PR guru by day, soul diva by night, singer Rouba Zeidan has a soft clubby style that combines an easy infectious jazzy beat with her smooth vocals. The 38-year-old Lebanese singer who says she was exposed into music from a very early age, has managed to create a distinctive style of Arabic and English songs that have a worldly contemporary feel. Rouba chatted with Tempo about her creative journey…
“I spent most of my childhood commuting back and forth grew up between Byblos, Lebanon and Abu Dhabi, UAE, and I enjoyed it! I also spent some time in Dearborn, Michigan and Boston, Massachusetts. Travelling most of my life gave me exposure to different cultures. I went to a French school and eventually studied advertising at Notre Dame University in Lebanon. I also studied music theory and undertook vocal training at the conservatory in Kaslik, Lebanon.
My early influences…
“I have been singing since as far back as I can remember and spent most of my childhood listening to tracks and noting the lyrics so that I could then sing them. I met a few musicians during a visit to a friend’s place and after a good jam session they invited me to join their band that was performing in a club in Beirut. I happily joined and wound up jamming at different clubs around town. It was a very essential mode of expression for me and I slowly became known as the Tracy Chapman of Beirut. I was later introduced to Ziad Rahbani who led me into the world of jazz and who was a strong influence in the most educational phase of my musical career.
I abandoned music for a few years before I finally understood that it was my calling and began working on my first album. In the process, I established some connections with musicians in LA and eventually got introduced to Joe Kennedy who produced my album. I feel my path has been guided all along… and that the best is yet to come!
My inspirations
My mother is the first artist I ever met, and her ability to pursue her art with three children and an abundance of responsibilities is my ultimate reference about the endless possibilities in life. I am also inspired by powerful women like Nina Simone, a musician and outspoken activist, who used her music to spread light. I am deeply inspired by pain and emotions…in fact my entire album is based on that! But ultimately, it’s the triumph over pain that matters most to me and that is what I try to convey through my songs.
My creative process
I’ve been writing songs since I was a teenager and enjoy the process very much. My style of music evolved and it is only in the last few years that I started developing my own sound and genre. I evolve with every song! Having recently completed my first album, “Mama’s Back”, I’m already thinking of ways I can do it differently next time. The most important element in songwriting is the need to have live instruments present in the music. I feel there is a lack of organic instrumentation in the music we hear today and I’m keen on making sure my work includes a variety of live instruments, be it in the studio or through live performances.
Juggling responsibilities
I see my biggest achievement as my ability to juggle my daytime work, with my children, my family and my music – in spite of the pitfalls and the challenges! Life tends to get in the way; for many years I let things get in the way of my dreams but recently I decided that no matter how hard it got, I have to pull through and keep going. Making this album has been such an amazing journey for me and resembles my life in a way.
My biggest challenges
Well being an Arab singing in English is not exactly the simplest way of entering the music business! Whenever I approached record labels in the past, they emphasized the need to sing my mother tongue yet they couldn’t realize that English is the language I speak 95 percent of the time! Having said this, I did write one song in Arabic, called ‘Marrat” and though it sounds like a new genre of Arabic soul, I plan to turn my challenges into advantages. I would like to take my music to people all over the world and break barriers and borders with it!
My first album
Producing this album has been the most difficult thing I have ever had to do in my life. It had added tremendous pressure on me – emotionally, technically, logistically and financially, but it was also incredibly stimulating! This was my first album and I produced it without a record label. This meant that I was involved in every single step. I started discovering music in a different light; hearing every instrument in a song and admiring the amazing technology that enabled me to produce my album between LA and Abu Dhabi. This would have never been possible 20 years ago!
When it came to writing the actual songs, I dug into my thoughts, experiences and pain, and it was almost like healing my wounds in a way. I am very proud of this album and am looking forward to seeing people’s response to it; I’m already getting a lot of positive feedback from all over the world. It is truly heartwarming to see your thoughts go from melodies in your mind, to tracks that are recorded then released for the whole world to enjoy! I love what I do and feel blessed to be able to do it!”
Listen to Rouba Zeidan’s music at http://www.rouba.org/music or on youtube on http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rvao4UPs_Ic
By Ajir Shujahi
