Yasmin Hamdan Biography

Yasmin Hamdan: I want my music to serve as a bridge between people, many also know her from the film by Jim Jarmusha “Only lovers will survive”. In anticipation of the Kyiv concert, singer Katerina Yakovlenko talked with her about how music could unite the East and West. Yasmin Hamdan began to make music at the end of x. Then in Beirut with their friend Zeid Hamdan, they founded the Soapkills duet, opening the world of electronic music to the Middle East.

At the beginning of X, Yasmin focused on a solo career. This year, the singer released the second solo album “Al Jamilat”, and on April 17, Yasmin Hamdan will visit Kyiv for the first time to introduce him. Musicians and producers from New York, London and Paris helped to work on the Yasmin album, and he came out emphasized by cosmopolitan. At the same time, Yasmin sings only in Arabic, and in his music uses many oriental instruments and motives.

I talked with Yasmin from Kyiv when she was in her studio in Paris. We spoke in English, which was not native to both of us. But music is a language that is understandable to everyone. You turn to the melodies and performers of the X - X. And what is the specifics of the new plate? If you compare it with the previous one, we can say that it is more personal, more copyright.

Here I experimented more with sound, texture and details. I wanted to show the variety of music, create a complex, but at the same time understandable musical drawing. Therefore, I combined different styles, worked at their junction. Traditionally, I used many tools and melodies of Central Asia, but I also worked with familiar tools like guitar, drums. Also in the album there are references to the tragic Arab melody.

Tell me about the female topic, why are you addressing her? But it is worth noting that I do not work on texts as an narrative. The central character of my songs is a woman, but I do not refuse male characters. For example, when I was in Beirut, I talked a lot with taxi drivers. More willing about politics, social instability, relationships and sex. These topics underlie many texts.

But I want to emphasize once again that in my songs there is no narrative, I have no heroes. I only create the context and images that give my works a single spirit. Everyone needs to defend their freedoms, regardless of gender and nationality. In all countries, people fight for their rights at different levels. As for me, my weapon is music. Women's rights are an actual topic not only for Central Asia, but also for many countries.

This is a global topic. And women, regardless of their religious preferences, skin color, etc. And not only women, men too.

I do not see myself as a feminist or representative of the whole Arab world. But I know that many people see this in me. And I am proud of it, for me this is a great honor. Many people in Asia love me just as a musician and a person. It seems to me that it is great when people of various cultures build bridges to understand each other. And if my music becomes one of such bridges - this is great!

I would really be proud of this. As I said, we used Arabic instruments of different countries - for example, Iraq. There are a lot of local instruments in music. It was important to build a bridge between their specific sound, which represents the Arab culture, and the global world, represented by more recognizable melodies. I wanted to create a hybrid. After all, my music is not only Muslim melodies and female characters, it is much wider and more diverse.

The workflow was extremely interesting, and I was lucky to cooperate with amazing musicians. Have you played with his group, what are your impressions? When he imagined his film in London, New York, Paris, in some places in Germany-we ​​did something like a performance. He played with his group, I, with my own, also joined us by other musicians and composers. We all played together and it was great.

These are one of the most striking and pleasant memories. And it so happened that he offered me a role and I agreed. I was very inspired by this work, starting from the moment he sent me the script. This inspiration was present throughout all work on the film. It is a great honor for me to work with such a director. How do you find them, who do you have in the collection?

This is an oral story and the search for unique old records. There are special places where you can find something similar. Usually I always visit them when I come to Asia. My friends also help me. I am looking for music on the Internet, I found something even in YouTube. This is really my passion. My favorite musicians are from x, x, x, x. This is all the "old generation", if I may say so.

How did I make music? Everything happened due to the occasion and acquaintances. At first, the attempts were timid, but then I began to study a lot, listen even more, and then everything worked. The most important thing is that I began to write music. Of course, I can play musical instruments, but I can’t say that I am a good instrumentalist.I wanted to study music, as I was sure that this would help me express myself and my emotions.

The group that I had in Beirut is an important part of my life. Then I listened to a lot of music that I liked. It was both old Arab music, and Portishead, Pj Harvey and others. I started not at the most prosperous time, there was a civil war. After it, the city was destroyed, both metaphorically and physically - there was no infrastructure, there was no question of culture.

No one could buy a ticket to get to the concert. It was not a very simple time. But it was important for me to finally do what my inner world could expand, make it more inspiring. Interview: Katerina Yakovlenko.