Ayshay famous quotes

I've been exploring gender performativity in the Gulf since I was a teenager. I'm not a gender anthropologist, but I feel like there's an extreme binary between femininity and masculinity in the Gulf. From a young age, I knew I didn't want to be part of it. Gender is a huge gray area, and the problem with defined roles is that they cover up undefined ones.
-- Ayshay

#Teenager #Problem #Gender

There's a big difference between the Arabic and Western scales. One uses quarter tone system and one doesn't. So in order for me to compose real Arabic scale melodies, I would need an Arabic keyboard, and I don't have one. So I had to compose Arabesque melodies.
-- Ayshay

#Real #Melody #Western

If you've ever seen album covers for Arab female pop stars, it looks like the designer was paid five dollars to make them, and the extreme femaleness is astounding.
-- Ayshay

#Female #Designer

I'm fascinated by evil queens. They're very alluring and repellent at the same time, and I'm into that dichotomy.
-- Ayshay

#Evil #Dichotomy

This has always been my problem with genres is that they've turned into marketing tools. I've never been a person that allows themselves to be in any kind of box and I think that genres can be used as tools to define BPM or something but I think they're suffocating of music and other art. And I think they're inaccurate when they come to describing my work. Maybe other people like defining it, but I don't.
-- Ayshay

#Art #Thinking #People

I'm not a philosopher so why should I provide anyone with the answers? I'm just a musician, I don't have any solutions. All I'm doing is questioning the status quo, with every record I've made, to a certain extend.
-- Ayshay

#Musician #Philosopher #Questioning

The vast majority of women musicians function under singular names like 'Cher' 'Madonna'. They have to get married almost immediately to preserve their honour.
-- Ayshay

#Musician #Married #Honour

For instance, members of the elite will never allow their children to become musicians normally, because it's - not embarrassing - but it's not done. There's a very famous composer from the '70s from a well-known family that disowned him, and he's a man, so there's this historical precedence with their relationships with musicians - not so much music as it's this abstract thing - but externally with artists.
-- Ayshay

#Children #Artist #Men

There is a congratulatory culture in the Gulf. From birth onwards, there is a culture of giving people trophies as markers of achievement for making it through society. It's cementing allegiance to authority at a very young age.
-- Ayshay

#People #Giving #Achievement

There are very few pop people I'm interested in working with.
-- Ayshay

#People #Pops

I feel like there is an emphasis against teaching geography in American schools. Americans don't say, "I'm going to Germany." They say, "I'm going to Europe."
-- Ayshay

#Teaching #School #Europe

I was one of five out of 100 people who passed the test, which just proved to me how little Americans are taught geography.
-- Ayshay

#People #Littles #Tests

I've never been to China. I only know what the West is telling me about China.
-- Ayshay

#West #China #Knows

I only have a Bachelor's Degree but I've had professors who have instilled this kind of academic rigor in me where I don't make any generalizations or closed statements. There always has to be room for interpretation.
-- Ayshay

#Degrees #Rooms #Kind

I had a story-telling mother; she's written novels and short stories. So I feel like maybe I'm staying alive by telling tales.
-- Ayshay

#Mother #Stories #Alive

My music doesn't exist in a vacuum; there's a script and there's an actor and it's about to come together.
-- Ayshay

#Together #Vacuums #Actors

The first question [American college kids] asked me was, 'What state is Kuwait in?' They thought Kuwait was in America.
-- Ayshay

#Kids #College #Kuwait

I still think you people need to be curious [in order to absorb the culture]. You need to search Uzbekistani pop music.
-- Ayshay

#Thinking #Order #People

I'm sure that a lot of my friends - even though they're curious about the music of nations that are not on their radar - still don't know what Kuwaiti music sounds like.
-- Ayshay

#Sound #Curious #Stills

I feel like I got my first real taste of Caribbean and Cuban culture while I was there. I have quite a sizeable Cuban vinyl collection from Miami thrift stores.
-- Ayshay

#Real #Culture #Taste

When I work on music, I never think about vocalists. They're the last person I'm making music for.
-- Ayshay

#Thinking #Lasts #Vocalist