Hindi Zahra (

Tamazight The Berber languages, also known as the Amazigh languages or Tamazight,, ber, label=Tuareg Tifinagh, ⵜⵎⵣⵗⵜ, ) are a branch of the Afroasiatic language family. They comprise a group of closely related languages spoken by Berber communi ...

: ⵀⵉⵏⴷⵉ ⵣⴰⵀⵕⴰ,

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic languages, Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C ...

: هندي زهرة, born 20 January 1979 in

Khouribga Khouribga ( ber, ⵅⵯⵔⵉⴱⴳⴰ, xʷribga; ar, خريبڭة, ḵurībga, ) is the capital of Khouribga Province in the Béni Mellal-Khénifra Regions of Morocco, region, Morocco. With a population of 196,196 (2014 census), Khouribga owes i ...

, Morocco) is a Moroccan singer. When coming up with a stage name, she simply inverted her birth name. Her songs are mostly in English but some lyrics as in the song "Imik Si Mik" are in the

Berber Berber or Berbers may refer to: Ethnic group * Berbers, an ethnic group native to Northern Africa * Berber languages, a family of Afro-Asiatic languages Places * Berber, Sudan, a town on the Nile People with the surname * Ady Berber (1913–196 ...

Shilha language , now more usually known as Tashelhit , is a Berber language spoken in southwestern Morocco. The endonym is , and in recent English publications the name of the language is often rendered ''Tashelhit'', ''Tashelhiyt'' or ''Tashlhiyt''. In Morocc ...

. Influenced by singers like

Cheikha Rimitti Cheikha Rimitti ( ar, شيخة ريميتي) (born سعدية الغيزانية Saadia El Ghizania, 8 May 1923 – 15 May 2006) was an Algerian raï female singer. Early life Cheikha Rimitti was born in Tessala, a small village in western ...

and

Umm Kulthum Umm Kulthum ( ar, أم كلثوم, , also spelled ''Oum Kalthoum'' in English; born Fatima Ibrahim es-Sayyid el-Beltagi, ar, فاطمة إبراهيم السيد البلتاجي, Fāṭima ʾIbrāhīm es-Sayyid el-Beltāǧī, link=no; 31 Dece ...

Hindi Zahra has drawn comparisons with

Beth Gibbons Beth Gibbons (born 4 January 1965) is an English singer and songwriter. She is the singer and lyricist for the band Portishead, which has released three albums. She released an album with Rustin Man, '' Out of Season'', in 2002, followed by an ...

of Portishead,

Billie Holiday Billie Holiday (born Eleanora Fagan; April 7, 1915 – July 17, 1959) was an American jazz and swing music singer. Nicknamed "Lady Day" by her friend and music partner, Lester Young, Holiday had an innovative influence on jazz music and pop si ...

Patti Smith Patricia Lee Smith (born December 30, 1946) is an American singer, songwriter, poet, painter and author who became an influential component of the New York City punk rock movement with her 1975 debut album '' Horses''. Called the "punk poe ...

, and

Norah Jones Norah Jones (born Geethali Norah Jones Shankar; March 30, 1979) is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. She has won several awards for her music and as of 2012, has sold more than 50 million records worldwide. ''Billboard'' named her the ...

Career

Zahra was raised by her mother, a dancer and actress, in

, Morocco. At the age of fifteen, she left school and moved to Paris to live with her father, who had been a soldier. At age 18 she worked at the

Louvre The Louvre ( ), or the Louvre Museum ( ), is the world's most-visited museum, and an historic landmark in Paris, France. It is the home of some of the best-known works of art, including the ''Mona Lisa'' and the ''Venus de Milo''. A central l ...

. Zahra wrote her first lyrics and melodies. She is a self-taught

multi-instrumentalist A multi-instrumentalist is a musician who plays two or more musical instruments at a professional level of proficiency. Also known as doubling, the practice allows greater ensemble flexibility and more efficient employment of musicians, where ...

. By 2005 she had written about 50 songs of which ''Beautiful Tango'', ''Oursoul'', ''Try'', and ''Stand Up'' were first released on the EP ''Hindi Zahra'' in 2009 and eleven songs were recorded on Hindi Zahra's first album which was released in January 2010 at the Jazz label

Blue Note Records Blue Note Records is an American jazz record label owned by Universal Music Group and operated under Capitol Music Group. Established in 1939 by Alfred Lion and Max Margulis, it derived its name from the blue notes of jazz and the blues. Or ...

. The video to the opening song ''Beautiful Tango'' was made by French director

Tony Gatlif Tony Gatlif (born as Michel Dahmani on 10 September 1948 in Algiers) is a French film director of Romani ethnicity who also works as a screenwriter, composer, actor, and producer. Personal Gatlif was born in Algeria of Pied noir ancestry. Af ...

. The song ''Stand Up'' was chosen for a commercial campaign by

Western Union The Western Union Company is an American multinational financial services company, headquartered in Denver, Colorado. Founded in 1851 as the New York and Mississippi Valley Printing Telegraph Company in Rochester, New York, the company chang ...

. In June 2010 she collaborated with French musician Blundetto on his debut album ''Bad Bad Things''. In November 2010, Hindi Zahra won the

Prix Constantin {{unreferenced, date=February 2011 The Prix Constantin is an annual French music prize awarded to the best album of an artist who has come to prominence during the course of the past year. It was inaugurated in 2002, following the example of the Me ...

for Best Album. In February 2011, she won the

Victoires de la Musique Victoires de la Musique (; en, Victories of Music) is an annual French award ceremony where the Victoire accolade is delivered by the French Ministry of Culture to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry. The classical and jazz ...

award for the best World music album. In 2014 she had roles in the films '' The Narrow Frame of Midnight'' by

Tala Hadid Tala Hadid (born in London) is a film director and producer. She is also a photographer. Her work has been shown at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City, The Walker Arts Center in Minneapolis, The Smithsonian National Museum, The National ...

and in The Cut by

Fatih Akin Fatih Akin (Turkish: Fatih Akın, born 25 August 1973) is a German film director, screenwriter and producer of Turkish descent. He has won numerous awards for his films, including the Golden Bear at the Berlin Film Festival for his film '' Head- ...

. In April 2015 her second studio album Homeland was released.

Discography

Albums

;Others *2011: '' Handmade Deluxe Edition'' (with previously unreleased songs)

EPs

*2009: ''Hindi Zahra'' (EP) *2011: ''Until the Next Journey'' (EP)

Singles

*Did not appear in the official Belgian Ultratop 50 charts, but in the Ultratip charts. ;Other releases *2010: "Stand Up" *2010: "Imik Si Mik" *2011: "Fascination

References

External links

Official websiteCD review of ''Handmade''
by

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zahra, Hindi 1979 births Living people English-language singers from France 21st-century Moroccan women singers Moroccan emigrants to France Shilha people 21st-century French women singers French people of Shilha descent