Yasmine Hamdan has spent her life running from conflict. Born in 1976, a year after the outbreak of the 15-year Lebanese Civil War, the underground music icon spent much of her adolescence away from her homeland, living in the UAE, Greece and Kuwait – a country her family fled following the 1990 invasion by Saddam Hussein’s Iraqi forces.
For 12 years, the Lebanese singer – who although she lived in Abu Dhabi and Al Ain when she was younger, makes her UAE performance debut in Dubai tomorrow – has lived in near-anonymity in Paris, deliberately stalking what she calls “the margins of society”.
But now that happy life, built alongside her fellow Arab emigree husband, Elia Suleiman – the celebrated Palestinian filmmaker behind Cannes award-winner Divine Intervention – is under threat, as France follows the United Kingdom and the United States into increasing levels of intolerance and populist rhetoric. A little over a year after the Bataclan terrorist attacks in the city, political commentators and analysts are beginning to view the spectre of Marine Le Pen's far-right National Front party as a serious force at the French presidential election in April.
“Things have changed – you feel anxiety in the air, tension,” says Hamdan, refusing to single Paris out in the growing global trend. “It’s worrying. I flew and escaped this kind of tension and drama my whole life and it seems it’s catching me wherever I go.”
Hamdan’s arrival in Paris signalled the end of the most engaging chapter in her career – the eight years she spent as one-half of Soap Kills, the trip-hop-influenced duo she fronted alongside intimate friend Zeid Hamdan, whose haunting, earthy electro-soundscapes first proved Arabic-language indie could be as effecting and inventive as anything produced in the West.
Inspired by the passionate articulation of classic-era vocalists such as Aisha El Marta, Nagat El Saghira and Asmahan, Hamdan’s breathy, intimate invocations – which formed Soapkills’s emotional core – were the sound of the singer rediscovering her homeland.
“I’m of the war generation,” says the 40-year-old. “I lived very much abroad – somehow I’ve always been searching for this place called ‘home’ – but after returning, I could not find it in Lebanon, I could not find it anywhere.
“I was addressing this identity question – roots, belonging, personality ... by singing in Arabic. But I never had the pretension, ambition or desire to sing Arabic the way it should be sung.”
Like countless musical revolutions before it, the Soap Kills legend has been largely written retrospectively. The early underground success of self-produced albums Beta (2001) and Cheftak (2002) led to international interest that never quite developed, including a French record deal that was shelved when the indie label went bankrupt.
“I remember the first time I heard the term ‘world music’ – I felt insulted,” recalls Hamdan. “Me and Zeid came to Paris and started meeting labels. They said: ‘We don’t know where to put you. You’re not world music, but you’re not singing in English or French – you’re strange’.”
After initially trying to maintain the musical relationship across two continents, Soapkills dissolved following 2005's swansong Enta Fen, a mix of new leftover material and remixes.
“I didn’t have the stamina,” Hamdan admits. “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.”
It is always lazy to define leading women by the men they work with – but it’s undeniable Hamdan’s two post-Soapkills releases were inspired by the same collaborative principles.
The first, Y.A.S., was spawned following a chance meeting at a "Madonna party" no less – with Mirwais, the Parisian producer who helped the Queen of Pop's sound on albums Music, American Life and Confessions on a Dance Floor. Designed as a rebuke to media stereotypes, the duet LP Arabology was clearly far less collaborative than Hamdan might have hoped.
“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,” Hamdan says. “But I can’t say the record is my record.
“After my experience with Marwais, I realised I needed to be in environment where I’m an equal, or if not, the boss.”
Such an equilibrium was found on Hamden's solo debut, released internationally as Ya Nass in 2013, which was co-written and producer by Marc Collin – best-known as co-founder of kooky French bossa nova covers act Nouvelle Vague (who also performed at Dubai's The Music Room in March). This time, the relationship was sympathetic, respectful and remarkably fruitful – Ya Nass is a diverse and mature set, capturing the emotional intensity of Soapkills's best work, but sympathetically spread over broader electronic and acoustic hues.
Next, Hamdan has gone down “the boss” route, recently wrapping months of gruelling sessions – at studios spread across Hoboken, New Jersey, Beirut, Paris and London – recording a follow-up LP set for release in March. She describes it as the toughest project she has undertaken yet.
“I’ve always had a sense that I am doing something very important, something vital,” she adds.
“It has not been an easy road, and it’s still not – some people are interested in getting things easily, I’ve always liked tough things. I set the bar very high, I’m very tough on myself. Me and myself, that’s where the tension comes in.”
• Yasmine Hamdan performs at The Music Room, Majestic Hotel Tower, on Wednesday, November 7 , advance tickets Dh220 online at www.platinumlist.net
rgarratt@thenational.ae
What can victims do?
Always use only regulated platforms
Stop all transactions and communication on suspicion
Save all evidence (screenshots, chat logs, transaction IDs)
Report to local authorities
Warn others to prevent further harm
Courtesy: Crystal Intelligence
RESULT
Deportivo La Coruna 2 Barcelona 4
Deportivo: Perez (39'), Colak (63')
Barcelona: Coutinho (6'), Messi (37', 81', 84')
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Milestones on the road to union
1970
October 26: Bahrain withdraws from a proposal to create a federation of nine with the seven Trucial States and Qatar.
December: Ahmed Al Suwaidi visits New York to discuss potential UN membership.
1971
March 1: Alex Douglas Hume, Conservative foreign secretary confirms that Britain will leave the Gulf and “strongly supports” the creation of a Union of Arab Emirates.
July 12: Historic meeting at which Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid make a binding agreement to create what will become the UAE.
July 18: It is announced that the UAE will be formed from six emirates, with a proposed constitution signed. RAK is not yet part of the agreement.
August 6: The fifth anniversary of Sheikh Zayed becoming Ruler of Abu Dhabi, with official celebrations deferred until later in the year.
August 15: Bahrain becomes independent.
September 3: Qatar becomes independent.
November 23-25: Meeting with Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid and senior British officials to fix December 2 as date of creation of the UAE.
November 29: At 5.30pm Iranian forces seize the Greater and Lesser Tunbs by force.
November 30: Despite a power sharing agreement, Tehran takes full control of Abu Musa.
November 31: UK officials visit all six participating Emirates to formally end the Trucial States treaties
December 2: 11am, Dubai. New Supreme Council formally elects Sheikh Zayed as President. Treaty of Friendship signed with the UK. 11.30am. Flag raising ceremony at Union House and Al Manhal Palace in Abu Dhabi witnessed by Sheikh Khalifa, then Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi.
December 6: Arab League formally admits the UAE. The first British Ambassador presents his credentials to Sheikh Zayed.
December 9: UAE joins the United Nations.
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The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cyl turbo
Power: 201hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 320Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm
Transmission: 6-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 8.7L/100km
Price: Dh133,900
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Racecard
6.30pm: Mazrat Al Ruwayah Group Two (PA) US$55,000 (Dirt) 1,600m
7.05pm: Meydan Trophy (TB) $100,000 (Turf) 1,900m
7.40pm: Handicap (TB) $135,000 (D) 1,200m
8.15pm: Balanchine Group Two (TB) $250,000 (T) 1,800m
8.50pm: Handicap (TB) $135,000 (T) 1,000m
9.25pm: Firebreak Stakes Group Three (TB) $200,000 (D) 1,600m
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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1. Black holes are objects whose gravity is so strong not even light can escape their pull
2. They can be created when massive stars collapse under their own weight
3. Large black holes can also be formed when smaller ones collide and merge
4. The biggest black holes lurk at the centre of many galaxies, including our own
5. Astronomers believe that when the universe was very young, black holes affected how galaxies formed
Jetour T1 specs
Engine: 2-litre turbocharged
Power: 254hp
Torque: 390Nm
Price: From Dh126,000
Available: Now
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Match info
Liverpool 3
Hoedt (10' og), Matip (21'), Salah (45 3')
Southampton 0
Drishyam 2
Directed by: Jeethu Joseph
Starring: Mohanlal, Meena, Ansiba, Murali Gopy
Rating: 4 stars
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