masses…and that is not a bad thing. This is music for people that have an ear to hear. I say that because James has never been concerned about fitting into a particular style or format. There is no simply defined genre, but instead layers, texture, color, symbolism, meaning.

Not too long ago, I had a chance to interview James. We discussed his music, traveling and inspiration, among other things. Being a designer myself, I asked him why he didn’t want to go into music full time. He told me he “didn’t want to do music as a career because I wanted to keep it pure.” He also mentioned before that he can’t go very long without writing music. There is an instinctive, intrinsic need to create inside him. To translate and express. I have a feeling that James will always be working out new melodies and lyrics. It’s a natural extension of who he is.

- Carl Johnson, Greater Than Magazine