LET LAYLA MESMERISE YOU
Dubai-based singer Layla Kardan talks to City Times about her new music, empowering women and breaking taboos
maan@khaleejtimes.com
In a growing music scene, where singers, entertainers and musicians act like doppelgangers of commercially international stars, we here in Dubai have become jaded when we hear the words independent artist. Then something happens and everything changes.
Imagine this, the stage is dimly lit, the music is ethereal, the oud draws you in. Her voice is textured, layered with emotion, the words like poetry, her expressions tell a story. As the stage lights up we see her dark hair gently swaying as she moves with the melody, her eyes piercing out into the audiences but not looking directly at anyone. She is present but possessed, she draws you in and mesmerizes you with her performance. This is Layla Kardan casting her spell on us. And we welcome it.
“I feel good on stage,” Layla told City Times, “but what I enjoy the most about the music, even if I’m singing other people’s songs is that you can feel the audience’s emotions. You can see them change with the song.”
It’s hard to deny that Layla, is in every sense of the word an artist. Singer, songwriter, a vehicle of emotions, you can hear in her voice, see in her performances the influence of many artists that have somehow been combined and engrained with Layla’s own DNA making her unique on stage.
Layla’s first music video for her song As One has already racked up over 25,000 views on YouTube. The video depicts Layla in old Dubai, in Deira and by the creek, where she serenades us with powerful lyrics, that stick in our heads.
“The song is about togetherness and love and the coming back and forth. It’s also about unity and being together as
one as a community. In the song I wanted to showcase a real Dubai.” If Layla is part of the narative that describes the real Dubai then there is no way you’ll find us ever actively choosing not to be in touch with reality. We spoke with the compelling Layla and discussed her music, song writing and breaking taboos.
Tell us about your song As One and the music video.
This song As One is from my first body of work, which is an EP. For the first video clip it was really important for me to start and come out with a message that was relevant to where I am in my life. The fact that I’m an independent artist gives me freedom to say whatever I want. I feel like Dubai has offered me such a great opportunity to be exposed to so many different cultures. We lived in Deira and the creek was very much part of my first memories. It was such a sensory overload and I remember when my mum used to take us across to the Bastakiya, where I filmed the video clip in Meena Bazaar. The sights, the smells, the bustle and all the activity really marked my memory. When I wanted to do the video clip, of course, I wanted to represent the UAE cause that’s where I live. I want my music to be heard globally, it’s not my intention to just be a regional artist. I’d like to represent the UAE, the Middle East, Iran, on a global stage and so I thought it would be more interesting for a global audience to see the part of Dubai that hasn’t really been shown before. I want to show the world that women here are empowered.
How tough has it been being an independent artist?
I’ve always wanted to be a singer from a very young age. My father and my family weren’t supportive of it at all. In our culture it’s not acceptable to be a female entertainer. I was really forced into other stud- ies which I did and I worked professionally for many years. I got to a stage in my life where I realised if I don’t express myself through song, it felt like I was going to suffocate. I knew it was going to be difficult. There’s a lot of negativity and sometimes it’s emotionally draining. I’m sensitive, I feel it but I power on because I believe in what I’m doing and I want to be a form of inspiration for other woman who want to follow their dreams. I’m not jumping around half naked on stage, I’m sharing a message from my heart through music, in the hope that people can relate to it.
How would you describe the music scene in Dubai?
It’s emerging. There was recently a STEP Music Conference, which is an annual event in Dubai. They did a music festival around it where they only had local artists performing and I was really astounded by the number and the talent that was there. I know a lot of them. They are my peers but some of them I didn’t know. What’s so great is that we are all supporting each other - there’s no rivalry. In Dubai in general people love to listen to music they know and love, which can be very commercial stuff, so even when I perform my own stuff, I’ll perform a couple of covers cause that gets people excited. The taste for arts and music is still developing, it’s still maturing and the pool of talent is growing.
How do you go about writing songs?
I usually start a song or a thought or an idea with a poem. I’ll either be inspired by a situation or something that I see, then I’ll write a poem about it and I’ll work on that. I’ll edit that with some structure, then usually I do a melody, then we build the composition.
What about the melodies?
Honestly it just comes from my heart and that’s it. It comes from my imagination and my heart. Besides that there’s not that much thought into how I’m going to place this song.
When do you know a song is done?
When it comes to music there are so many opinions to what’s right and wrong but for me once the emotion comes through either in the sound or the melody, until the rough track is done, then you can’t go to production. For me once the emotion or the idea is clear then I think it’s done.
I want to show the world that women here are empowered.” Layla Kardan