Palestinian-Jordanian artist Dana Salah has been doing it all. Over the past few months, she has been featured on CNN, released a new track B3eed, performed for Spotify Arabia, and was featured on the collaborative track Rajieen.
Salah has been making music for over a decade previously under the moniker of King Deco. In 2021, she shed the moniker and released her first Arabic single. Since then, she’s been releasing Arabic music that resonates globally, propelling her culture to the forefront.
Cosmo ME caught up with her, to discuss her newest single and what we can expect next.
Read our interview with Dana Salah below
Cosmo ME: You have described your signature sound as ‘Falahi Pop’— what exactly is that?
Dana: Falahi means of the earth. A falah is someone who plants and reaps things from the ground, a farmer. For Palestinians, with our olive trees, our culture and music are very intertwined with our earth, our source of life. A lot of my lyrics and aesthetic draws from our tradition and culture— ‘Falahi Pop’ is this earthy sound, inspired by fusing traditional Arabic folklore with Classical Arabic instrumentation and contemporary Western sounds.
Cosmo ME: ‘Rajieen’ is a collaborative track, uniting 25 artists from the region to create a song in support of Palestine— what was it like being part of it?
Dana: It was such a good outlet during that time. I think we all felt so helpless and just traumatised by what was happening. We still are, it is so hard to fathom that this is happening and that it isn’t stopping. Something I think we are missing as Arabs in general, whether it’s in music or in our policies is that we don’t stick together. If all the Arab countries came together and just aligned, we’d be in a very different situation. I feel that sometimes on a smaller scale too. Being in a situation where 24 other artists from all over the Middle East came together for this one cause was amazing. It really brought a sense of hopefulness in such a dark time.
When I walked onto the set of Rajieen every person I had ever worked with on a video shoot was there. I shoot all my videos in Jordan. If I am paying for something I want it to go to Jordanian or Palestinian or Arab’s pocket and showcase my culture. It felt like I was on this big boat, and everyone was pouring as much fuel as they could into this one thing, and it was so awesome to see. There were no egos involved. It was amazing to see so much solidarity.
Cosmo ME: What kind of challenges have you faced as a Palestinian woman in the music industry?
Dana: As someone who is 34, not married, and making music— it is a big problem with my tetas (grandmas), it is a big catastrophe actually. I try to bring that up in my music because we need a voice and there are so many wonderful single women who feel maybe I am too late in life, I should be married by now. Even when I was 23 in New York, I was afraid to tell people my age, I was too old then. I was just like you know what there is always going to be somebody younger, society is always going to make you feel like as a woman you have an expiration date.
I was watching this interview with Caroline Polachek sharing why she learned how to edit and produce and record herself— she said a lot of us female artists have been in sessions where we tell the producer to raise/lower the instrument, and he hears you, and he acknowledges you, but his hand doesn’t touch the fader. And this has happened with a close producer friend of mine in New York. One time he didn’t hear me, but my co-writer did and he reiterated it, and he was like man it is so cool that you know exactly what you want. I get called demanding Dana but you get called you know what you want? I still feel that, as a woman, you have to ask for what you want in a less direct way in order for it to be received. It’s so ingrained it is what the world has taught these men. I do think it’s getting better but it’s still a challenge I face.
Cosmo ME: Mabrook on your newest single ‘B3eed’— what can you tell us about its inspiration?
Dana: Growing up I used to watch these old telecasts of Um Kulthoom, Abdelhalim Hafez, & Warda with my grandmother. Ever since I started making music, I wanted to bring in all my inspiration from growing up whether it’s those telecasts, experiences with my grandmother growing up around our Arab culture, or Western influences like the way Alanis Morissette writes or harmonies from Fleetwood Mac. But for ‘B3eed,’ given everything that is happening in Gaza right now, I really wanted to mirror my Arab roots. It is basically an anti-love song that echos stuff my grandma used to say.
As Arabs we don’t really use harmony in our music, so I wanted to echo that in the production— where the vocal would say something then the violin would respond. I had this tabla rhythm I wanted to use, but with more modern sounds, if you look at the credit list, I worked with so many producers on this song just to get the drum sounds right. I had a vision for this song for how I wanted the production to sound, very Arab, we need to be prouder of our tabla rhythms. Right now, they are very reminiscent of 90s Nancy Ajram and Haifa Wehbe, which I think a lot of musicians are trying to move away from, but I think it is so important for me to sink into that, but also tie it to the icons like Kulthoom and Hafez, you know? Like that era where we all look back and we’re so proud of the music from that time because it is classic and iconic.
The video has this kind of cheesy narrative in there of making peace with your inner child and stepping into what you deserve— walking away from something and making peace with certain parts of yourself. There is also the vibes of the sabah el kheir memes you would get from a family WhatsApp group — there is something so nostalgic about those things. I remember experiencing that in Michigan and how much the Arabs there love that stuff, so visually the music video mirrors that.
‘B3eed’ took forever to finish because of how difficult it was to work on music during that time with everything going on in Gaza. It really is just cherishing my Middle Eastern Arab roots and that Western sparkle fading.
Cosmo ME: What is your favourite lyric from ‘B3eed’?
‘El dinya dawara wa ghadara wa btsfy el hasab.’ It’s karma. Which I think if you are constantly trying to do right by people and you feel that karma is on your side that line is great.
Cosmo ME: Are there artists who have inspired your sound and your creative process?
Dana: Alanis Morissette and Stevie Nicks in their storytelling. Alanis is super bold and honest— that is something I strive for. In terms of music, Warda, I loved her growing up and would watch her old telecasts. If you listen to my records there isn’t a lot going on, you won’t hear a synth pad or any sustained stuff, and it very much echoes the way traditional Arabic music is structured. Those are my top influences.
Cosmo ME: What have you been listening to recently?
Dana: Let me pull up my Spotify. I really like A.L.A, I think his music is awesome. Marwan Moussa, love his music and production, he is an insane drum programmer. I listen to a lot of Reggaeton, Rosalia, and Dystinct I really like too.
Cosmo ME: What impact do you want to make with your music?
Dana: I hope my music makes people feel less alone, whether it’s single women, Arabs in the U.S., Arabs in the Middle East, Palestinians etc. I hope my music does that. I hope it draws foreign crowds in to understand our culture, music, and heritage, better and to humanise us more. I hope I get to a place where I feel like I can inspire younger girls to pursue a career in music as well.
Cosmo ME: What advice do you have for other women who are looking to follow in your footsteps?
Dana: Block out the noise, find out who you are, what kind of art you want to make, and communicate it as authentically as possible. It’s so cheesy, but it’s so true— really be yourself, that’s your artistry.
Cosmo ME: What’s next for you?
Dana: I am working on a few singles, a couple videos, and a couple of performances— just doing the artist thing. My two singles ‘Hayati’ and ‘Majnoona’ will come out after Ramadan. The themes are empowerment being a 34-year-old single woman and Arab heritage.