Big Hass: Your Half Omani/Half American, incredible blend of cultures right there. How did you get into music and in what way does that blend is reflected in/affected your music?
Emaan Zadjali: I’ve been doing music for as long as I can remember. My parents told me that when I was about three years old, I watched The Wizard of Oz a lot. We had an old piano in the house and one day they heard me play the melody to Somewhere Over The Rainbow by ear.
I was born in the US but for the majority of my life, I grew up in Oman. Naturally, I always heard Arabic music around me, and I feel that it has a big influence as to how I sing and play today.
BH: As someone who pushed/supported the music scene in Saudi Arabia. I seen a lot of female artists "back away" from performing/posting online due to certain "Traditions" in the country that sadly didn't allow them to. I am not sure how the situation in Oman is, but in what way were you able to break that and get a following online especially on Instagram?
EZ: I didn’t really think much of it at the time, as far as tradition goes. My friend push me to make an Instagram account and post videos of me singing. At this point I wasn’t publicly performing yet, I was still getting used to people reacting to my videos. Trying to figure out if what I was doing was actually good or not.
Two months later after making a Instagram account I’ve finally decided to perform live at Love At First Bite (a restaurant in Oman) for a charity event. Only a few people recognize me from my Instagram account, but after that night, everything changed.
Their responses were all so positive and welcoming! I had girls come up to me saying “Thank you for doing this for us”. That really shocked me and stuck with me till this day. That’s probably the moment I knew I had to keep performing. I had to keep spreading the word, showing people that I’m not afraid to show my face or reveal my family name.
I’ve been doing very well ever since, and thankfully the reactions are still very positive and supportive.
EZ: The music scene in Oman is definitely growing. Local talents have been using Open Mic events to show off their skills for the longest time. Just Jams for example, a successful local company that provide pop-up open mic nights for the public to showcase their talents!
They also provide poetry nights as well for the talented poets out there!
Alongside with that, we also have Independent Omani Artists with a variety of genres who have released music on all platforms such as myself and:
Adam Nabeel
Nile
MoonsSalah
Ghazi Balucci
Chase
Akram
WNDRSS
The variety of genres that these artists portray are on a wide spectrum. From RnB to Hip-Hop, to alternative rock to Folk/singer songwriter and many more.
BH: Interested to know more about the plans you have for your Original music. With the calibre of voice you have, I predict big things! Tell me more about "Rolling Stone" - what is it about? + What is your song writing process?
EZ: I’m still currently trying to find my style/sound. I’ve been exploring the contemporary R&B sound, as well as some new age funk. So far, my originals I’ve been working on are more on the Contemporary R&B side (Daniel Caesar/Frank Ocean inspired). However, on a side note, I’m also going to be featured on an upcoming Metal EP as well as a LoFi EP real soon (keep an eye out for them, you’re not going to want to miss it). So I guess you could say I’m very open to change and trying out new things!
Rolling Stone was a rendition of The Weeknd’s song “Rolling Stone”, I changed the lyrics to talk about the society I grew up around. This song has such a significant and personal meaning to me. It’s about how I never saw a substantial change in the way everyone viewed each other. Everyone’s too scared about revealing their family name and jeopardizing their reputation, yet they aren’t afraid to sit behind screens and critique the people who actually want to take that first step to being something/someone different and important. “Get on this Rolling Stone” meaning , ‘lets get a move on’ we gotta see a change in this society, people!
If nobody’s gonna take the initiative, then at least support me and my dream to make this change in our community; “I just wanna hear you say, I got you."
BH: Tell me about "Cruise Control" for Ziad Gadou that deatured you & Ghazi Al Balucci - It was produced by you? You getting into production as well? Any inspirations when it comes to producers out there?
EZ: Cruise Control was such an interesting project to produce and be featured on. The brains behind it all AKA Ziad, an amazingly talented poet from Egypt, had the idea of incorporating music and spoken word together in a song and consist of a powerful message. Immediately I was on board and put myself into the role of The Producer (with little to 0 knowledge on producing). I took this opportunity to challenge myself and break boundaries to create something amazing.
BH: What would you say is your biggest challenge so far?
EZ: My biggest challenge at the moment is coming up with a concept for an album I’m putting together. I would call myself a perfectionist when it comes to my music. I always want there to be a significant meaning to my songs and have a message that can be relatable to most people. I would hope my music would connect with people on a personal level.
BH: Do Local artists in Oman get Radio Play? & is it as important as before?
EZ: This doesn’t happen enough. Local artists have been featured on Radio Talkshows before and have performed live on air, but not enough local artists have their music properly recorded or distributed online. It’s very valuable for artists to be able to have a platform like the radio to exhibit their music. We definitely need more stations to support their local artists in Oman!
BH: Would you say that because of your ability to sing in "Arabic" that you were able to tap more to the Omani community (Mass wise)? & will we see you perform in Arabic more?
EZ: Oh definitely! The video of me singing “Helwa Oman” is how a lot of Omanis found out about me. I never thought it was going to go viral the way it did. It was National Day and so I figured it was fit to sing something in Arabic for the occasion. I gained 1000 followers a day for 6 days straight. It was wild.
However, I don’t see myself performing in Arabic at all times. I would like to incorporate the language into my music, but I don’t think I could strictly sing in Arabic.
BH: What can we find in Emaan's MP3 player? What kinda of artists you listen to? Who inspires you?
EZ: Whole lot of Frank Ocean. His writing style is inspiring, how he uses metaphorical lyrics and utilizes them so tastefully. You’d also find quite a lot of Drake, Jorja Smith, Kendrick Lamar, The (old) Weeknd, Sabrina Claudio, 6LACK, Billie Eilish, NAO, SiR. I could go on and on.
I’d say my biggest inspiration is Daniel Caeser, HER and Frank Ocean. A lot of my new music I’m working on is very inspired by those three.
BH: I gotta ask you about the music scene in Arabia/Middle East/GCC , who do you follow? who do you like?
EZ: I’m a huge fan of Adam Nabeel. He is one of the main reasons I started getting into producing! You also have other female artists like Shébani and Rose Gold that I look up to as well. Mvrs, Moh Flow, Majeed all have similar styles and I vibe with all of them! Their success and their passion for making music motivates me on a whole other level. They’re the ones that make me believe I can really make it in the GCC.
BH: Finally, What's your dream?
Finish college at Berklee, get that degree, and hopefully come back to Oman to help build the music scene! Being able to make a difference and still be doing something I love, that’s the dream.
EZ: Any lats words for Re-Volt Blog...
Go check me out on Instagram, Youtube, Soundcloud, Twitter! @emaanzadjali
You can find my music on all platforms under EMAAN. Go and show some love!
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