PODCAST: Farah Siraj '06

This 2006 alumna combines Middle Eastern modes, flamenco singing, and bossa nova beats.

By
Adam Renn Olenn
February 25, 2013

 

Vocalist Farah Siraj’06 grew up in Amman, Jordan and Spain. At Berklee her studies in world music led her to combine her loves of Middle Eastern modes, flamenco singing, and bossa nova grooves into something new and mesmerizing.

Sung in Jordanian Arabic over a samba, and supported by Arabian instruments like the qanun and darbuka, “Min Ghairak” is a song of love and longing from a distance with a hope of being reunited.

Siraj performs internationally in support of her records Nomad and The Arabian Jazz Project, both of which have been praised by critics in New York Time Out and The Boston Globe. Her music and humanitarian efforts have gained widespread recognition; Siraj was invited to perform at the United Nations Humanitarian Awards in New York, and the U.N. Security Council listened to her music before passing legislation regarding the genocide in Darfur.