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

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

" 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. "

" I met Jim Jarmusch when I started recording my album 'Ya Nass.' He was writing the script for 'Only Lovers Left Alive.' Jarmusch was always a great inspiration to me, way before meeting him. Working with him was fantastic. "

" I had the urge to face my own limitation, and I needed to be bigger. I needed to be more professional and be in a more competitive environment because I wanted to grow as an artist. That's why I went to Europe. "

" 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. "

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

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

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

" 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. "

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

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

" You do not start by working on society; you start by yourself to be a freer person and a more independent person. "

" 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. "

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

" As an artist, you need to be true to yourself and free and not put yourself in a box that contradicts with what you feel is needed for a song. "

" When I imagine feminine characters in my songs, they're often bold, strong, passionate, militant, witty, sensual, dangerous. I see those characters as skillful witnesses, figures of change and awakening. "

" 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. "

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

" I was born in the middle of Lebanon's civil war. "

" 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. "

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

" 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. "

" 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. "

" I have a sense of mission in a way. I've always worked on being free, as a woman and as an artist. "

" Egyptians are quite incredible people. They have everything: the culture, the music, the scenes. So much of Arab music and art started there. "

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

" '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. "

" I'm bored, normally, when I travel. "

" 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. "

" Change means resistance, and resistance means transformation and igniting energies. "