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" It's normal; Arab women have always been very active at the forefront of culture - as film producers since the 1920s; as singers, dancers, choreographers, writers for much longer than that. "

Yasmine Hamdan

Women

Normal

Film

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" I am interested in exploring encounters where worlds meet and not where they separate. "

" When it comes to the lyrics, I write about my own perception of things and use characters for that. "

" The Arab world is mediatised in a way that gives too much space to these people - puritans, extremists, whatever you want to call them. There are a lot more people like me in the Middle East than you might think. "

Yasmine Hamdan

Space

World

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

" I had an Arabic background. but I lived a very scattered childhood. I didn't belong to any one culture, which meant I didn't have musical geographies in my head. "

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

Yasmine Hamdan

Culture

Explore

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

" 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. "

" World music can be sometimes like the lumber room in which all the non-English singers are dumped. When you are singing in Arabic, no matter what your style of music or artistic proposition is, you are faced with some of that reality. "

" Faith is a very intimate process that involves being sincere and truthful to a spiritual presence. "

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

Yasmine Hamdan

Bridges

Together

" There are many positive values that come with a Muslim upbringing. But when religion becomes about rules and hierarchies, when it starts to feel like a prison, I'm not interested. "

" When I started doing music, it was out of despair and boredom. I got passionate about it, and I felt that it allowed me to become somebody: an artist who explores her different identities. "

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

" When I go to Beirut, I don't drive. It's traumatizing to drive there. "

Yasmine Hamdan

Drive

Beirut

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

" My family played a part in bringing communism to Lebanon. "

" 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 set the bar very high. I'm very tough on myself. "

" A lot of Arabic composers such as Mohammed Abdel Wahab mixed sounds and instruments from all over the world. It's important to be able to propose new ways and new sounds without being stigmatised, censored or put aside. "

" Imagine a singer with the virtuosity of Joan Sutherland or Ella Fitzgerald, the public persona of Eleanor Roosevelt, and the audience of Elvis, and you have Umm Kulthum. "

" My father is an engineer, and my mother raised the three children. "

" There should be no borders, race, colours, or ethnical considerations when it comes to music and creativity. "

" I studied psychology at university. "

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

" I've always fought any form of censorship. "

" Without freedom and without humor, our cultures can't have a healthy evolution. "

" '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. "

Yasmine Hamdan

Women

Just