Ayah Marar ( ar, آية مرار; born 20 September 1980) is a Jordanian singer, songwriter, music producer, DJ, performer, writer, poet, model, entrepreneur, radio show host and label owner based in London. She has been featured as a vocalist or writer on music from British artists including
Calvin Harris
Adam Richard Wiles (born 17 January 1984), known professionally as Calvin Harris, is a Scottish DJ, record producer, singer, and songwriter who has released six studio albums.
His debut studio album, ''I Created Disco'', was released in June ...
,
DJ Fresh
Daniel Edward Stein (born 11 April 1977), better known by his stage name DJ Fresh, is an English musician, DJ, record producer, best known for making electronic music. He is one of the principal members of the drum and bass group Bad Company, ...
,
Camo & Krooked
Camo & Krooked are an electronic music duo from Vienna, Austria with their musical roots embedded in drum and bass, consisting of Reinhard "Camo" Rietsch (born 12 November 1983 in Salzburg) and Markus "Krooked" Wagner (born 31 July 1989 in Lilie ...
,
Bassline Smith and
Jack Peñate
Jack Peñate (; born 2 September 1984) is an English singer, songwriter, and musician.
Early life
Peñate was born in London on 2 September 1984, the son of an English mother and Spanish father. His maternal grandfather was author Mervyn Peake ...
. She has been referred to as the "Queen of Bass" and the "
dubstep
Dubstep is a genre of electronic dance music that originated in South London in the early 2000s. The style emerged as a UK garage offshoot that blended 2-step rhythms and sparse dub production, as well as incorporating elements of broken be ...
queen".
Early life
Ayah was born in
Amman
Amman (; ar, عَمَّان, ' ; Ammonite language, Ammonite: 𐤓𐤁𐤕 𐤏𐤌𐤍 ''Rabat ʻAmān'') is the capital and largest city of Jordan, and the country's economic, political, and cultural center. With a population of 4,061,150 a ...
, Jordan, to a Jordanian father and a Czech-Bulgarian mother. She spent most of her adolescence in
Jordan
Jordan ( ar, الأردن; tr. ' ), officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan,; tr. ' is a country in Western Asia. It is situated at the crossroads of Asia, Africa, and Europe, within the Levant region, on the East Bank of the Jordan Rive ...
, before emigrating to the UK at 18 years of age, where she began her musical career at
Warwick University
, mottoeng = Mind moves matter
, established =
, type = Public research university
, endowment = £7.0 million (2021)
, budget = £698.2 million (2020 ...
.
Musical career
Marar is involved in the
drum and bass scene and recorded her first single, 'Dance Child', with Loxy & Ink (Signal Records).
She recorded several singles in this genre, before meeting and collaborating with
Calvin Harris
Adam Richard Wiles (born 17 January 1984), known professionally as Calvin Harris, is a Scottish DJ, record producer, singer, and songwriter who has released six studio albums.
His debut studio album, ''I Created Disco'', was released in June ...
and
Toddla T
Thomas Mackenzie Bell (born 22 February 1985), better known by the stage name of Toddla T, is an English DJ, record producer, remixer and songwriter from Sheffield, South Yorkshire.
Biography
Bell was raised in Sheffield where he attended Ki ...
in 2004. Marar and Harris shared a home for a brief period, she toured the world as part of his live show and she collaborated on his second album, performing the vocals on 3 of the tracks, as well as a guest spot on Toddla's album and a single with his previous band Small Arms Fiya.
Ayah worked at a record shop, Uptown Records, in Soho where she met and formed bonds with several radio and club personalities. In the meantime she helped to establish and run
Lucky Devil Records and promoted events in and around London.
She wrote and recorded on albums by
Jack Penate,
Bassline Smith, Calvin Harris (forthcoming and previous LP) and DJ Fresh.
Marar receives support from
BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including electronica, dance, ...
,
Kiss FM Kiss FM, Kiss Radio or variants may refer to:
Asia-Oceania
* Various Kiss FM-branded stations in the Philippines
** 95.1 Kiss FM, Lucena, Quezon
** 102.3 Kiss FM, Tagbilaran, Bohol
* Kiss92 FM, Singapore
* KISS 969, Sri Lanka
* Kiss Radio Taiwan ...
,
Ministry of Sound radio and
BBC Radio 1Xtra, appearing on the latter several times for shows and PAs, and with support from the likes of
MistaJam
Peter Dalton (born 19 January 1983), known professionally as MistaJam, is a British DJ and radio presenter. He is known for presenting radio shows on BBC Radio 1 and BBC Radio 1Xtra from 2005 to 2020; since 2020 he has presented on Capital and ...
and Bailey. She has guest-hosted radio shows. Her recent single 'Unstoppable' was Jam Hot Record of the Week.
Ayah launched her solo career and created her own independent label, "Hussle Girl", as a platform to release her own singles and forthcoming album, "The Real". Her album ''The Real'' was released on 15 October 2012 via Hussle Girl and
Transmission Recordings
Transmission Recordings is a British independent record label owned and operated by the Notting Hill Music Group plc. The company was founded in 1993 by the Notting Hill Music Group plc.
History
Transmission Recordings is a London-based inde ...
in the UK and Radikal Records in the US and Canada.
She held a residency as a DJ at Herbal
in
Shoreditch for four years and worked as a touring
MC with
Hospital Records
Hospital Records is a British independent record label based in South London. Primarily releasing drum and bass, the label was started in 1996 by Tony Colman (London Elektricity) and Chris Goss, and has grown in recent years to become one of ...
and other companies. She formed a funk band, SlinkyFix, toured the UK and performed at events with
Gilles Peterson
Gilles Jérôme Moehrle MBE (; born 28 September 1964), better known as Gilles Peterson (), is a French broadcaster, DJ, and record label owner. He founded the influential labels Acid Jazz and Talkin' Loud, and started his current label Brow ...
and at the
Jazz Café
The Jazz Cafe is a music venue in Camden Town, London. It opened in 1990 on the former premises of a branch of Barclays Bank and has had several owners throughout its history as a music venue.
In 2020 the Jazz Cafe celebrates its 30th year, h ...
.
With the Austrian drum and bass duo,
Camo & Krooked
Camo & Krooked are an electronic music duo from Vienna, Austria with their musical roots embedded in drum and bass, consisting of Reinhard "Camo" Rietsch (born 12 November 1983 in Salzburg) and Markus "Krooked" Wagner (born 31 July 1989 in Lilie ...
, she performed at
Brixton Academy
Brixton Academy (originally known as the Astoria Variety Cinema, previously known as Carling Academy Brixton, currently named O2 Academy Brixton as part of a sponsorship deal with the O2 brand) is a mid-sized concert venue located in South Wes ...
and throughout Europe. Ayah was as of 2012 touring her solo material with DJ Tenku.
Marar again collaborated with Calvin Harris on his 2013 single "
Thinking About You".
Discography
Albums
*''The Real'' (Hussle Girl / Transmission Recordings 2012)
Singles and EPs
*"Mind Controller" (Hussle Girl 2012)
*"Unstoppable" (Hussle Girl / Transmission Recordings 2012)
*"The Raver" (Pilot Recordings 2012)
*"Alive"
(featuring P Money
Paris Moore-Williams (born 8 April 1989), better known by his stage name P Money, is a British grime MC, rapper and songwriter from New Cross, South East London, who is also active in the drum and bass scene. He is best known for his live pe ...
) (produced by FuntCase
James Hazell (born 29 July 1986), better known by his stage name FuntCase, is an English dubstep and drum and bass producer and DJ, from Bournemouth, England. Hazell first released drum and bass, under the alias DJ Dose in 2007, and in 2009 rel ...
) (Hussle Girl / Transmission Recordings 2013)
*''The Bass Soldiers EP'' (Hussle Girl 2014)
*"Mind Controller (Tom Bull Remix)" (Hed Kandi Records / Ministry of Sound 2016)
As featured artist
;Charting
;Others
*DJ Fresh feat. Ayah Marar 'The Edge' - 'The Feeling' (Additional Vocals) - 'Turn It Up' (Writing Credit)
*Architex feat. Ayah Marar ‘Dance Child’ Signal Recs
*Noisia - 'Into Dust'
*Calvin Harris feat. Ayah Marar ‘Let Me Know’
*Insiders feat. Ayah Marar ‘Meltdown’ Metalheadz
*Domu feat. Ayah Marar ‘Something New’ TrebleO
*Apex feat. Ayah Marar ‘The Space Between’ Hospital
*Bungle feat. Ayah Marar ‘If I Leave’ CIA
*Baron feat. Ayah Marar 'Endless Summer' Breakbeat Kaos
*Total Science & Bungle feat. Ayah Marar ‘Snake Eyes’ CIA
*Marky & Total Science feat. Ayah Marar ‘2nd Date’ CINNA
*Small Arms Fiya feat. Ayah Marar ‘Pressure/Gotta Decide’ MoreAboutMusic
*Camo & Krooked feat. Ayah Marar 'Cross The Line' Hospital Recs
*Camo & Krooked feat. Ayah Marar 'Watch It Burn' Hospital Recs
*Warrior One feat. Ayah Marar 'FYAH' Black Butter Recs
*Yogi feat. Ayah Marar 'Follow U' Ministry Of Sound
*Bungle feat Ayah Marar 'The Siren' Spearhead
*Calvin Harris 'Flashback' - 'Stars Come Out' - 'Limits'
*Jack Penate 'Tonight's Today' - 'Everything Is New' - 'Be The One' - 'Pull My Heart Away' - 'Every Glance'
*Toddla T 'Helders'
*Drumsound & Bassline Smith 'The Only Way' & 'The Flames'
*Russo feat. Ayah Marar - 'I Know'
*Cheryl Cole 'Call My Name' (additional vocals)
*Dilemn feat. Ayah Marar - 'Talk About Us'
*
R3hab
Fadil El Ghoul ( ar, فضيل الغول; born 2 April 1986), performing under the stage name R3hab (stylized in all caps as R3HAB; pronounced "rehab"), is a Dutch-Moroccan disc jockey and music producer.
Ranked at number 12 on the DJ Mag Top 1 ...
&
NERVO
Nervo (stylised as NERVO) are an Australian DJ duo comprising twin sisters Olivia and Miriam Nervo (born 18 February 1982). After signing with Sony/ATV Music Publishing at 18 years of age, the sisters pursued careers as songwriting partners and ...
feat. Ayah Marar - 'Ready for the Weekend'
*
Calyx &
TeeBee
Torgeir Byrknes, better known by his stage name Teebee, is a Norwegian DJ and producer of drum and bass. He also runs the record label Subtitles Recordings. Teebee began DJing in 1990 and released his first record in 1996. He won the Knowledge ...
feat. Ayah Marar - 'The Fall'
*
The Prototypes
The Prototypes is a British drum and bass duo consisting of Chris Garvey and Nick White. Founded in Brighton, England, in the late 2000s, by 2010 they had released their first singles on labels such as Formation Records and Viper Recordings, an ...
feat. Ayah Marar - 'Kill The Silence'
*Opticks & Ayah Marar - 'Don't Go'
*Blue Marble ft. Ayah Marar - 'Invincible'
*
Teddy Killerz
Teddy Killerz are a Russian and Ukrainian electronic music group composed of Grigory Cherekaev, Anton Mashevsky and Oleg Cholovskyi. They also perform under their individual stage names as Garud, Place 2b, and Paimon (in respective order).
Tedd ...
ft. Ayah Marar - 'Ready'
*Sintra ft. Ayah Marar - 'Never Give Up'
*Six Blade & AMC ft. Ayah Marar - 'Hardest To Love'
*Paul Harris ft. Ayah Marar - 'Oxygen'
*Designated ft. Ayah Marar - 'Begging For You'
*Caroline D'Amore ft. Ayah Marar - 'Love Somebody'
*LA Riots & Ayah Marar - 'Stay With Me'
*Caspa ft. Ayah Marar - 'One By One'
*Tragedy Kaddafi - ‘I Cried’
*Bondax ft. Ayah Marar - 'Dusk Funk'
*Kastle ft. Ayah Marar - 'Red Light'
*
Otto Orlandi & The Chorz feat. Ayah Marar - 'Oddest Goddess'
*Andromedik ft. Ayah Marar - 'First To Go'
*Andromedik ft. Ayah Marar - 'Tomorrow'
Videography
2011
*Yogi feat Ayah Marar 'Follow U' (directed by Blake Caridge)
*Camo & Krooked feat Ayah Marar 'Cross The Line' (directed by Isaac & Ali @ Yo Video Films)
2012
*Ayah Marar 'Mind Controller' (directed by Dani Deville)
*Ayah Marar 'Unstoppable' (directed by Dani Deville)
*Russo feat Ayah Marar 'I Know' (directed by B.E.L.A)
*Ayah Marar 'The Raver' (directed by Halcyon Nights)
2013
*Ayah Marar feat P Money 'Alive' (directed by Luke Biggins)
* Ayah Marar ' Lethal Dose'
* Calvin Harris feat Ayah Marar 'Thinking About You'
* Ayah Marar 'Beg Borrow Steal' (directed by Daniel Deville)
References
External links
Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Marar, Ayah
British drum and bass musicians
Jordanian women singers
Jordanian people of Bulgarian descent
Jordanian people of Czech descent
Jordanian emigrants to the United Kingdom
Living people
People from Amman
1980 births
21st-century women singers