{"id":750264,"date":"2025-11-27T11:56:00","date_gmt":"2025-11-27T08:56:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=750264"},"modified":"2025-11-27T11:56:00","modified_gmt":"2025-11-27T08:56:00","slug":"neda-is-the-singer-songwriter-blending-farsi-classics-with-lily-allen","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=750264","title":{"rendered":"Neda is the singer-songwriter blending Farsi classics with Lily Allen"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"article-body wrapper\">\n<div class=\"embed-content\" data-embed-type=\"raw-html\">\n<p><span>Neda\u2019s ex-boyfriend asked her not to write a song about him after they broke up. Fast forward a year, and the Lewisham-based singer-songwriter has written a whole EP, <\/span><em><span>And Then Came September<\/span><\/em><span>, about the breakup, with ethereal lead single \u201cLeave\u201d literally seeing her closing the door on the relationship. \u201cBy the time that we ended, it was already too late,\u201d she says, giggling.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Heartache has long been foundational to the 25-year-old indie artist\u2019s musical journey. While studying songwriting at London\u2019s Goldsmiths University, Neda fell deep into a rabbit hole of yearning country music classics that had been written over half a century earlier. \u201cI came across a song called \u2018Make the World Go Away\u2019 by Hank Cochran and I just became really obsessed with that era of country music,\u201d she recalls. \u201cA lot of it is about pining over someone who doesn\u2019t want you, and I just really connected to it. I found it interesting how something that was written over 50 years ago is still relevant today. I think that was pivotal in my career.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Completing her trifecta of musical influences are the pop sensibilities of her older sister and the Farsi-language classics of her Iranian heritage. She\u2019s particularly inspired by her mother, who was a classical Persian vocalist. \u201cI think she could\u2019ve done really well with music, she\u2019s got a much better singing voice than me,\u201d Neda says humbly. \u201cBut, in Iran, it\u2019s illegal for women to sing in public and appear without a hijab. Even though she lived in London, she wanted to go back there to visit family, so her sacrifice was just to not pursue music.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"src-youtube video-container embed-content\" data-embed-type=\"media-youtube\" data-id=\"LgjCUSa63bU\"><span class=\"preserve-aspect-ratio\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" allowfullscreen frameborder height=\"422\" scrolling=\"no\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/LgjCUSa63bU\" webkitallowfullscreen width=\"750\"><\/iframe><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"embed-content\" data-embed-type=\"raw-html\">\n<p><span>Those same restrictions apply on Neda, too. \u201c[Releasing music] is a bit of a risk, but since I\u2019m raised in London, I don\u2019t have the same attachment to [Iran as my mother],\u201d says Neda, emphasising that she was still inspired by Persian singers like Mahasti, \u2060Hayedeh and \u2060Googoosh. \u201cI haven\u2019t been back since the 2009 Green Movement protests. There was actually a protester who had the same name as me \u2013 Neda \u2013 who was shot and killed while protesting. So, yeah, I was happy to not go back.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>All of these influences are packaged in Neda\u2019s uniquely haunting vocal timbre and unmistakably south London delivery \u2013 a musical identity that she credits Lily Allen with helping her to discover. \u201cI used to force my low larynx and sing in an American accent,\u201d recalls Neda. \u201cBut Lily Allen inspired me to embrace my British accent, she\u2019s just so ultra-specific with her songwriting. If it wasn\u2019t for her I wouldn\u2019t be singing.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Below, Lewisham singer-songwriter Neda tells Dazed about her dream collab, incorporating Farsi instruments into her music, and how the music video for her new single, \u201cSurface\u201d, is a comment on women\u2019s rights in Iran.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong>How did you first get into music?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span><strong>Neda: <\/strong>Some of my first musical memories are my mum singing around the house and at family gatherings. But I didn\u2019t pursue music until I was 16. I was studying quite academic A-Levels and my sister came across this article in the paper about a music scholarship. We rang up, I was able to apply and that\u2019s how I got into studying songwriting.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong>What were the A-Levels before that then?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span><strong>Neda: <\/strong>History, computing\u2026 Computing didn\u2019t go down well [<em>laughs<\/em>]. In the end, I\u2019m quite happy I ended up choosing subjects that I didn\u2019t like because I was like, \u2018You know what? I just want to do what I want to do\u2019.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong>Given your mother was a singer, were your family encouraging of you doing music?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span><strong>Neda: <\/strong>I think there\u2019s a misrepresentation that Middle Eastern households and families just want you to pursue academic subjects. I feel really privileged that a lot of our family were supportive of hobbies. They just believed in me.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"src-youtube video-container embed-content\" data-embed-type=\"media-youtube\" data-id=\"if9jQrQB2xQ\"><span class=\"preserve-aspect-ratio\"><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"embed-content\" data-embed-type=\"raw-html\">\n<p><strong>Do you incorporate any Farsi influences in your music?\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span><strong>Neda: <\/strong>We recorded Persian instruments like santor and tombak to add a more Middle Eastern feel to the arrangements. I think that really lifted it. You can hear it on \u2018Head Over Heels\u2019 \u2013 the first verse is just guitar, vocals and tombach. I\u2019m fluent in speaking Farsi, but I can\u2019t really read or write, so I write better in English. For future projects, I am exploring switching to Farsi for, like, a line.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong>What can you tell us about the new video for \u2018Surface\u2019?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span><strong>Neda: <\/strong>Growing up, there was this constant dichotomy of having the creative freedom as a woman in London, and obviously my background being Iranian. There are certain rules and regulations that women have to abide by in Iran. They can\u2019t go to a football match and watch football live, they can\u2019t sing in public. So, for \u2018Surface\u2019, we filmed it at Clapton Football Club, which is a really progressive football club. In Iran I wouldn\u2019t be able to do that, so I think it was quite relevant to bring those two worlds together.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong>Who would be your dream collab?\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span><strong>Neda: <\/strong>Julia Jacklin, she\u2019s my favorite singer-songwriter. Her melodies are just so broad, so unique, and her voice is impeccable. She\u2019s my fave.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong>If an alien came to Earth, what three albums would you show them?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span><strong>Neda: <\/strong>Definitely Julia Jacklin <\/span><em><span>Crushing<\/span><\/em><span>. Roy Orbison is one of my favorite artists of all time, he was an incredible songwriter. So, Roy Orbison <\/span><em><span>Sings Lonely and Blue<\/span><\/em><span>. I love Connie Francis. She passed away this year and it was really heartbreaking, so I have to mention her. It\u2019s a compilation album, but Connie Francis <\/span><em><span>Gold <\/span><\/em><span>\u2013 50 of the most incredible songs ever. I just rinsed that album at uni over and over again. Even on my first EP, I added a key change on \u2018To Be Loved By You\u2019 because of Connie.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><em><span>\u201cSurface\u201d is out now.\u00a0<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p> Source URL: https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/music\/article\/69129\/1\/neda-is-the-singer-songwriter-blending-farsi-classics-with-lily-allen<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Neda\u2019s ex-boyfriend asked her not to write a song about him after they broke up. Fast forward a year, and the Lewisham-based singer-songwriter has written a whole EP, And Then Came September, about the breakup, with ethereal lead single \u201cLeave\u201d literally seeing her closing the door on the relationship. \u201cBy the time that we ended, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":750274,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[76],"class_list":["post-750264","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-politics","tag-dazeddigital-com"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/750264","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=750264"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/750264\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/750274"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=750264"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=750264"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=750264"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}