Name: Amira Kheir
Nationality: Sudanese-Italian
Occupation: Singer-songwriter
Current release: Amira Kheir's new album Black Diamonds is out via Sterns.
Topic I am passionate about but rarely get to talk about: I really love animals and am a big wild life lover. In another life I think I would be working in animal conservation or researching animal species. I love them. They teach us so much about the beautiful planet we inhabit.  

If you enjoyed this Amira Kheir interview and would like to know more about her music, visit her on Instagram, Soundcloud, and bandcamp.



Do you think that some of your earliest musical experiences planted a seed for your interest in writing lyrics or poetry? How and when did you start writing?

I started writing at a very young age as I always felt a strong desire to express myself. Writing was a natural way to do that.

I loved arranging words together and expressing thoughts and ideas I had, and asking questions through writing.

Entering new worlds and escapism through music and literature have always exerted a very strong pull on me. What do you think you are drawn to most when it comes to writing?

I think one of the things that draws me most to writing is the freedom of being able to express yourself in ways that don’t necessarily follow conventional rules. When writing you can follow your own internal inquisitiveness, without having to follow external standards on how things should be.

It’s exciting to me that you can find unconventional ways of saying something that can resonate with others.

What were some of the artists and albums which inspired you early on purely on the strength of their lyrics? What moves you in the lyrics of other artists?

There are many! I feel moved by writing that is able to express something real and universal in a unique way.

Some artists really do not shy away from the rawness of life’s experiences, and I find that those tend to be the ones that move me the most. I feel so drawn to lyricists who are not afraid to speak their truth – ugly, raw, complicated, as that truth may be.

Some of these for me include Meshell Ndegeocello, Prince, Gil Scott-Heron among others.  

It is sometimes said that “music begins where words end.” What do you make of that?

I think music is a universe that has the ability to transport you to new dimensions and communicate where words cannot reach.

Music is so powerful!

What are areas/themes/topics that you keep returning to in your lyrics?

I’m very drawn to themes that allow me to embark on a journey of discovery, to explore and reflect on nature and the universe around us.

I'd love to know how you think the meaning or effect of an individual song is enhanced, clarified or possibly contradicted by the EPs, or albums it is part of. Does the song, for example, need to be consistent with the larger whole?

That’s an interesting question. I think an album as a whole body of work, may express an array of themes, because we are multidimensional beings, encompassing at once many aspects.

I find it hard to think of a song in an album as contradicting to that album, even if it may sound different or be in a different style from other songs, because ultimately, I think it just represents another aspect to the art that is being created.

I think our art will inevitably reflect our multiversality, and this is what makes us human and what makes us beautiful.

I would love to know a little about the feedback you've received from listeners or critics about what they thought some of your songs are about – have there been “misunderstandings” or did you perhaps even gain new “insights?”

I really enjoy learning about how people interpret lyrics to my songs. What I find really amazing is that the way someone may interpret something has a lot to do with their internal universe and how they perceive things.

I feel that art starts out with someone creating something, but that’s only half of the journey of the artwork, the rest of the journey takes place internally within the person who is perceiving it, because of what it evokes within them and where it takes them.

Creativity can reach many different corners of our lives. Do you feel as though writing song lyrics or poetry is inherently different from something like making a great cup of coffee? What do you express through music that you couldn't or wouldn't in more 'mundane' tasks?

This is a fantastic question, and I would say they are the same.

Through all tasks – big or small, complex or simple – you are expressing yourself, your authenticity, your state of flow, your understanding of the world around you. Or conversely, your limits and your fears.

Whether you are making a cup of coffee or writing poetry, only you can do it in the unique way that you do it.