Noraay's Blog

Hello All,

I'm performing a couple of tracks for this event...should be a wonderful evening.

xx

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"If I were going to make the perfect neo-soul singer, I'd add some Sade, a little Erykah Badu, a pinch of Adele, a hint of Jill Scott.  But since I can't make this perfect singer from scratch, I'll settle for the next best thing - Noraay"

MochaDad, SixStringTheories.com

 

Check out the full review here:

http://www.sixstringtheories.com/2011/12/free-music-download-tainted-love-by-noraay/

 

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Hello friends,

Well it's finally here - my debut album 'FROM THE DARKNESS TO LIGHT'!

This album was written from the heart.  It is just as important to me that you hear WHAT I am saying as it is to hear HOW I say it.

I love being Moroccan and I love my heritage but I do come from a culture where women were generally not seen or heard.  I have been blessed to be born in a society where women are relatively free to Be, Speak and Do as they please - so for that reason (and for many others) I also love being British.  I know I am lucky to have the opportunity to openly speak my mind - which is why I try and be conscious of what I put out there through my music.

This album has been written over a period of years within which I feel I've grown emotionally, mentally and spiritually from a place of darkness (negative perspective) to a place of light (positive perspective).  Of course I am human so I definitely don't walk around in the clouds (I have my dodgy moments trust me!) but I feel having gratitude for what I do have, and being positive about where I can go, is the key to being happy.

So here it is - I hope you enjoy the album and that something I say touches you or even inspires you.

Thank you to Drew Horley, Naughty Boy, Fusion, Stefanos Tsourelis, Maelan, James Bovington, Martina Tiziani and Daddy for lending me your talents to create it.

Thank YOU for taking the time to read this and for investing your time and money in my music.

Peace, love and blessings,

Noraay x

P.S. At the moment the album is only available as a digital download. You can buy it from the player on my home page.  All purchases are made securely through paypal (we don't see your card details) - DON'T FORGET TO PRESS THE CURRENCY BUTTON ON THE PLAYER so you pay in your local currency - the album is £6.99 in the UK and $10.99 in the USA - other currencies available are the Euro and the Canadian, Australian, Hong Kong and Singapore Dollar!

 

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I'm performing solo this Friday in Brighton alongside the amazing poet Diva Akila and DJ2Ray.

Come check us out!

 

Peace and love x

 

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I love this poem by Safiyyah Abdullah.

Peace and blessings,

Noraay x

 

I have taken back my voice

The one u have tried to steal from me

The one that speaks of my entirety

Not just those aspects of me

that you want to see

My voice…my voice is mine

It is part of that which defines

Me

Reflects me

Selects that part of me…

That I wish to share

That voice which speaks of things

you don’t want to see

Or hear

And No, I really don’t care

Whether or not

you want

to hear

I have taken back my voice and

I will speak loudly…no…

I will shout…no!

I will scream…no!

I will roar…

For I am the women raped mercilessly

Aztecs at the hands of Spaniards

Lakota at the hands of white settlers

Bosnian at the hands of Serbs

Palestinian at the hands of Israelis

Southern Sudanese at the hands of North

Congolese at the hands militias

Iraqi girls at the hands of American soldiers

Women       at     the      hands     of     men

I am taking back my voice.

And my body.

Because they are mine!

No longer will I take the blame

Or hang my head in

shame at what you have imposed on me

I refuse to be isolated,

humiliated by society

no…I will raise my voice loudly

Until u are forced to hear me

forced to look at me…

directly

and see

Your shame!!!

Your blame!!!

Your silence!!

 

For I

Have

None.

I have taken back my voice.

The one u have tried to steal from me

The one that speaks of my entirety

Not just those aspects of me

that you want to see.

and with my voice I will declaim, decry, denounce, and condemn,

your use of  phosphorus gas &  chemical weapons

Of drones and clones and land mines

Of propaganda designed to destroy minds

and hope…

For I am Palestine, whose body burns inside

Skin melting from within

I am Somalia, Limbs blown from mines down under

I am Pakistan, Lives destroyed by bombs above

Innocent blood

Staining the wings of doves

I am the sound waves of war…

Still,

Vacant

Absent

Because war is not about sound.

It is about the silence…

the silence of humanity

I am taking my voice back

filling these sound waves with words

not the language of civility..

how casually we treat casualties…

as if they were just property

ignoring the reality

that 90% of war casualties

are people just like you & me…

civilians…

in fact 75% of them

are innocent

women & children.

I am not a dead man walking.

Rather a woman reborn

Hatred shorn

like lamb’s wool.

Having been the black sheep my whole life

I can testify that Black sheep

Grow the most wool.

I am the story of the other side of war

Not just the side that fights…

I am also the side that gives life.

I am the women who keep the schools open,

Gather flour during cease fires

bake bread for neighbors,

play puppet stories and sing songs

to entertain children during bomb

raids….

The one who  gave

pieces of chocolate,

so the children would not be afraid…..

THIS is our resistance…

to your insistence that we cannot live free.

We, in the mist of war, declare our humanity.

 

So I have taken back my voice

The one u have tried to steal from me

The one that speaks of my entirety

not just those aspects of me

that you want to see

My voice…my voice is mine

It is part of that which defines

Me

Reflects me

Selects that part of me…

That I wish to share

And No, I really don’t care

Whether or not

you want

to hear it

Because I have taken back my voice

That voice which speaks of things

you don’t want to see

Or hear

Because then it will be clear

That you have no choice

But to challenge

That voice

within you

that has also … been silenced…

 

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Hey everyone,

We finished our final rehearsal last week and so the 'From the Darkness to Light - Live' show is ready to go!  We will be performing this Wednesday at decibel showcase.

To get a taste of what to expect musically check out the new video (Noraay - Pearl) on my homepage which was filmed during one of our rehearsals.

Thanks to Dean Stewart for creating such a brilliantly artistic video and to Drew Horley for audio production and for letting us use The Lab Studios for the recording.  Thanks also to Drew on drums, Kiris Houston on keys, Stefanos Tsourelis on oud and John Calvert on bass.

Will keep you updated re: gigs.

For bookings please email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

See you all soon.

Love, peace and blessings,

Noraay x

 

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Hello,

Thank you to those who have taken the time to email me your comments about my music.

Here are a selection:

 

"Touched" Lemuel on 'Daddy Says'

"Thank you so much for the track, I love it! I REALLY love your music and I will be supporting you on this new journey" Maashallah on 'Be Speak and Do'

"I love the arabic/rnb/soul vibe of it!  And your voice twists and turns from track to track - you almost sound like a different person sometimes.  Beautiful!" Zara

"There I was thinking 'Tainted Love' might be a cover - Good voice, interesting arrangements, one to watch I reckon." Robert

"Excellent!  I love this song so much!!!" Mounya on 'Daddy Says'

"It's all totally fabulous...oh and I loooove the 'Tainted Love' track!!! Martina

"Brilliant! love it! and love your growth!!" Rich on the 'Pearl' rehearsal video

"Wicked - love it!" Perry on the 'Pearl' rehearsal video

"Love it girl! Keep up the amazing work..." Sara on the 'Pearl' rehearsal video

You've all been very kind with your words.  As an independent artist, hearing that you like what I am sharing with you gives me a big boost:)  THANK YOU.

Love, peace and blessings,

Noraay x

 

 

 

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Everytime I listen this song I get emotional.  I love my Dad - he has done so much for me and our family I cannot thank him enough.  He's oft-forgiving, patient and always chooses the way that is most peaceful.

My father has had a difficult life growing up as an orphan in Morocco and then coming to England not knowing a word of English, but never have I seen any bitterness or heard him talk bad about someone.

He is my inspiration.

I hope you enjoy the song (listen to, and purchase, the full length version on my Vibenation player on my home page).  This song was composed and produced by me and Drew Horley.

Love, peace and blessings,

Noraay x

 

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Hello All,

I am really excited to let you that I have been selected to perform at this year's decibel showcase in Manchester www.decibelpas.com.  I will be performing with a full band on Wednesday 14th September 2011 at 11:15pm at Zion Arts Centre Theatre, Manchester.

Myself and a group of amazingly talented musicians are currently putting together the set which is a live interpretation of my studio album 'From the Darkness to Light' (out this autumn).  This basically means we have all put on our creative caps to create a set which will bring out some of the influences you hear in the album - so far we've been adding lots of arabic arrangements and have even added in some rock music.  So the result with be a fusion of Neo-soul, RnB, Hip Hop, Arabic music (and some Rock) - it is sounding amazing I can tell you!! Soon I'll be posting up a video of us rehearsing so you can get a taste of what's to come :-)

Wanna give a shout out to Drew Horley (Producer for Me, Natalie Williams, Ty, Emmanual Jah) on drums, Kiris Houston (of Bens Brother, Rox, Estelle John Legend Tour) playing keys and acoustic guitar. Stefano Tsourelis (who also works with Dave Clayton of Simply Red and Depeche Mode) on Oud (arabic guitar) and electric guitar, and last but definitely not least John Calvert (who has played with Roisin Murphy and Natalie Williams) on bass.

The gig is only open to decibel delegates (to register click here) and the good news is that they are all national and international promoters and programmers so the idea is that we'll be bringing the show to you guys from October onwards.

Will keep you updated!

Thank you kindly to the Arts Council England for funding this opportunity and project.

Love, peace and blessings,

Noraay x

 

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Last night I watched 'For Colored Girls'.  This film, directed by Tyler Perry, is adapted from a 1975 stage play 'For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow Is Enuf'.  It's 'deeeeep', is what my cousin said when she told me to watch it - and DEEP it was.

Check out the trailer here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sDWU_cFU9ZA

So anyway, it got me thinking how much women have, and still do, suffer in this world (and for the fellas - I'm not saying you don't suffer, but being a woman, I'm going to talk from that perspective).  Whether it's an African-American woman who is dealing with psychological trauma in her community, or an Afghani woman who sets herself on fire because she has no way out of an abusive relationship with her husband, or a British teenager who is filled with self-loathing as she compares herself to unrealistic images of women in the media.  All different examples with varying degrees of suffering but suffering is suffering right?

Being from an arabic culture and having experienced, seen and heard about the suffering of women from this background, I wrote Pearls for us - to remind us of who we really are.  But what I realised after watching 'For Colored Girls' is this song...is for all women.

Thanks to Drew Horley for helping me produce it.  Composition inspiration taken from the song 'Hobbak Liya' by Nancy Ajram.  Offered as a free download - as a gift from me to you.

Love, Peace and Blessings,

Noraay x

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I like to play around with my voice and try new things.  So towards the end of the recording of my album I started to experiment with using my voice as a backing instrument.

Something Beautiful is the Outro to my album 'From the Darkness to Light'.  It reaffirms the message of 'Be Speak and Do' - the change we are seeking is within us - and so brings the album full circle.

I've recorded a number of accapellas for this album which I'll share with you over the coming months.

For now, I hope you enjoy Something Beautiful.

Love, Peace and Blessings,

Noraay x

 

 

Tags: Something Beautiful; Noraay; Peace; Conscious Music; Ego; Accapella

Hello friends,

If you have some time over the weekend, and you want to see something beautiful check out Yann Arthus-Bertrand film HOME.  You can watch it for free online on his Youtube channel (see below)

Amazing (I mean amazing!) footage of our planet and a history of our interaction with it. Emotional, educational, frightening, sad, inspiring.

http://www.youtube.com/homeproject#p/a/f/0/jqxENMKaeCU

WE ARE THE CHANGE.

Love, peace and blessings,

Noraay x

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I wrote Be Speak and Do after reading the book 'Conversation with God' written by Neale Donald Walsch. Among other things the book talks about how our being is essentially made of LOVE, how on a spiritual level we are all ONE energy and that what we think, what we say and how we behave has an affect on our environment and the entire human race. The book says that the creation of poverty, war, the destruction of our planet is a result of us 'forgetting' who we really are and collectively creating these circumstances.

Even if you're not particularly spiritual (or you just don't buy this idea) I think there is some value in saying that one of the reasons there is destruction, suffering and injustice in the world is that we do not feel connected to the earth that sustains us, the child starving to death across the water or the man who's just had his family blown to bits in another continent. It's the 'us' and 'them' mentality which exists not only between countries, races and religions but (from my experience) also in our own neighbourhoods - not to mention our disconnection with our earth.  And the sad thing is that while we have progressed technologically, we are still hurting each other, killing our planet, and the 'haves' and the 'have nots' still exist.

Like the author, I believe the change starts within each and everyone of us. If we can all find a way to find peace within (whether that's through spirituality, religion, therapy, spending time with nature or whatever works for you!), compassion for creatures, humans and the earth grows out of that naturally. This has certainly been my experience since I began my meditation...

Can you imagine a world where everyone sought to create peace within themselves? How would it look?

Food for thought.

Love, peace and blessings,

Noraay x

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Thank you for visiting my new site.  This was put together by my very talented brother Wasim of myFlashStore (http://www.myflashstore.net) - I hope you like it as much as I do.

Take a look around, like me on FB, have a read, listen to some music and watch my brand new video for my first single BE SPEAK AND DO (Produced by Naughty Boy).  You can also buy the single through the player below by clicking 'buy'.  Check out the free download TAINTED LOVE too:)

This year I'll be sharing lots of music with you, so do add yourself to my mailing list to be kept up to date.

In a couple of days I'll post again to tell you all about the inspiration behind the writing of BE SPEAK AND DO.

Until then peace, love and blessings,

Noraay x

p.s. by the way check out www.vibenation.net/noraay - I think I've discovered the new Myspace!

 

 

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