Cephas Azariah Shares Title Track and Live Session to Celebrate the Launch of Debut Album Joy Paradox Out Now via Anjunadeep’s Reflections

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21 Oct

Written By PR@Click Roll Boom

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India-born, UK-based composer Cephas Azariah (pronounced Cee-fus Az-ah-ry-ah), celebrates the release of his debut album Joy Paradox with the title track single, out now via Anjunadeep’s downtempo imprint, Reflections. The single, ‘Joy Paradox,’ embodies the album’s central theme—how joy often comes with sacrifice. To mark the occasion, Cephas will be performing at The Old Church in Stoke Newington on November 7th.

An emerging force in the world of composition, Cephas has scored for major brands and media, including Channel 4, Puma’s Thierry Henry campaign, and Soho House, as well as composing for numerous films. His recent works have garnered praise from outlets like Clash, Wonderland, BBC Radio 6 Music, KEXP, and Soho Radio, showcasing his growing influence across diverse platforms.

On the single, Cephas shares: "‘Joy Paradox,’ the title track, was the hardest to write. I aimed for musical cohesion and complexity to mirror the meaning behind the title. The flat 7 chord introduces a swing between two keys, guiding the song towards a perfect cadence. This symbolises the central idea of the paradox—that to experience something good, there is always a sacrifice.”

Every track on Cephas Azariah’s debut album has a story. He resolves personal conflicts through music, with each piece acting as a gentle unravelling of inner unrest. “This project is a summary of thirty years of life, and a realisation that you can't have good things without sacrifice,” Cephas says. “Achieving success takes a certain level of suffering, and that’s the paradox of joy.”

Throughout his life, Cephas has experienced a joy paradox first-hand. His parents moved to the UK from India when he was ten, and he grew up witnessing the challenges that came with leaving their culture behind and having to adapt to a new one. “Sometimes you have to put something down in order to pick something up,” Cephas says. “And you have to trust that you’re making the right decision.”

When listening to Joy Paradox, Cephas hopes people will be able to sit with and feel comfortable with conflicting emotions. “I want people to commit to their own journey in life, and not feel like they have to arrive already, or be at the start or the end,” he says. “I want people to recognise the things they’ve had to put down in order to enjoy the things they now have.”

Cephas’ artistry and philosophy blend into one another, and instead of accolades, money and material possessions, he’d prefer to be at peace. “That was always a goal beyond working with a big label or writing amazing music or owning a home,” he says. “I can say now I’m totally at peace with myself,” he continues. “This project is all about these cultural intersections that repeatedly come up in life. I often find myself at a crossroads, unsure of who I am, and being at peace is difficult when you just don’t know where you fit. I’m brown, I live in the UK, I write a predominantly white genre of music. Then there’s family background, heritage, language - it all comes into it. Now I understand that I will constantly live at an intersection, and that’s okay.”