INTERVIEW: Malak releases new single 'Can't Catch An Emotion': "It’s possible to break geographical boundaries and get your voice heard across the world"
Image: Henar Sherif & Adel Essam
Egyptian singer Malak first released music back in 2014 with her debut EP Alters, which drew praise from Rolling Stone and racked up over one million streams. After a number of years away from her solo career focusing on other musical endeavours, Malak returned at the beginning of June with the single ‘Can’t Catch An Emotion’. A beguiling, sensuous track that twists subtle elements of Middle Eastern music into a laid back, soulful pop track, Malak’s warm, magnetic vocals effortlessly slide into your heart and mind in a way that you cannot turn away from. “I wrote the song at a time when I felt completely disconnected from myself and everything around me,” Malak says. “By writing and working on this song, I slowly started to connect to myself again as an artist and was able to do more than just ‘drag my body through time.’” The first single from her debut album due later this year, Malak is paving the way for Middle Eastern female singers on the Western stage and we recently spoke to her to find out more about.
Hi Malak! Thanks for talking to us. How has life been affected in Egypt during the coronavirus pandemic?
Hello! Actually life has been flipped upside down here in Egypt. We have a curfew and most public places are shutdown. They’re slowly opening up work and public spaces and by mid July we’ll be reopened, hopefully!
Congratulations on the release of your latest single ‘Can’t Catch An Emotion’ it is beautiful! Can you tell us a little about the inspiration behind this track?
Thank you! This song actually took a while in the making, it wasn’t one of those songs you usually whip up in a sitting. I returned to the lyrics many times over a few months, sat with it, edited, and changed the melody of the chorus a few times. I wrote it at a period when I wasn’t inspired or motivated to write at all and so coming back to it a couple of times and completing it actually got me back in the flow of writing.
Who did you work with on the track?
I wrote it and composed it myself on the guitar and then when i was completely happy with the lyrics and structure, I sat with Moataz Mady who’s an awesome producer and guitarist here in Cairo. I automatically knew he would be perfect on this song and that our vision would be aligned for the direction of the production. We worked on the production together and recorded some live guitar, bass, and cello on the song. After I recorded vocals and we were happy with it, we took it to Mohamed Sakr who helped us mix and master and get the specific sound we wanted for the track.
In many ways this single is a ‘comeback’ for you, after the 2014 release of your debut EP. What have you been up to creatively in the intervening years?
Well, I released Alters in 2014 and spent around a year performing it. After that, I released some singles and did some collaborations with other musicians here in the region. I also opened up a music production studio in 2016 with Moataz and we had been working on music for other artists, brands, and TV. Meanwhile, I was cooking up the concept of the album and actually started to work on it mid 2018.
Speaking of your debut album, it is planned to be released later this year, what can you tell us about it?
This album means a lot to me. It’s basically my journey for the past two years. I think after Alters, I needed to mature musically and develop my sound, and really get to know who I am as an artist and what I want to write about. With this project I really had the chance to strip back all the layers and really be me. It’s focused around the emotions we feel and thoughts we have before we go to sleep and right when we wake up. So there’s definitely a lot of vulnerability and authenticity in the lyrics and a ‘dream-like’ sound.
What role did music play in your life when you were growing up?
Growing up I was always surrounded by music. My dad had an impressive record collection and we would always play them at home. my mum used to play the guitar as well and we were just a family that loved music! When I was a little girl I used to make mixtapes all the time for myself and my family, they loved it.
What was it that inspired you to pursue music as a career? Was there a ‘light bulb’ moment, or did it happen organically?
It happened organically, there wasn’t a specific moment where I actually decided. I always knew I would either be doing music or art and I was always pursuing both just because I loved it. I studied art and it was a big part of my life but I found that at some point music took over and I was doing that professionally. I still paint and do art as a hobby and I think now I’m able to support my music with that visual component.
How did you develop your career, from first having the idea of being a singer to where you are now?
I’m developing everyday, and I’m still in the beginning stages of my music career so I’m really excited about the coming years and really staying consistent with my releases and live shows.
We don’t often hear about singers from Egypt on the international music scene, what Egyptian singers do you recommend we all should be listening to?
It’s really important for me to create that path for up and coming artists in the region, to show them that it’s possible to break geographical boundaries and get your voice heard across the world. Some rising Egyptian artists I really love are Zeyada and Felukah, I’m very excited to see what they’ll do next. An established artist of Egyptian origins that I also love is Tamino.
There has been so much debate in the past year or so about gender equality and sexism in the wake of #metoo. What are your thoughts on how women are treated and portrayed in the music industry?
I come from a country where I deal with gender inequality and sexism on a daily basis. At work, in the streets, with older generations. Although I love where I come from, unfortunately, it’s embedded in our culture and we’re still a long way from eradicating those beliefs and systems that have been passed down to generations. It’s sad to say that it’s something I’ve lived with for most of my life, and although i’ve grown somewhat ‘numb’ to being put in positions like that, it doesn’t downplay the importance of addressing it and trying to create change. With my music and being based in the middle east, I’m already challenging those notions daily both personally and professionally. I think for me, the next right step it to be able to represent women from the same background and start conversations about that with the region and the rest of the world.
What’s up next for Malak?
So my album is coming up in a few months, I’m busy working on the release right now and I’m really hoping i’d be able to go on a small tour and perform it live when the world opens up again. For now everything is uncertain but what I know is the music industry is rapidly changing during these times and i’m excited to be part of that and experiment with my first album!
‘Can’t Catch An Emotion’ is out now. You can download on iTunes or stream on Apple Music and Spotify.
To keep up with all things Malak you can follow her on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter
Image: Henar Sherif & Adel Essam
