When I read the Koran or hear it read, the images and the poetry, the sound of the language is very inspiring.
There are many positive values that come with a Muslim upbringing. But when religion becomes about rules and hierarchies, when it starts to feel like a prison, I'm not interested.
Collaborating with other artists is an emotional thing. Obviously, you don't do it unless this person inspires you.
Singing is a very sensual activity! You engage in it with all your senses and your heart.
I went from the most underground band in the world to signing with Madonna's producer and a record label that is extremely mainstream - it was interesting.
I wanted to pursue my own thing - I had desires, ideas I wanted to accomplish, and I needed to be on my own for that.
I've always had a sense that I am doing something very important, something vital.
I'm inspired by many artists whose language I don't understand.
I sing in Arabic as a statement. It's art, and it's a challenge.
I sing 'Beirut' for what the city is for me, but I am also singing as an exile.
When the public doesn't understand me, it's a battle. So when I choose words, I choose them for their musicality, rhythm, and sense, and I choose the right dialect to express that.
When I started, I didn't know how to sing in Arabic - it's a very complex and sophisticated music full of codes and modes and quarter-tones.
I always had this crisis: where do I come from? I was never an insider, never an outsider; I was always in the middle. But it means I never have borders in my head.
With Soapkills, we were lucky. We started at a time of transition where things were not ready, nothing was available.
Maybe I was blessed that my main drive was purely selfish. I needed to make something, make my life better, wider, have poetry in my life, have something that gives me hope on an everyday basis. That was my main drive all along, really.
All of the Arabic women I grew up listening to or watching had a very strong character.
It's normal; Arab women have always been very active at the forefront of culture - as film producers since the 1920s; as singers, dancers, choreographers, writers for much longer than that.
Because of the Lebanese civil war, I had a scattered childhood. I had to build my own connections to each country we moved to.
There should be no borders, race, colours, or ethnical considerations when it comes to music and creativity.
I'm bored, normally, when I travel.
