For our conversation, Emel Mathlouthi popped into a Brooklyn coffee shop. It’s a little cacophonous, but also a fitting microcosm of the city she now calls home. The musician moved to the States after a stint in Paris, but a part of her home country of Tunisia always remains close. As she broadens her cultural and musical horizons, the North African country continues to inform both. Her latest album, MRA, pushes Mathlouthi’s explorations further still, courtesy of songs performed and produced entirely by women.
Emel Mathlouthi 0:12
Well, I thought it would be a nice idea to, like change the scenery from Paris. I used to be in Paris. And I thought that artistically, I got, like more needs. I wanted to be more challenged and more stimulated. And I thought New York would be a good scene.
Brian Heater 0:35
I've never heard somebody leaving Paris because they wanted to change of scenery. In terms of scenery. Like it seems like Paris is a place to be.
Emel Mathlouthi 0:45
No, I think artistically, New York is much more crazy and complex and stimulating. Ah, I didn't think yeah, I didn't think I was getting. I really started going into more. More experimentation, sound wise and artistically. And I didn't feel that Paris was given me where I wanted to go. And indeed, I mean, coming to New York, gave me much freedom and much more trust in my abilities. Like, you know, designing sounds,
Brian Heater 1:25
why do you think that is? Is it just the people that are out here to collaborate with? Um,
Emel Mathlouthi 1:29
yeah, I mean, yeah, there's definitely, like, there's a little bit of everything here. There's a little bit of everything and everybody, like in so many different directions and atmospheres. And I don't think anything sounds too crazy. When I started, when I started to experiment and exploring and collaborating with different musicians, you're in different artists. Yeah, I didn't think there were any limits. But I also, like, collaborate with people from a little bit everywhere. It depends on the album. So I'm not, I'm not just like in New York, I think New York was also some sort of an interesting headspace. For me.
Brian Heater 2:17
As I mentioned before, I've been in Queens and in terms of like, picking pairs probably isn't bad for this either. But in terms of picking one place to be where you have immediate access to everybody from every part of the world, like it's, it's hard to do better than New York.
Emel Mathlouthi 2:33
Yeah, exactly. And yeah, I feel also, like, whoever comes here, whatever mindset they were on, I think there's something specific to just lean in New York. And, you know, it's like being close to the ocean, I don't know, I think gives us very, very special Bumble.
Brian Heater 2:54
There's also just this sense of, of hustle here. And I think a lot of that is very pragmatic, too, is just a result of how expensive it is to live here that you that you can't really slack that you have to focus on on your work, especially if that's work that you're using to survive.
Emel Mathlouthi 3:15
Yeah. Yeah, definitely. Like, you don't yeah, you're gonna feel like yeah, in some way. Like, Harris kind of spoils, brands kind of spoils people, and makes him like comfortable. And probably probably the other way, the other opposite here makes people like, yeah, just search more in themselves. And not never, never, ever, like really sit comfortably. Like you're always you're always searching for more yours exploring, in roles challenged and challenging yourself.
Brian Heater 3:58
I'm from California originally, which is, you know, in a lot of ways, much more laid back than it is out here. And but I've been here for, I guess, about 20 years at this point. And it's like, it's like anything else where you know, the grass is greener, where it also if you stay here for too long, and you're constantly kept in that hustle like you start to miss the slower pace of other parts of life.
Emel Mathlouthi 4:24
Yeah, that's where I am now. I'm starting to be like, Okay, maybe maybe I'm gonna live in Istanbul or Cairo, which are other like hustling cities, actually. They're not much more relaxed. But yeah, I'm starting to like, want to explore a different direction.
Brian Heater 4:48
Those are also much closer to home for you.
Emel Mathlouthi 4:52
Yeah. I do have this Connection with Turkey with The Arab world was my country with Europe that somehow makes me like always try to be be on both sides.
Brian Heater 5:16
Do you think that to a certain extent that moving out there that your music would be more focused on or that you'd be writing more Arabic lyrics?
Emel Mathlouthi 5:30
I don't know. It's hard to predict, honestly. Because think that I'm always I'm always writing or creating with the combination of whatever elements are around me and how I feel. I'm realizing more and more but like, the way because I just got that I was touring. And my mindset is completely different since I landed. I feel like wherever your feet are touching, you get this like, mix of inspiration. And it's hard to predict exactly. Which which artistic and creative space you're going to be in. But it will definitely yeah, it will definitely be different.
Brian Heater 6:21
Yeah, I'm curious how specifically the language that you're writing and is a reflection of artistic space for you.
Emel Mathlouthi 6:32
I was a little bit like struggling with that. Because I wrote in Arabic, for a long time, I didn't start writing in Arabic right away. I was actually, initially I was just doing covers in North Main English and Spanish. Because I was Yeah, I was mixing all these inspirations from the cranberries, Sinead O'Connor, John Lennon and Led Zeppelin. And eventually, I got into writing my own songs, and I started writing in Arabic. And then after living in New York for a few years, I started missing actually singing in English and writing in English, which always felt a little bit like home. Which is, which may probably be a little bit surprising for, you know, like a Western media or audience. But yeah, English has English, the English language has been a big part of my artistic life. So it kind of felt like a full circle moment, especially with one of Jeff Buckley songs, New Year's prayer, it's a song that I experimented with a lot. And like for once, I felt that I really took it to a space that was mine. And that was mine in a very, very authentic and deep way that I was like, this is okay, this is me, this is my artistic identity. And that's when I realized that I was ready to explore with English. And then I had this like, Okay, I don't want to write an Arabic anymore moment for a bit. And then eventually, like, you know, I went to Tunisia, which is Yeah, which might explain, explain why I started like reuniting with all my multiple layers and facets. And I started writing in Arabic again, and singing in Arabic again, you know, in a way where, okay, it's not because it's expected of me. It's not because this is where I'm supposed to be doing is just something that is me. And then I went back and forth between experimenting with English, French, and Arabic. And that's what made my new album what it is. I'm
Brian Heater 9:04
always curious about people singing in their non native language from the standpoint of, of things like meter. You know, I think a lot about, I don't know if you've read any Nabokov that, like he wrote, when he wrote Lolita, he wrote it in English. I think it might have been the first thing that he wrote in English and different languages take on very different personalities when you're somebody who is very, I guess, for lack of a better term poet, poetical minded and someone who sort of thinks in poetry. Languages is sound differently and they lend themselves differently to music because of that.
Emel Mathlouthi 9:51
Yeah, well, thank you for thank you for saying that because I know that I I had a lot of I like conversations about this with like people that were close to me. And I'm sure like, a lot of my audience must have been disappointed. And there's a lot of like, when you're an artist, you kind of belong to everybody, you belong to your label, you belong to your friends, you belong to your audience. And it's hard to, you know, explain to everybody that you first of all belong to yourself and your authentic self. And that's, that's where you have to be, in order for them to be able. In order to give like pieces of view to the world, you have to start like by you know, so I identify with a few artists that actually probably like did the same experience. And that did it really, really well, like, I think about as Dean Elia, the iconic designer, who, even though was profoundly Venusian, but you wouldn't necessarily get that from his work. And that's kind of where I was, to me like, I wanted to be able to be free and exploring any language. And it's true that what I discovered, I liked that I was able to grow from, like, I started with English. And then I grew, and I was mature, I matured artistically in a way where I found my own way to do my Arabic language experience. Because I wasn't trained in it, I wasn't trained to sing Arabic, or like, I had no idea about, like, any technical aspect of that I just took the Arabic language, and just did my own sauce. So even to the Arabic speaking world, my Arabic singing was Western fellow. But when I decided to record my album in English, in 2019, that came out in 2019, I found that my way of singing in English was more relaxed and more explorative in a way that I needed. Because the whole time I was singing in Arabic and writing in Arabic, somehow, I didn't necessarily write in a way that was that with my voice, necessarily, I would just, like, imagine things and write things. And then I would just sing them. And I didn't, when I when I started, like writing in English, I felt like, wow, there's this whole dimension in my voice, where I don't need necessarily to go all these highs. I could, like sing in this, like medium tones and really appreciate it. So I really loved having that experience.
Brian Heater 13:18
It's not like there is a shortage of the Arabic speakers of the world. It you know, it's one of the top 10 most spoken languages. But that said, I, I kind of understand why people get this sort of sense of ownership, especially somebody singing it in, in their native language in a way that has like broken through to even the, you know, English dominated cultures that I can, I can kind of appreciate that, I guess from a fan standpoint of why why they feel this, why they feel this sense of ownership and why it may be difficult for them. When somebody makes a change like that.
Emel Mathlouthi 14:05
Yeah, I mean, like, that's the story of my life. I'm always leaving somebody behind in my process. Yeah, some I think, yeah, because for I just, I don't know, I, I changed everything, almost from one album to another. It's not exactly true. Like, I will change everything. I feel like there's still like a big part of me and probably that's, that's what makes me me, but I don't know, we'll see.
Brian Heater 14:37
Would you say that you're driven by change to a certain extent?
Emel Mathlouthi 14:43
I think so. I think I am. I have a tendency to get bored. Quite often, like even in my in my own life, and especially news likewise, I feel that I constantly need stimulation in somehow I feel that's what I owe to people to stimulate them. And I might be wrong. But to me like if I, if I bring the same preposition artistic preposition over and over, I don't think I mean, I'm being fair, or I'm like doing what? What I'm supposed to do. So, I don't know, like, I might be like, completely wrong. But I've always been motivated by just like, Okay, let's, let's, let's like, look for a different concept. Let's, let's embark on a new Sonic experience
Brian Heater 15:50
in terms of that pace of life and the impact that it had on the art that you make, how would you compare Tunisia to the other places you've lived?
Emel Mathlouthi 16:01
Tunisia is. I mean, that's where I developed my first passion for everything. I think it was a good in a bad place to be a good because I think the, the colors and the sounds and the weather. Just made it like really the special place that made me who I am. But at the same time, it gave me a lot of frustration. And a lot of I lacked so many things, I lacked freedom, I lacked support, I lacked creative space, I lacked structure. That really made me frustrated and probably made me lose a lot of the time that I wish I still had today. Yeah. And probably that gave me a lot of like, you know, stubbornness and strength, to like, face, um, face things and face, you know, every challenge that I've been faced with since I started this whole journey,
Brian Heater 17:16
when you say you'd like to freedom, what did that look like? Um,
Emel Mathlouthi 17:20
yeah, I mean, like, well as, as a woman, certainly, like, it starts with the family. So like, yeah, you start craving freedom, just like to be able to, you know, go out of the house in whenever you wanted. But that was not really possible, for example, like, there were much more restrictions on me as a girl growing up, and then very quickly, you find the same things in it school industry, because we were living under dictatorships. So it's just one dictatorship after another, you know, it starts with the political in the education and the way you're educated in whatever you're, you're offered. So, yeah. It's, it's hard to overcome that. Like, even even later on, like, you know, it stays with you.
Brian Heater 18:23
With political discourse here, people tend to compare things to, you know, to dictatorships to fascism, like, really quickly, they're quick to do that. And I wonder, like, you know, having grown up in a setting like that, whether whether you feel that, you know, people in the US where there are certain freedoms are maybe a little too eager to compare it to that or whether, because of the level relative level of freedoms, perhaps that we experience here that they're, that they can tend to miss some of the signs of, maybe society moving in that direction. They
Emel Mathlouthi 18:59
probably do. Because like, yeah, they probably do well, because growing up in Tunisia, I you know, we can't necessarily dress however you please. If you are a little bit too weird, then, you know, like, just like this so many layers that it's very hard to be able to be who you are, you know, and I wasn't like, particularly eccentric, but I've always felt really different. And that wasn't like something that was easy to carry over there. And even just like being talented, is not something that's necessarily welcome. Having like a good talent, having like a aspirations, having ambitions, it can, it can come down to that, you know, which is really ridiculous. But it's very true. So yeah, people here must take it for granted to just like, you know, grow up and be able to, like, have aspirations and have dreams and, you know, like growing up with, with the with the idea that you could basically be whoever you want, you know, that's like we're very far from that growing up in places like Tunisia. Do
Brian Heater 20:34
you feel like your parents were relatively or as supportive as they could be in that setting?
Emel Mathlouthi 20:43
Oh, no, they weren't supportive at all.
Brian Heater 20:45
You'd mentioned you know, your, your, I think your father playing a lot of like, classical music around the house. So at least there was some, there was some interest in art.
Emel Mathlouthi 20:56
Yeah, well, it's, it's funny, because I don't think I would have been the person I am haven't I been in contact with such good music? From an early age? Although, I mean, like, I don't make music that's very mainstream. So I don't know. Probably nowadays, to be successful musician, you have to be you have to grow up listening to Taylor Swift. And that way you could have, you could have an idea how to make like, you know, three chords, songs, you know, that have hooks and whatever, you know,
Brian Heater 21:31
but you were listening to like some, you know, you mentioned like, the cranberries, for example, who were they they were obviously very popular when we were growing up.
Emel Mathlouthi 21:39
I don't think they would be nowadays, their music is too sad. But so that came later. That's still like, their music is very, like, you know, you'd have songs that have many different parts, you know, that. But anyways, like, Yeah, it sounds like what? Well, what I grew up with was Beethoven and Mozart. So this is this is the stuff that really probably like constructed. And, and, and Art Tatum. And, you know, Mahalia Jackson, and so yeah, this is the stuff that I really grew up with as a child. And that's later on, I went and searched for like, in high school, I started listening to pop rock and metal. And yeah, and then I found another home for me. But I'm very grateful to the fact that my dad was really a passionate of, you know, he had a good taste. So that was like, an that, yeah, that's like not, that was something that he did naturally. But when it came, when the time came, and I really developed a talent, and I really wanted, you know, people to tell me like, what I should be doing, and, or, like, you know, to support me that that wasn't the case. This is
Brian Heater 23:03
me taking my kind of American privilege for granted. But it's always very hard for me to reconcile and understand how somebody in his case, so you know, listening to like American jazz music or, or gospel music, and some of the examples that you gave, but then doesn't, isn't able to extend that to, to your own talents and your own ambitions.
Emel Mathlouthi 23:27
Yeah, I mean, yeah, like, somehow we lived in a society where, like, your daughter doesn't just become a musician, or a singer, you know. And, yeah, and some, I mean, both my parents come from, like, a rural place. So even though like, we grew up in the Capitol, I think for them, there, and even though my dad like spent, like, over 10 years in Paris, and like, he was part of all these, like communist and anarchist movements. I think, at the end of the day, like when it's, you know, he didn't really have much, much, you know, like, for them, you had to go to school, and then just, like, follow the classic half. So they really didn't have any idea even how to, like, you know, help or support. They just wanted us to just be like everyone else.
Brian Heater 24:22
What I will say is, you know, having spoken to a lot of musicians or artists whose parents weren't supportive. I, this isn't, this isn't always the case. Sometimes parents are just gorgeous, bad parents. But I think in most cases, it comes from, you know, a relatively good place of like, we want you to, we want you to sort of live the like, most comfortable or easiest life you can and this obviously, like setting down that this path, especially in this context is you know, you're setting yourself up for potentially a really difficult life.
Emel Mathlouthi 24:59
True I probably wouldn't encourage my kids to be musicians.
Brian Heater 25:05
You have a daughter, right?
Emel Mathlouthi 25:06
Yeah, I have a daughter and a son. Yeah,
Brian Heater 25:11
I, I'm assuming that when you're talking about, you know, where you're living now and where you're living next, I mean, that must, that must play a really big role in and in terms of, you know, what sort of cultures and what kind of circumstances you want to raise your children.
Emel Mathlouthi 25:31
I certainly want to raise them in New York as much as possible, because I still think that this is the place where everything is possible. And even though like, I really now dislike the us a lot, and the harm they're doing in the world. I still feel like New York is still like this bubble of super, super, like interesting social movements and cultural movements, and feel like you could as a child, you could grow to be an amazing adult here. I've
Brian Heater 26:14
been here for a while. I wasn't. I was still in California, during 911. But you know, I moved here close enough to that having happened that I do see. I do see a lot of really unfortunate echoes happening right now. And it's clear that people didn't necessarily take away the right lessons from having been through this the first time. Yeah, and especially I was talking to I'm Jewish, and I was interviewing somebody who's Jewish last night. And we were talking a little bit about this about it, did you see the the Jonathan Glazer speech at the Oscars, where he was how it's how it's difficult, but important to speak to. Like, specifically people in in Gaza, speak to what they're what they're going through. It's an it's such a, it's such a polarizing issue in the US that I think a lot of people just don't talk about it, just don't discuss it at all. But but you strike me as somebody who is like seeing just incredible suffering and feel like you've got this disposition, where people are listening to you, and that you want to use that to speak out for the people who can't necessarily speak for themselves.
Emel Mathlouthi 27:56
Absolutely, like, what's happening right now, as I like, to me, it's like, so unprecedented. Like, I know, there's many parts in the world, where bad things are happening. We don't, we don't necessarily talk about them. But I feel like right now, we're just, you know, like, it's like, as if, you know, with social media, if you open your window, and you see somebody like, you know, raping somebody or beating up somebody or just like, you know, shooting at somebody randomly, and it's so brutal, it's so violent, and to know that, like, this country is complicit. Like, without even, like, needing to be complicit, like, is just beyond me, and I don't know, I was, I was, I was raised like to dislike places like Saudi Arabia, or the Emirates where, like, you know, freedoms are are like, you know, to this day, like, you know, there's freedoms for women and whatever, but like, one of my friends was, like, why should we dislike those places? You know, yes, we have freedom in the US inside, then look how much harm the US has been doing in the world, like all these years, and especially right now, like, why should we? Why should we just like, you know, you know, like, dislike those places in like the US or live in the US like versus going to live in those places. So I am struggling a lot right now with that and, and of course, to know, like, you know, that my taxes are going to something so, so awful. I'm really I'm really struggling with that, even though I see like so many people that are doing amazing things amazing, like civil actions. Amazing solidarity, that is like not as much seen anywhere else. So it's like, this whole contrast, you know, like I love being here because I love the protests. I love what people are. How people are gathering together like, you know, And the Jewish community, especially like in New York and the US, like, it's, it's really beautiful to see people, okay, like, I'm speaking, I'm speaking up, you know. And it's, it's unlike anything else in, you know, in Europe or in, in other places in the world. So this is like to contrast, you know, I
Brian Heater 30:19
was reading a interview that you did not too long ago, and you said, not even paraphrasing, you said, music can change the world. And I, I understand, I understand cynicism around that, or skepticism around that I've certainly had my fair share. But I also feel like at the same time, that that it's something that you have to believe, like, you know, what I mean, that you need to feel like you can make a difference in order to make a difference.
Emel Mathlouthi 30:44
Absolutely. I mean, I like that you say, you have to believe, you know, because, you know, at the end of the day, we do have to believe in something in order to create something in order to, you know, make the world a better place where it starts with believing unfortunately, some people believe in the wrong things, or like to believe, or like to make us believe in the wrong things. But I truly believe that music can change the world because, you know, see, like, music is connecting me and new music is connected me like I performed for the Kurdish people that three days ago. Like it, like I made 15,000 new followers in three days in. To me, they're not just numbers, they're just people who loved it, see me perform for them. And you see me perform, I also performed some songs and Kurdish and to see the impact that that just that to me, I just sang a song to see how much impact it had, like I was going through my messages and seeing how much like people felt empowered people felt seen. So music can change the world. But, you know, we are fighting against things that are like terrible and horrible and strong. But like imagine we didn't have music, you know, imagine. And that's why I don't want to take music for granted. And I I want to pursue this thing where like music is not just, you know, it's not, it's not just something that, you know, you hear in the background. Music is in the foreground, music is fighting. Music is a message music is a is a tool music is a weapon. And that's why, like, at the end of the day, I don't know, like how much successful I can be. But I know that the things that I believe in, in believing in the right things, has connected me in the most beautiful ways to other people. And that's gonna matter. Much more than just like making numbers, you know? I mean, I hope
Brian Heater 32:56
you specifically have to believe it, because you've seen it. But you were ever there firsthand. Yeah,
Emel Mathlouthi 33:03
I mean, I've been I've been through dictatorship, I've been through racism. I saw like, you know, I went, I've been to Palestine, I've been to Algeria. I've been to Iran. I've been in Europe, I've been to Kurdistan recently. And somehow, like, even even when I don't want to be political, like everything turns to be political. Like to move around, to have access to audiences to be able to tour to be on theaters, like Yeah, everything is political. So I might as well just use it. To be to be to be the voice of truth and to be the voice of freedom and to be the voice of compassion you played
Brian Heater 33:55
in Iran. I'm what I'm reading off of here. It describes it as a highly illegal all human performance. How did that how did that specific circumstance come about?
Emel Mathlouthi 34:08
So I think we got away with it because he was part of a documentary and hunting. I think it's a very important documentary, like, especially like recently, when things started blowing up again in Iran. Because to me, like it's all it's all about women, you know, like, the world has always tried to shut like women's voices. And, you know, in Iran like, you cannot be a solo singer. He meant solo singer, even. You could be on stage but you you'd have to have like, male voices kind of cover your voice. And I feel that's even worse than being forbidden from being on stage. Because you can. You can't be who you are. You can be your own thing. You can be your own project. Okay, so it was a little a little bit like, you know, a little bit with hope, a little wind, a little window of hope, in the midst of the darkness that we created during that time for the audience for for each other for the Iranian musicians, specifically, specifically for the female Iranian musicians, to to live those little, like happy moments and be on stage together and like experiment like that fear in all of those, like, you know, emotions, are we going to perform or we're not going to perform? Or we're gonna be kicked out of the country? Are we gonna go to jail? Are you gonna have problems? Like, I know, I created like, a problem when I like, wrote something on my social media and then like, everything collapse, and we all started crying. Eventually, the performance ended up happening. I wish that this movie, like could be streamed somewhere. It's called Nolan's song. And I feel like it resonates nowadays, more than ever, because we still, you know, as women, we're still fighting for our space. And it's not just an Iran, it's like, worldwide, you know, like, you know, like, when you see that in the Supreme Court this like, how many eight judges now? There's one woman and eight, man nine, there's
Brian Heater 36:22
three. See, there's 124 I think there's four. One of them's conservative.
Emel Mathlouthi 36:29
Oh, there's four women now. Yeah. Okay. But it has been nine men for a long, long, long, long time, in a way that most of the women in politics nowadays are just thinking like, man, you know, like, when I start saying things like if we had a matriarchy metrical system, like, I'm sure many, many, many, many things are gonna go for the better. And people would be like, Yeah, but we had Margaret Thatcher, you know, that didn't go for the better. Like Margaret Thatcher. Just another guy. One
Brian Heater 37:03
example. Yeah, the one example. I mean, like, you might as well have been Reagan, right.
Emel Mathlouthi 37:10
Yeah, exactly. Exactly. So like, we're not we're not we're not out of the woods yet. You know, and I'm sorry to call the woods. But you know, you know what I'm saying? Forgive
Brian Heater 37:20
the kind of ignorant question. But I'm curious, like, so that's, I didn't know that specific law. As far as you can sing on voice, you can sing on stage, but a man has to be singing with you is there? What is the justification for that specific rule? Is there? Is there a reasoning behind it? Well,
Emel Mathlouthi 37:35
yeah, cuz the voice of a woman is very dangerous, you know, like, in the voice, yeah, the voice, the voice of a woman, like, you know, and there's actually in the movie, I will send you the link. This, this very inch. The very interesting scene in the movie in the documentary, where the Sarah, the composer who was like, whose initiative was to do this movie, she goes and speaks to one of the mullahs. And she asked him like, what, why, why, what is it like with the female voice that makes you also, you know, stressed out? He's like, Well, and he doesn't even look at her at all. The whole time. He's talking to her, he never looks at her. It's like, yeah, because the voice of the woman, you know, it could be like, really, like, drive for desire, you know? And it's all about the desire, like, you know, just let people live.
Brian Heater 38:36
Yeah, it's that thing of putting your own issues onto somebody else, because you're afraid of what that might make. You do.
Emel Mathlouthi 38:44
Yeah. Because yeah, women women are powerful. And somehow, we're still like, oppressed because of that power. And when worldwide, I don't believe that the oppression of women has ended at all in the in the Western countries in Europe. And, you know, look, we just got me to how like, was it three years ago?
Brian Heater 39:09
And there was a media backlash to it. That's the other thing too is it was it's not like it came and then was allowed to just breathe for a little while. Just immediate pushback.
Emel Mathlouthi 39:18
Exactly. Exactly. And yeah, and it hasn't happened at all, like in many other places, like friends. It's kind of starting to happen. kind of wish, like, you know, friends, we're talking about like one of the most like developed countries in the world.
Brian Heater 39:35
And we haven't really talked too much specifically about the new album, but it's a very, it strikes me as a very deliberate effort on your part to to put together a collection of contributors like top down like production, everything everyone on this record was was a woman. What? Why? Why was that important? And what do you feel like that Lent? to this specific project,
Emel Mathlouthi 40:01
so I started like, preparing working on, I started, like proving the idea of doing a new album. And I know that the label back then wanted me to work with this guy. And then I thought, like, but why do I? Why does it always have to be a guy? Why, like, you know, so I'm like, You know what, I'm just gonna try to work with women. And people started telling me, but you're not going to work with women just to work with women. And then I realized, if I hadn't had that, just idea, I would have given up because every time I started looking for collaborators, it's much easier and faster. To have guys. So I was like, it can be that there's this specific area in life where guys are better than women or more intelligent. And that's where I really my stubborn side really got the best of me, and decided, like to try and go and find these women. And I think that this work is very important, because as women, we have the tendency to look at each other as rivals, and it's very true. We have the tendency of not trusting each other. Then when I started this adventure, it's true. I came with like the idea that when I was with the guy behind, you know, the computer in the room, I'd feel more confident and safer. And eventually, like, I was very happy to break that idea. Because every woman I worked with was so intelligent was so bright. was so intuitive. And I did feel I did feel like really supported in ways I wasn't before. I did feel this, like beautiful, sorority beautiful, like, I don't know, we all felt it. I don't know how to exactly describe it. But we all felt that this this movement, even though I believe this is the first time that anybody's succeeded in doing like, 100% women made album, it's wild. It's wild, and I feel I when I when I when I was doing it, I was like, oh my god, the world is gonna be so excited, you know, to welcome this experience. And actually, no, I don't feel that people are really like yeah, of course there's people are like, Oh my god, this is really exciting. This is amazing. But I don't see the welcoming that I was planning or that I was envisioning. So I feel that yeah, women's works and in women's words are not are not that easily embraced, unfortunately. And which is why this work becomes even more important to me. I hope that you know, like a few a few months from now a few years from now, like other other women can like look at this and like wow, we're actually stronger together and we need we need to be stronger right now. Because as we are seeing the world I think the world needs women right now more than ever.