Five reasons why Sevdaliza should be on your radar
SEVDALIZA is hitting our shores next week for four banging shows, so here’s five reasons why Sevdaliza should be on your radar.
2018 is now rolling in thick and fast, and it is no secret how pumped we are for all the new music that it’s going to yield. We’ve recently been highlighting just a few of our favourite up-and-coming artists that are set to kick some pretty massive goals this year, and we’ve certainly got our eyes on some international marvels too!
Iranian-Dutch artist SEVDALIZA is hitting our shores this week for four banging shows, so we wanted to give all you lovely readers the down-low and ignite a serious case of excitement - just in case you’re not already with us. To be honest, we could probably summarise all this into one impassioning sentence, but staying true to our PS ethos, here’s five reasons why Sevdaliza should be on your radar (and why you should jump at the chance to see her in the flesh).
1. Sevdaliza has an undeniably unique set of life experiences under her belt that brings authentic and genuine character to her artistic works.
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The Iranian-born, Netherlands-raised musician and artist has already lived a multitude of lives in her mere 30 years, including being a political refugee, playing as a professional basketball player and successfully undertaking a Masters of Commerce. Sevdaliza also has vocations in directing and composition, in addition to her creative fortes in singing, songwriting and production.
2. Her music is teed up to be make a pretty big influence and she has already had a sold-out headline tour through Europe and the US.
Sevdaliza has made a distinct impression with her self-released debut and sophomore EPs, The Suspended Kid and Children of Silk, which earned her the attention of press and music enthusiasts worldwide. Since the release of her her debut full-length record, Ison, last year, Sevdaliza has quickly earned further accolades and pushed her work to the forefront of music and performance art scenes.
3. She’s an autodidact.
Say what? Sevdaliza is essentially entirely self-taught in the musical areas of her artistic practice and learned the ropes of her singing and production while flying solo. Although being self-taught isn’t that uncommon, nurturing skills and talent of this magnitude is no easy feat, even with guidance from a trained professional.
4. Themes of equality and identity are fundamental to her work.
Sevdaliza sculpts an enthralling environment for emotional contemplation, encompassing reflections of pain, loss, and personal power that ebb and flow in ways of meditative tones. This harbour of near introspective thought brings with it an important mindfulness on the roles we play in society, to our loved ones and for ourselves. This is further enveloped by distinguishing charisma of Sevdaliza's songs, which act as pavilions for sumptuous symphonic orchestration, glitchy clandestine beats and soulful melodies that pair with equivocal lyrics to juxtapose vulnerable revelations with poetic mystique.
5. The stunning visual accompaniments make for 10/10 artistic dialogue.
The video footage provokes new perspectives on the already bursting connotations of Sevdaliza’s songs, which can be quite open to interpretation as they shed layer upon layer of emotional and social barriers to make the tracks both vulnerable and more than human at the same time. Conceptually, this collective imagery comes from the same inventive palate as her canvas provides a mixed medium for both visual and musical work simultaneously.
Kicking off this week, Sevdaliza is set to perform at Sugar Mountain in Melbourne, with additional shows in Brisbane, Sydney and at Mofo in Hobart. We highly recommend that you do take the chance to see her while she is showcasing a more intimate curation of performances – we have a feeling she’ll need bigger venues in the near future!
Thur 18 January / Woolly Mammoth / Brisbane Tickets
Fri 19 January / Oxford Arts Factory / Sydney Tickets
Sat 20 January / Sugar Mountain Festival / Melbourne Tickets
Sun 21 January / FAUX MO / Hobart Tickets
Words by FREYA DINESEN
Image: Zahra Reijs
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