LAYLA KARDAN
Layla
Kardan
Dream-sultry electronic pop with a soulful lyric, Iranian heritage woven into the production, and a refusal to be put in a box.
She celebrated her Iranian heritage through visuals and sound before it was fashionable to do so. Subtle undertones of Middle Eastern and oriental beats, edgy production, a soulful lyric and a voice that has been performing from a young age. Layla Kardan is building something genuinely her own.
Heavily inspired by Jazz and Neo-Soul. Nina Simone. Sade. Erykah Badu. Jill Scott.
"The satisfaction and fulfilment I have in pursuing my truth and my passion, despite all the hardships, has been my greatest triumph yet, regardless of how the music is received. I am at my happiest to date."
Born in Belgium, raised between cultures, Australian by nationality, Iranian by heritage, and currently producing in the United Arab Emirates: Layla Kardan's biography is a map of the music she makes. Dream-sultry electronic pop with a soulful lyric, subtle undertones of Middle Eastern and oriental beats woven into an edgy and fresh production. She has performed at the Emirates Jazz Festival, Art Dubai, the Global Education Forum and the Emirates Literature Festival. She has been performing from a young age. The album is coming.
She describes her sound as dream-sultry electronic pop with a soulful lyric and melody. She does not like being put into a box, which is the most accurate thing she could say about music that draws from Nina Simone and Erykah Badu and then threads Iranian melodic lines through the production. It sounds like nothing else coming out of Dubai, which is precisely the point.
I write about personal encounters, love and life inspired, and about dreamed-up stories and concepts inspired by other art forms: it could be a piece of art, a designer or artist, a film or a score. I don't have a strict schedule where I write every day, but when I am inspired I'll sit and work out the idea until I have a first draft and then I revisit it over the following week to refine the idea lyrically and melodically.
I like to celebrate my Iranian heritage through my visuals and my sound, so there are very subtle undertones of Middle Eastern and oriental beats or melodic lines with an edgy and fresh production. My two first singles are called As One and Keep Running, so there is a message of unity and persistence there. But my album is about getting out of the box, defying social conventions, being a strong woman, falling head over heels in love and then coming out of that to start anew. I cover a lot.
I really enjoyed performing at the Dubai Jazz Festival as it was my first time performing my originals to a captive and engaged audience, with a line-up of unconventional musicians: keyboard, Oud, a beatboxer providing the beats with his mouth, and a cellist. Though I felt very bare and exposed as it wasn't a full band and it was my first time performing the songs live, it was definitely my favourite performance to date.
"Keyboard, Oud, a beatboxer providing the beats with his mouth, and a cellist. It was my first time performing my originals live. I felt very bare and exposed. It was my favourite performance to date."
Layla Kardan · On the Dubai Jazz FestivalIt's majorly competitive, it's hard to make money from record sales so you need to stay fresh and current to speak to an audience that's digital and social media active. In Dubai we have the challenge of being off the radar in terms of a city with a thriving music scene, so it's harder to get picked up. But on the upside we live in such a digital world that if you get your music on the right platforms you can have it heard in all corners of the globe.
Dream-sultry electronic pop with a soulful lyric and melody. I don't like being put into a box. But that's the closest I can get.
To tour Europe and America with the upcoming album. A huge stage production fusing conventional western and ancient Middle Eastern instruments with western choreographed dances with oriental influence. Bare as a stage but fabric-heavy and colourful, with a beautiful light production moving with the beats of the music and graphics to suit.
A line-up of Middle Eastern electronic projects to support. And to top it off: her sisters and her best friends travelling with her.
The first single. A message of unity, Iranian melodic undertones woven through a neo-soul influenced production. The foundation of what the album will build on.
The second single. A message of persistence. Two singles, two ideas, one through-line: the work of a woman who decided to pursue her truth regardless of the cost.
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