Features — AZEEMA

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

HUDA: The artist using rap to maintain her Moroccan identity within Madrid

Get to know Spanish-Moroccan rapper Huda, who authentically embraces the in-between through her music and creativity. This fashion editorial photographed by Alejandro Madrid and Lucci García shot on the periphery of Madrid is a reflection of Huda’s everyday life with ode to the North African diaspora.

FAVOURITES, SOUND, FASHION & BEAUTYAZEEMA -January 8, 2024rap, Spain, Morocco, Music, artist, fashion editorial

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

Re-tracing Lisa Conta’s musical genealogy

Musician and creative Lisa Conta tells AZEEMA about her experience growing up as an outsider in Sweden, inheriting her legendary Gambian family’s music-making genes, and why she is proud to be working with Converse on their latest shoe silhouette.

SOUND, FASHION & BEAUTYAZEEMA -November 29, 2022lisa conta, converse

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

Doorways of sound and history: A dialogue with Cairo-based composer Nancy Mounir

Nozhet El Nofous is the latest album by Alexandria-born multi-instrumentalist Nancy Mounir. Mounir will be gracing the upcoming festival Le Guess Who 2022 in Utrecht, alongside an exciting line-up of artists including Nia Archives, Oumou Sangaré, Manuka Honey, and more.

SOUNDAZEEMA -October 31, 2022Nancy Mounir, Le Guess Who Festival, Nozhet El Nofous, Arabic music

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

AZEEMA FM Global Sounds presents: Dalila

As we approach Notting Hill Carnival we welcome London based DJ and actress Dalila to AZEEMA FM. With a very special, spiritual celebration of Caribbean culture, Dalila pays homage to Reggae, its sub genres Dub and sound system culture which is reminiscent of her childhood.

AZEEMA FM, SOUNDAZEEMA -August 26, 2022azeemafm, Carnival, guest mix, Reggae

"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

AZEEMA FM Global Sounds Presents: Myyuh

We welcome Brooklyn, NY based Egyptian DJ, Myyuh to AZEEMA FM for the next instalment of our global sounds series.

AZEEMA FM, SOUNDAZEEMA -August 5, 2022Myyuh, DJ, AZEEMAFM, guest mix, EGYPT, NYC

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

On Sexuality, Sensuality & Identity: In Conversation with Artist Pallaví aka Fijiana

Naomi Joshi sits down with music artist Pallaví aka Fijiana to discuss her relationship with her sensuality, her Indo-Fijan roots, her sprituality and Fijiana’s first ever EP release, “Thirst”.

SOUNDAZEEMA -July 15, 2022Fijiana, south asia, Fiji, indo-fijian

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

Meet ilham: the soulful singer pursuing her dreams while navigating an industry with no clear blueprint

New York-raised, Moroccan singer-songwriter ilham talks us through her early experiences as an aspiring artist, the motivation behind her practice and her steps to success. Touching on her economically disadvantaged background, ilham illustrates the challenges of stepping into the music industry when there’s no clear blueprint to follow.

SOUNDAZEEMA -April 15, 2022ilham, singer-songwriter, Moroccan artist, Morocco, New York