music — Features

Guitarist and Songwriter Rachika Nayar on “Hitting that feeling over and over again”

Fatima Aamir speaks to producer and composer Rachika Nayar about her experience at 2023’s Le Guess Who? festival in Utrecht and making music from a place that doesn’t deny emotional extremes.

SOUNDAZEEMA -January 9, 2024music, south asian, Le Guess Who Festival

Mastering engineer Heba Kadry is challenging what we think North African and Arab artists sound like

The New York-based Egyptian tells us why she didn’t “give a sh*t” about sexism as she was coming up in the music industry whilst she explains her experience guest curating an impressive line-up at Le Guess Who? festival 2023 in Utrecht.

SOUND, SPONSORED CONTENTDalia Al-DujailiJanuary 2, 2024music, mena, women, Feminism, arab, cairo, festival, engineering

From Falastin to the world! How artist Elyanna is bringing her cultural sounds to the global stage

Following her debut Coachella performance that drew global attention, Palestinian-Chilean artist Elyanna sat down with Deputy Editor Sunayah Arshad, reflecting on the life-changing decision her parents made in moving from Nazareth, Palestine to LA. Having overcome the challenge of singing Arabic in America, the talented artist is on the cusp of taking her cultural sounds to the global stage and isn’t going to stop until she gets there.

SOUNDAZEEMA -June 13, 2023elyanna, palestine, chile, music, coachella

R&B artist Sabrina Bellaouel’s lineage of female storytellers and “f*cking warriors”

The Algerian-French vocalist tells AZEEMA how trips to the motherland informed the way she makes music, whilst her French upbringing provides her with enough genre-contrast to conclude in a rich and effervescent musical identity which she continues to evolve today.

SOUNDAZEEMA -March 28, 2023music, algeria, rai, women, storytelling, love, artist, algerian artist, french, paris, god, religion, spirituality

The impossibility of defining Anoushka Shankar's sound

Living a life straddling many worlds and resisting multiple expectations, Anoushka Shankar tells AZEEMA how she has led a musical life pushing against exoticisation and how she remains committed the global fight against gendered violence.

RESISTANCE, SOUNDAZEEMA -December 20, 2022sitar, india, music, anoushka shankar, ravi shankar, classical, electronic, poetry

Through music, astrology and sexuality, Reggaeton DJ Manuka Honey embodies fluidity

Following on from her performance at Le Guess Who? Festival’s 15th Anniversary in Utrecht, Digital Editor Dalia Al-Dujaili sat down with Marissa Malik–who goes by the DJ & producer name Manuka Honey–to hear about the artist’s upbringing in rural America, her ‘nerdy’ sensibilities, and how much she enjoys messing with people’s perceptions of her identity and her music-making.

SOUNDAZEEMA -November 22, 2022music, dj, Manuka Honey, dark, dubstep, mexican, pakistani, sexuality, astrology

“The club is where I was raised”: Raves, breaking rules, and owning narratives with Jyoty

Senior Editor Evar Hussayni sits with Jyoty, one of the most in-demand radio presenters, hosts and DJ’s in London to talk club culture, career, Homegrown, and why breaking rules was the best thing she ever did.

SOUNDAZEEMA -November 17, 2022music

Esraa Warda is decolonising dance and reviving the rebellious roots of Rai

Digital Editor Dalia Al-Dujaili was lucky enough to sit down with renowned Algerian-American dancer Esraa Warda in her Brooklyn apartment. She tells AZEEMA about the origins of her subversive rai dancing, her long-standing musical partnership with icon Cheikha Rabia, and her excitement about a rare and special upcoming performance during this year’s Le Guess Who? Festival.

RESISTANCE, ARTS & CULTURE, SOUNDAZEEMA -October 19, 2022music, algerian, north africa, dance, rai, esraa warda, cheikha rabia, new york, community

Sahra's Intimate Love Affair: How music has informed the Somali-British jazz singer's heart

Amelia Fearon sits down with Berlin-born and London-based Sahra Gure to discuss her most recent EP, Stolen Moments, and her journey in exploring her identity, culture and personal experiences as a young jazz artist of colour.

SOUNDAZEEMA -September 28, 2022jazz, women in jazz, intimacy, music, SAHRA, brixton, folk music, somali, somalia, jamaica

"Arabic music is going to be in the mainstream": Tamtam on using music as closure and the power of singing in multiple languages

We sit down with Saudi-born & LA-based singer Tamtam following the release of her single Insak, where she tells us how she wants to demonstrate the power of singing in multiple languages, her experiences of viewing time as a healer, and about her visions for how her sonic blueprint will evolve.

SOUNDAZEEMA -August 9, 2022saudi, riyadh, Feminism, love, relationships, music

If women are pushing the human race forward, Jaguar doesn't want the music industry to be left behind

BBC1 presenter and DJ Jaguar breaks new ground for women and femme inclusivity in the nightlife and music industry with a eye-opening new report, released as part of her Jaguar Foundation, which reveals the shocking lack of women and non-binary that still haunts and hinders the scene.

SOUNDAZEEMA -August 4, 2022music, DJ, black experience, women, Feminism, nightlife, report, research, lgbtqia, minority

Three Dancing Suns: How a nightclub led me to understand my hodgepodge heritage

Chinese, Jamaican and Greek-Cypriot writer Thea Sun reminisces on memories shared with her about her "absent and enigmatic” grandfather and his club, Champion House – a beating heart of dancehall music in the heart of Kingston, Jamaica, which affected a legacy on the overlooked Chinese identity of the West Indies.

ARTS & CULTURE, SOUNDAZEEMA -July 28, 2022nightclub, music, family, jamaica, mixed-race, chinese, greek, mediterranean

AZEEMA FM Global Sounds Presents: Mahnoor

We welcome London based Pakistani DJ Mahnoor to AZEEMA FM. With a new chapter for our global sounds series. Mahnoor takes us back to how she began DJing and how her heritage, faith and childhood memories are intertwined in her sound.

AZEEMA FM, SOUNDAZEEMA -June 22, 2022music, community, azeemafm, Global sounds, Radio, guest mix

Rapping in both French and Arabic, Carmeline's sound embraces the Parisian suburbs and her Palestinian roots

The Palestinian-Austrian third culture kid is on a journey to forge her own sonic identity by merging Arabic and French whilst rapping about her dual-cultural experiences.

SOUNDAZEEMA -March 24, 2022music, Palestine, hip hop, rap, diaspora

"Men in our cultures are just not up to par": South-Asian Artists Shreea Kaul & REHMA satirise the search for ‘a suitable boy‘

Shreea Kaul fuses together her western upbringing with her cultural heritage alongside REHMA as they musically navigate being a woman of South Asian heritage in today’s rocky dating landscape, and ask men to step up their game for women who are already at the top of theirs for their new single 'Ladke'.

SOUNDDalia Al-DujailiJanuary 11, 2022r&b, music, culture, dating, relationships, men, south asian, diaspora, south asian-american, pakistani, indian, bollywood, hindi, feminist

Sarah Elizabeth’s new film is a love letter to her Indian roots, and the connection between dance and the natural environment

‘Symbioses’, the filmmaker’s latest short art film, addresses growing up mixed race and harks to the beauty of filming with natural light at sunrise: here, Sarah walks us through the behind-the-scenes creation of the film.

ARTS & CULTUREAZEEMA -November 23, 2021dance, mixed-race, dual identity, art, film, music, nature, filmmaker

Sicaria Sound: the peaks and troughs of working as a DJ duo and what's in store for 2022

We catch up with Sicaria Sound to learn about what it’s like to work as a creative duo, what gets their creative juices flowing, and their label Cutcross, which is running through to 2022 and will see some new releases from the duo.

SOUNDDalia Al-DujailiNovember 9, 2021music, DJ, morocco, sudan, dual identity

LEILA MOON - Twahashtek Mix

In this exclusive mix for AZEEMA Leila Moon takes us on journey far and wide, through different countries, genres and moods!

AZEEMA FM, SOUNDAZEEMA -January 7, 2021music, Leila Moon, DJ

Introducing Rachel Foxx, the singer-songwriter redefining the UK’s contemporary Neo-Soul landscape

We catch up with Rachel Foxx, East-London’s soulful singer-songwriter making waves in the UK music scene. Discussing her Nigerian-Lebanese roots and creative journey, we learn what inspires her Neo-Soul sound and intimate lyrics.

SOUNDAZEEMA -December 15, 2020rachel foxx, music, neo-soul, singer-songwriter