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Tunisian Singer Emel Mathlouthi speaking to Rudaw on March 21, 2024. Photo: Rudaw
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Kurdish music was the catalyst that kickstarted internationally acclaimed Tunisian singer Emel Mathouthi’s career, the artist told Rudaw on Thursday.
“When I started music [professionally] I sang a Kurdish song, and then I received many invitations to sing in Batman in Van and even in Europe,” Mathlouthi told Rudaw’s Hevidar Zana on the sidelines of a large-scale public Newroz celebration in the Kurdish city of Diyarbakir (Amed).
“I was invited to many cultural Kurdish events, those were my first shows, so that's how I started playing shows,” she added.
Mathlouthi took part in Amed’s Newroz celebrations where she sang in Kurdish and Arabic in front of hundreds of thousands in Amed’s Newroz Park. The artists sang two Kurdish songs and three Arabic songs.
Listening to Kurdish singers like Aynur Dogan caused Mathoutli to become enamored with Kurdish music and culture, “I immediately fell in love [with Kurdish music], I feel that Kurdish music is very special, Kurdish rhythms are very special, it’s a music that really speaks to my heart,” she said.
Legendary singers Ciwan Haco, Aynur Dogan, and the Iconic Sivan Perwer are Mathlouthi’s favorite Kurdish singers.
Mathlouthi, who defined the love and support she received from Kurds as “the most wonderful feeling in the world”, voiced a strong admiration for Kurdish women.
“I admire Kurdish women a lot. To me, Kurdish women are a beautiful example of resilience and passion,” she said.
Mathlouthi also expressed her appreciation for Kurdish traditional clothing boasting a traditional Kurdish dress.
On Sunday, the Tunisian singer was scheduled to perform at a Newroz celebration organized by the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party) in Istanbul’s Yeni Kapi square. According to a statement by the party, Turkish security forces denied Mathlouthi entry into the square for hours. While ultimately she was let in, the artist was not able to perform due to the delay.
Mathlouthi, who previously performed on international stages such as the 2015 Nobel Peace Prize concert, closed her Newroz performance with a rendition of her most popular song, Holm [Dream].
“When I started music [professionally] I sang a Kurdish song, and then I received many invitations to sing in Batman in Van and even in Europe,” Mathlouthi told Rudaw’s Hevidar Zana on the sidelines of a large-scale public Newroz celebration in the Kurdish city of Diyarbakir (Amed).
“I was invited to many cultural Kurdish events, those were my first shows, so that's how I started playing shows,” she added.
Mathlouthi took part in Amed’s Newroz celebrations where she sang in Kurdish and Arabic in front of hundreds of thousands in Amed’s Newroz Park. The artists sang two Kurdish songs and three Arabic songs.
Listening to Kurdish singers like Aynur Dogan caused Mathoutli to become enamored with Kurdish music and culture, “I immediately fell in love [with Kurdish music], I feel that Kurdish music is very special, Kurdish rhythms are very special, it’s a music that really speaks to my heart,” she said.
Legendary singers Ciwan Haco, Aynur Dogan, and the Iconic Sivan Perwer are Mathlouthi’s favorite Kurdish singers.
Mathlouthi, who defined the love and support she received from Kurds as “the most wonderful feeling in the world”, voiced a strong admiration for Kurdish women.
“I admire Kurdish women a lot. To me, Kurdish women are a beautiful example of resilience and passion,” she said.
Mathlouthi also expressed her appreciation for Kurdish traditional clothing boasting a traditional Kurdish dress.
On Sunday, the Tunisian singer was scheduled to perform at a Newroz celebration organized by the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party) in Istanbul’s Yeni Kapi square. According to a statement by the party, Turkish security forces denied Mathlouthi entry into the square for hours. While ultimately she was let in, the artist was not able to perform due to the delay.
Mathlouthi, who previously performed on international stages such as the 2015 Nobel Peace Prize concert, closed her Newroz performance with a rendition of her most popular song, Holm [Dream].
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