Tania Saleh may not be the most recognisable singer in Middle Eastern music, but she’s easily one of the most talented.
When director Nadine Labaki released her critically acclaimed film Caramel in 2007, it was Saleh’s voice and compositions that helped make the sound-track a phenomenal global success. Thanks to her flowing poetic lyrics and ability to blend traditional Arabic music with Jazz and Latin beats, she’s managed to build a career producing the kind of music that is paving new roads for the region’s burgeoning alternative music scene. It’s her visual style, as well, that has helped to create a unique artistic image that stands out from the mainstream Arabic music scene.
Saleh paid a recent visit to Dubai to promote her fourth album, A Few Images, which has been years in the making. A compilation of tracks inspired by Brazilian instruments and melodies, the album marks a new direction for the soul singer who, in the past, has not shied away from making politically and socially charged music tackling everything from equal rights for women to the injustices of war and corruption. Today her focus has turned to introducing and promoting Arabic language artistry to a new global audience.
“Art is extremely important, especially in the Arab world,” she said. “Somehow our identity and heritage is being destroyed so it must be safeguarded. After all, this is who we are and if it disappears then we do as well.”
The album is perhaps all the more unique for how it came about. After facing issues with financing, Saleh reluctantly turned to crowdfunding online to help raise money for the project. While common in other parts of the world, crowdfunding in the Middle East is still a relatively new concept that is changing the way music is distributed here. Until now, Saleh has been managing much of her career on her own without outside help.
“The album’s name, A Few Images, comes from a track on the album,” she said. “It explains how slowly things change in life and how they evolve in a way that you sometimes don’t remember, but in the end, it is only those beautiful images stored in your mind that you’re left with.”
Saleh has spent the past 25 years struggling to promote art in the midst of war and instability, choosing to voice her opposition against the hypocrisy she sees prevalent in her native Lebanon and beyond. Her unorthodox use of chords and rhythms, set against hauntingly powerful lyrics, have proved popular with fans and critics.
“I cannot hide the fact that I’m a revolutionary inside; I can’t deal with the injustices happening around us and remain silent,” she said. “The challenge for me now is to write something that can trigger the emotions of someone living in places like China or Sweden, so with my new work I decided to focus on themes that are relevant to every one.”
From Frank Sinatra to Joni Mitchell and Sting, she joins a long line of singers who have turned to Latin music for inspiration. She sees her latest work as a nod to the past when the Arabs in Spain helped create an incredible musical fusion that would soon be exported to much of the Spanish speaking world.
“Brazilian music in particular has always interested me,” she said. “They often write their music without knowing how it’s going to end. It’s much more free-flowing and to me, Arabic and Latin music have the same roots.”
Saleh’s musicianship, like her personality, is one of many layers. Elegant and soft-spoken, the strength of her convictions can be found on every bar of her music and word on her lyric sheet. Her latest work, a dizzying display of artistry that has made her a gem of fusion Arabic music, continues down that path.
“The one thing that I always stand by and hope will never disappear from my personality is the fact that I will always be honest with myself,” she says.
Check out Tania Saleh’s music online at www.youtube.com/user/taniasalehofficial.
