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" It's complicated for my music to be accepted, even in Lebanon and the Arabic world - I sing in Arabic, but there's no lute, no classical instruments. Maybe with the Internet opening things up, things will change. "

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" I always had this crisis: where do I come from? I was never an insider, never an outsider; I was always in the middle. But it means I never have borders in my head. "

Yasmine Hamdan

Always

Head

Crisis

" I don't think there is only one Arab culture or a pure Arabness. We are very multiple, especially our generation, which is very multilayered. "

" I don't relate to what is seen as 'Arab culture.' I relate to what I explore myself, what is around me. "

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Explore

" There is something spiritual about art that connects us with ourselves and with others; it's really about coming together and creating bridges. "

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" When I read the Koran or hear it read, the images and the poetry, the sound of the language is very inspiring. "

" Music liberated me. "

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Music

Liberated

" Maybe I was blessed that my main drive was purely selfish. I needed to make something, make my life better, wider, have poetry in my life, have something that gives me hope on an everyday basis. That was my main drive all along, really. "

" Every time I go to Beirut, I see people and the quality of life going slowly from bad to worse, and from worse to even worse. "

" I studied psychology at university. "

" My dad was a brilliant civil engineer. My parents later divorced, but we lived in Abu Dhabi, Greece, Kuwait. "

" I sing in Arabic as a statement. It's art, and it's a challenge. "

" All of the Arabic women I grew up listening to or watching had a very strong character. "

Yasmine Hamdan

Character

Women

" Singing is a very sensual activity! You engage in it with all your senses and your heart. "

" I wanted to pursue my own thing - I had desires, ideas I wanted to accomplish, and I needed to be on my own for that. "

" I'm inspired by many artists whose language I don't understand. "

" 'Al Jamilat' is not just feminist. It's an album with songs that feature women: women who are in love, rebellious women, political activists, women who are more submissive, women who are in charge. "

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Women

Just

" I don't believe that there is a separation between art and political consciousness. "

" I think our societies - to certain extent, of course, and to different degrees, but almost with no exception - have always been struggling to come to terms with archaic traditions. "

" I've always had a sense that I am doing something very important, something vital. "

" Collaborating with other artists is an emotional thing. Obviously, you don't do it unless this person inspires you. "

" I love Khaliji music; it's very inspiring. "

" When the public doesn't understand me, it's a battle. So when I choose words, I choose them for their musicality, rhythm, and sense, and I choose the right dialect to express that. "

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Choose

Words

" The Arabic music I listen to is extremely edgy. Ironic, sarcastic, sensual, erotic. "

" For me, a taxi is like a public space because so many people get in that space. "

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Because

" We all have femininity in us. "

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Femininity

" The Arabic world was very interesting in the 1920s to '60s: there was something booming culturally, and I found my culture very desirable when I listened to these songs. "

" Back in Kuwait, I had started listening to a lot of English language music: western music, I would say - Kate Bush and Radiohead - and I loved Chet Baker, Etna James, a lot of singers and a lot of bands. "

" I went from the most underground band in the world to signing with Madonna's producer and a record label that is extremely mainstream - it was interesting. "

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" Because of the Lebanese civil war, I had a scattered childhood. I had to build my own connections to each country we moved to. "