Delara – the way we stereotype or we don’t stereotype

Interview Gioi / gioiagiovani

What makes Delara so special is without any doubts her Iranian roots. That’s the core of her political personality, the same personality that made her an artist. “I was inspired by my mother stories from the Iran Iraq war [...] I felt a strong need to tell stories of people who weren’t able to tell them themselves.”

“Even though it’s super simple and playful lyrics, t’s already challenging the stereotypical gender roles we have in society, just by me singing it.” Her single “Shark Tank” is exactly about this: the point, as she said, is normalizing the idea of woman in position of power. “Why can’t I take my man on vacation and spoil him without it feeling ‘wrong’ or ‘reverse’, or without him feeling like I’m destroying some type of manhood?”, she claims. We should all remember: life is political, breathing is political, writing is political, singing is political.

You grew up in the tiny Norwegian town of Nes, a small Scandinavian hamlet. How would you describe your childhood and when was the first time you associated music to your career?

I grew up in two different small towns. First Lillehammer, and then I moved to Nes with my mother when I was 15. I think I had a good childhood. My mother would always make sure I was in activity - and she would let me try anything I wanted so I could find a passion early on. I tried everything from soccer and handball to violin and piano. As a middle eastern girl in Norwegian society, I remember a feeling of loneliness in my childhood (which I still have a feeling of, being underrepresented in this industry)- and I think listening to music in my bedroom and daydreaming about becoming an artist put a lid on that feeling. The first time I associated music with my career was when I was 7 and heard Jay Z - Encore on my discman. I knew that «This is it. This is what I wanna do. Music! I wanna sound as cool as this man!». And from that moment I never let go of that thought, and it just grew bigger and bigger from there - and since it has subconsciously been in my mind for years, I have probably subconsciously done work and made fearless choices that have led me to where I am today.

Your new EP "TIMEPIECE" just got released. Congratulations! In your single "Shark Tank" you talk about normalizing the idea of women in the position of power. What do you mean by that? How do you value political and social activism?

Thank you so much! I gotta give a big shoutout to my producer Sondre for making this with me, it would never have happened without him and his influence. When I say normalizing the idea of women in positions of power I mean that we live in a society that is not equal yet. Shark Tank challenges the stereotypical gender roles where as for example the woman is expected to stay at home, cook, take care of the children - and the man is the one who provides. In Shark Tank I say lines like «Take an easy time, we in Hawaii. Then I’ll make you Busy in Dubai» which is a super dumb line when you read it the first time like that - but the funny thing is that even though it’s super simple and playful lyrics, it’s already challenging the stereotypical gender roles we have in society, just by me singing it. Like why can’t I take my man on vacation and spoil him without it feeling «wrong» and «reverse», or without him feeling like I’m destroying some type of manhood.

Political and social activism is definitely very important to me. I come from a home where I’m used to my parents discussing political and social issues, and writing articles in the newspaper out of pure engagement and passion for it. I think coming from where I’m from and being educated on the history of Iran - political and social activism runs in my blood.

You said that over the last year you have moved in a new direction musically. Could you expand on this?

Yes, so my previous music was first of all lyrically more political. I was inspired by my mother’s stories from the Iran Iraq war and generally writing about other people’s stories and experiences and the outside world. I felt a strong need to tell stories of people who weren’t able to tell them themselves. The productions were also a lot heavier and sometimes cinematic where as the vocal lean a lot on the production. For this chapter, I felt like I lyrically had a need to do dive way more into myself as a person and express my thoughts and who I am. The production is also way less heavy and simple. This project was also a lot about really having fun in the studio and experimenting with more playful toplines and different ways of singing which I have figured can really impact the vibe of the song.

Swole (shoutout to Pendrick who has made this track with us) for example is very much a «fuck you, I’m unfuckwithable» track - but I used my voice in a super calm and effortless way in contrast to New Generation (From my Rebel EP 2015). But even though I’m singing with a calm and chill voice- the words are still super powerful and hit hard. They even a greater effect than if I would scream the lyrics out of the top of my lungs. I love being in the studio solving musical puzzles like that, which is why I think this project was pure joy to make.

You talked about being in constant development as an artist. What is the line, in your opinion, between being an artist but at the same time being an individual and how do these things intersect for you?”

Honestly, I think being an artist is a full-time job. I feel like they intersect at all points. Everything I do as an individual affects my artistry and career whether I like it or not. My mom has a Jay-Z pic in her room with the quote «I’m not a businessman, I am the business, man» - and that is how I feel. I literally am my job. Everything from what I eat, if I work out or not, what people and influences I choose to spend my time around. At the end of the day, these are factors that affect my creative work, cause all these small things affect my feelings and thoughts- and my feelings and thoughts are the engines for my creativity.

How do you value vulnerability in this historical period of Covid?

I’m an emotional person who lives with my heart on my sleeve, so I’ve always valued vulnerability. I definitely do it in these Covid times as well, and I love to see that people are open about how they’ve been feeling during this pandemic. I think we have all gone through some dark stuff mentally, and it’s been important that people have been showing vulnerability. We live in the era of Instagram where we paint pictures of perfect lives to impress people we don’t know or care about. This has just created an evil circle where everyone does it and nobody dares to show that they’re actually having a rough time. But I feel like the pandemic has opened

the door for that conversation. Also generally mental health is a really new topic if you think about it. The last lobotomy in Norway was in 1974, which really isn’t that long ago. I think that says a lot about how little we knew about mental health and that there is still probably a lot more to discover and learn about.

For many artists all over the world the global situation was a chance to grow as an artist and as a human being. How did it affect your music?

TIMEPIECE is the result of it! The global situation gave me and Sondre the chance to lock ourselves in the studio and just focus on making these tracks and having fun. There was literally nothing else we could do or thing about. It gave me the time and space to study and work on a new sound than what I was comfortable with.

What is the quality you most appreciate in an artist?

I definitely appreciate artists who dare to challenge themselves and the listener by showing variety in their artistry. I like when I don’t know what to expect from the artist's next release. It keeps me interested and makes it exciting to follow their journey.

How would you define your creative process?

It differs from time to time and chapter to chapter. But right now it’s mostly going in the studio and vibing on a sample or track that Sondre play’s up and we both feel is bangin’! And when it does I play around with melodies and record them, whereas some words pop up from the uncontionness in the middle of all my jibberish singing - and then I write lyrics from those words. It’s a very fun way to work and feels like solving a puzzle - which makes it super satisfying when the song is finished cause then I see the whole picture that we’ve been putting together piece by piece.

What's the message you want to share through your music?

First of all, I wanna share the message of the wish to see more middle eastern girls representing in this industry. Especially when it comes to pop music. There are so few of us - and in Norway I literally am the only one active at this moment. I hope young middle eastern girls with a dream of being an artist or making music for a living can be inspired by my music and see that we can do this shit as well as anyone else. The second message I wanna share is; Don’t be afraid to try new things and stepping out of the comfort zone in the fear of not pleasing everyone. You always have the possibility to change who you are or what music you wanna make, and that’s what I did with this Timepiece EP. You are under no obligation to remain the same person you were a year ago, a month ago, or even a day ago. I’m here to challenge and improve myself continuously, and I encourage you to do the same.