A New Maturity

Emel Mathlouthi's Songs of Protest Have Brought Her Worldwide Attention. Now She is Working on Her First Album in English

- Iain Akerman

The Tunisian singer-songwriter Emel Mathlouthi is something else. A whirlwind of energy and emotion. The owner of a raw, almost primal, sound.

Anyone who was lucky enough to see her perform at the Wasla Music Festival in Dubai last year will know there is an urgency and eccentricity to her music, driven as much by her own passion and intensity as it is by the sometimes industrial, sometimes lush, cinematic soundscapes of her work.

“I like to explore things to their fullest potential,” she explains. “That is the only way I can express myself and feel alive. I don’t necessarily have rules or paved paths in my notebooks, just spontaneity and depth. I love poetry. I keep trying to explore and discover amazing poets who I feel I connect with immediately. That’s what helps me develop everything hiding in me.”

So far that development has led to the creation of two albums: 2012’s Kelmti Horra (My Word is Free), which married elements of Tunisian musical tradition with western electronica; and Ensen, which was released last year on Partisan Records. The latter was co-produced with one-time Björk collaborator Valgeir Sigurðsson and the French/Tunisian producer Amine Metani. Now she is working on a new album, which, significantly, will be her first work in English.