QL Exclusives - One-on-one interview with Dana Al Fardan

 By Dipti Nair

Dana Al Fardan is a Qatari contemporary composer, songwriter, and symphonic artist whose work beautifully blends her rich cultural heritage with her love of world music. Known for her Arabic-influenced contemporary classical compositions, Dana's music is both epic in scale and universally accessible. As the Cultural Ambassador of the Qatar Philharmonic Orchestra and the official composer for Qatar Airways, Dana has made a significant mark in the music world.

She recently made history as the first artist from the Gulf region to appear at the prestigious 77th Cannes Film Festival, performing at the star-studded Trophée Chopard official dinner where she mesmerized attendees with her mesmerizing voice as she performed Solstice and Onyx from her album Indigo.

Qatar Living had the honor to speak to the artist about her creative journey, inspirations, and her impact on global music.

Watch the interview here:

Excerpts from the interview:

Qatar Living: You have made history as the first artist from the Gulf region to perform at the prestigious Cannes film festival. How did it feel to represent Qatar on such a globally significant platform?

Dana Al Fardan: Well, it was wonderful, very humbling. There's a lot of interest in this region and a lot of curiosity, especially with Qatar having hosted the World Cup. I received a lot of questions, and I hope I was able to, through my art, represent my country in the best light that I was able to.

Q: Can you tell us a little more about your inspiration behind the album, Indigo, and how it offers audiences an impressive experience beyond just a traditional concert?

A: That's a great question, because Indigo is a multi-sensory experience. Indigo is a body of work that is intended as a journey towards a higher state of consciousness. It means that we develop a space to integrate ourselves more fully into our environment, into our self, and by integrating fully into the self, you're able to integrate even more effectively with your surroundings. So, it's about removing the noise on the outside and centering back to what matters, bringing power back to our self.

Q: Have you always felt an affinity for this kind of music that comes from within?

A: Yes, I've always felt that music is a driving force for so many different features inside of you. It's a driving force for healing, for change, for growth, for evolution, and sound frequencies are the definitive factors that drive that. In this album, every song has been written intentionally. It's been written as through a color scape and a soundscape that are designed to accomplish these objectives. Each song has a corresponding video on YouTube, and the video is supposed to basically guide you through that. But in the end, the experience is your own. Indigo is the point of my evolution where I was able to correctly use soundscapes and frequencies to generate that sense of growth and movement inside to sort the noise on the outside.

Q: You were one of the first female musicians from Qatar to hit the global scene. Now there is a wave of female musicians performing on global levels. What do you feel about this wave of change?

A: I think women have always been at the forefront emotionally and intellectually of cultural and creative progress. The only thing is that globally and historically, women simply didn't have the platform. It is a natural state of evolution that women have been given the platform. Now when you see more female energy in the creative sectors, you feel like there's more of a balance in the world. It's wonderful to be working under these circumstances where there is a shared sort of space between female and male voices.

Q: Do you think your success has inspired more women from Qatar to project themselves out in the world?

A: Yeah, I hope so. I definitely have been seeing a lot of Qatari women, showcasing their talent. And I hope to see a lot more as well. I think that there is a huge space and there are very exciting times ahead for women in music.

Q: What advice would you give aspiring musicians in Qatar?

A: If anyone wants to be a musician, I will just say find your own voice, and be yourself. It sounds very simple, but a lot of people try and mimic something else or emulate what is popular. But actually, the only thing you can contribute is yourself and that is what works. Always remember that nobody can be a better you than you.

Q: Do you think women from the region have to struggle to be a success on the global scale?

A: I think what is a struggle, is to find your niche. Once you do, and you express yourself from that place, you will realize that you have a global market opening for you. It is a struggle to find that niche. I always knew that I was a crossover composer who weaves in a lot of my textures from my country and from the region into my music. And that's going to be a unique musical experience and an international audience would be interested in that. So I knew that I'd be able to expand my work on a global scale because my work includes textures from the region. So, when you have something distinctive, something that is strongly rooted, then you're able to really be you, then you'll find an audience that is receptive towards it because it's something new and interesting.

Q: What's next for Dana Al Fardan?

A: Next. I have my new album, Tempest, which is a story. It's a larger configuration in terms of the musical scope. Indigo is constructed of a chamber orchestra, whereas this one is a full symphony orchestra, plus I have Qatari Pearl diving percussionists, and chanting in there. So, this is essentially a story of our relationship with water through exploring global seafaring cultures and weaving that in with our seafaring tradition, which is pearl diving. Each song has a different seafaring cultural influence, it's a demonstration of how interconnected the human experience is through water.

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