Palestinian singer Zeyne on how she created viral hit Asli Ana and her coming debut album

The artist’s Levant-inspired Arab pop fused with western elements is striking a chord with fans around the world

When Palestinian-Jordanian singer Zeyne finished co-writing her viral hit Asli Anna in April last year, she felt a mix of elation and relief. She was thrilled to create a track reflecting the new values she aimed to embrace, and was grateful to break through the writer’s block brought on by trauma.

The events of the Israel-Gaza war left Zeyne uninspired to create and also had her re-evaluating why she was doing this in the first place.

"It was seven or eight months where I just couldn't really write anything and nothing really was happening in the studio," she tells The National. "I was affected – and still am affected – by what is happening. But I did sense I was going through this shift in how I was seeing myself and the realisation that I wanted to start presenting music that really presented my culture."

Hence, work began on what would become her breakout single. Released in November, Asli Ana opens with a spoken word piece underscoring the cultural significance of the traditional Palestinian thobe, before transitioning into a vibrant dabke anthem.

Garnering about half a million views within its first three days on YouTube, Asli Ana's success was fuelled by a striking music video, directed Farid Malki from Morocco. The video features dazzling choreography, which serves as a homage to the resilience of Palestinian identity.

“I knew I wanted the song to tell a story – that's why the video began almost as a film before it gets into the track," says Zeyne, whose real name is Zein Sajdi. "We spent around a week shooting the video – four days in Casablanca and Morocco, and then two days in Jordan. We also collaborated with Majdi Karakra, a choreographer from the Al Fanoon group in Palestine's West Bank, who I consider the best dabke dance group in the world."

The tight time frame and hours of dance rehearsals left Zeyne exhausted on the day of the song’s release on November 22. "I remember feeling so numb and tired that I really couldn't see the video the way others see it," she says. "But I remember a few days later, I went to look at the comments and I cried because of how many people from around the world introduced themselves and said how this song touched them. It was really special and personal."

Zeyne managed to channel the song’s urgency during December’s Soundstorm festival in Riyadh. Flanked by four dancers, her set also featured original tracks that showcased a vibrant fusion of Levant-inspired Arab pop with Western pop elements – a signature sound she plans to hone further in her debut album, set for release later this year.

Zeyne is working on her debut album. Photo: MDL Beast

This is evident in some of the already released songs, such as Balak, which boasts an ethereal quality and pulsating electronic beats, while Mish Asfeh features an irresistible Arabic pop chorus that intriguingly merges into an Amapiano-esque wall of washed-out keyboards.

"Asli Ana will be the first song from my debut album and I want it to be an introduction into who we are as Palestinians, our culture and heritage, because it seems like the world has been trying to erase it for so long," she says. "So I wanted to put my stamp on it and say we are here and have a great history as well as so many things to look forward to - the rest of the album will then pick up the story from there."

Zeyne's own story began as a response to the boredom and hopelessness she felt during the early stages of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020. At the time, a fresh graduate from the UK's University of Sussex, she found her chances of landing her first job in public relations destroyed by the pandemic, which forced her to return to the family home in Amman, Jordan.

"I was supposed to be working in the UK for at least three years, but instead I found myself back at my piano in Jordan," she says. "The situation pushed me to reconnect with music and rebuild that relationship - and of course, my mum was really happy to have me back too."