We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Elizabeth Ayoub. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Elizabeth below.
Elizabeth, appreciate you joining us today. We’d love to hear the backstory behind a risk you’ve taken – whether big or small, walk us through what it was like and how it ultimately turned out.
“We must risk delight. We can do without pleasure,
but not delight. We must have the stubborness to accept our gladness in the ruthless furnace of this world.” – Jack Gilbert
If music is memory, then song is its wings.
I have been singing since I have memory. Family videos of myself as a toddler back home in Caracas, singing freely in Spanish, English and Arabic with mic in hand were the norm, not the exception. At the International American School I attended, the arts had a way with me. From choir to dance and musical theatre, music enveloped me. Being a protagonist on stage was thus not a burden, but a calling. Performance became a way of understanding my place in the world.
Years later, I would arrive to Miami and meet Jose Elias, a Cuban-Lebanese musician. He pushed me into self-producing my first album, “Prelude.” I’d always thought of myself as a singer-storyteller. Yet, I wasn’t sure the world was ready for my music or story. Jose insisted. “Eliza, nobody is a prophet in their own land. Your voice in unique. You belong out there. You need to do this!”
It was a risk worth taking.
I used up my savings and took out a loan from my oldest brother without him hearing a single note of music. Many tears were shed, friendships were tested, but along the way, I made lifelong friends and memories. It was a labor of love.
My first album, Prelude, was recorded in Miami and New York City. We carefully selected world-class musicians from the Latin and Arab world. Sometimes, I can’t believe how lucky I was to work with all these Grammy award winning musicians – Bacilos drummer JJ Freire, Cuban bassist Jose Armando Gola, guitarist Jose Elias and maestro oud composer Bassam Saba, who played with world-renowned Lebanese diva Fairuz. The album was mixed to perfection by another Grammy-award winning musician-engineer, Ron Taylor (Frank Sinatra, Madonna) who to this day, is a dear friend.
I took the risk of spending all this money and a pocketful of dreams with the hopes of getting played worldwide and performing at venues. It happened. Digital music distribution was at its infancy. Thanks to Steve Jobs’ release of iTunes and the iPod, my album reached many listeners – from Australia, to Kenya, Venezuela, the USA and France. It was inspiing to get emails from listeners all throughout the world telling me how my music touched them. But nothing more special than to get the attention of the BBC’s World Music guru – Charlie Gillet. He loved one of my songs and added it to his 2007 Sound of the World compilation record of the year. I was in the company of great fellow upcoming artists. I had made it, so I thought.
Charlie was kind and wanted me to succeed in the music business. He also knew that for any woman, touring would be hard. He took a liking to me called me from London one day.
“There is a label that is interested in you. I think they may be a right fit. They’re out of Holland. Looks like they’re keen on attending your Detroit show. Here’s the thing: nobody else will understand how to market you except for them,” said Charlie.
I remember his words very clearly.
A month or so later, I was in Detroit at the Arab American National Museum getting ready for my sold out concert. Albert and Yusuf, the label reps, were there. The audience was warm and receptive – it was a magical fall night. After album signings and greeting audience members, I met with Albert and Yusuf for dinner. They did not delay in getting down to business. “I flew all the way from Amsterdam to see you perform live, Elizabeth,” said Albert. Sitting beside him was Yusuf, in his quiet demeanor. “We would like to offer you a recording agreement.”
There have been moments in my life where I’ve had out of body experiences. One was the death of my father. That was very hard. The most painful one, by far, was the sudden death of my beloved mother. A more slow and prolonged one was that of my marriage ending. But having a music contract agreement laid out in front of me was my first. I was elated and terrified all at once.
What do you do when the thing you have longed for since you have memory finally presents itself in full form and asks you, “Are you ready to do this? Are you ready to take this magic on the road?” Naturally, one would say, “ Yes. I am!”
It was not an easy decision.
At the time, I had met Sami, also a Lebanese-American. He was as charming as he was handsome. We were navigating how to make our long distance relationship work. He was working on his PhD dissertation between NYC and Beirut. I was living in Miami and would begin traveling more and more for recordings and performances. We talked about it and he said for this to really work – our relationship – I would have to move to Beirut.
How could I risk everything I had worked so hard, for a love that may or may not work? It was a very scary moment in my life. I deeply loved Sami.
In the end, I said yes to music.
I said yes to my first love.
I said yes to wonderful memories I will always cherish. I met so many people from so many different walks of life while on the road.
Music will always be the gift I receive from God and give to others.
It was, and will always be, worth the risk.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
“Music is that magical air that lives in our space. It knows no boundaries, carries
no stigmas. It is unconditional love expressed through one's energy. And like
energy, music can neither be created nor destroyed – it is simply transformed,
from one soul to the other. May we all be the conduits of its magic.”
– Elizabeth Ayoub
Singing in various languages comes natural to me – though born in Venezuela, I consider myself a “citizen of the world.” I sing and write with conviction and emotion, heartfelt songs sometimes of folk quality, mostly of worldly sophistication. Often compared Norah Jones and Lebanese diva Fairuz, with each song I creates a rich tapestry of images, a journey for the listener to relish.
I believes in the healing power of music. “People all over the world write to me, from teens to older folk, on how my songs have healed them and made them feel at ease, in these most-distracting times.”
As for music and its power to shift boundaries “Politicians create borders and wars; artists break them down with music. There’s nothing more liberating and moving than music to unite human souls.”
The youngest daughter of Lebanese immigrants, I was thrust into an environment where three different languages were freely spoken and where her musical influences ranged from Koranic verse and Fairuz, to Simon & Garfunkel
and Barbra Streisand.
On songs, I confess I really consider myself a storyteller. A lot of the songs I write are stories, coming from my experiences – but also from observing people, their lives, the joy and sadness of the little things that fill up our lives.”
It was Prelude that thrust me onto the world stage and landed me on the airwaves of BBC, thanks to the grace of the seasoned Charlie Gillett. It was Gillett who included my song, YA OUD, to the 2007 Sound of the World Compilation, an honour Elizabeth relishes to this day. “He was one a one of kind DJ – I don’t think anyone will ever fill his shoes. I’m sure I join the millions who miss him.” It was Gillett who introduced me to my future label and agency, World Connection and Times Square Records, who signed me after watching my performance in Detroit at the Arab-American National Museum.
I got busy creating songs for the second album, when I realised I was sensing flamenco in my music.
“And then, as if God was trying to play clever, my agent called and said Javier Limon (Grammy-award winning producer, Buika and Bebo & Cigala’s Lagrimas Negras) is interested in working with me on the album. Many months later,
between Madrid and Beirut, Oceanos y Lunas emerged.
Here’s what iTunes had to say about my sophomore album:
“In an example of the impact of world politics on culture, the parents of
singer Elizabeth Ayoub emigrated from Lebanon before that country’s civil
war, settling in Venezuela before her birth. Given that heritage, her music,
not surprisingly, mixes Arabic and Latin styles, and she sings it in Arabic
and Spanish, when she’s not venturing into English or French. In the
arrangements, the guitars mix with ouds, but no matter what the
instrumentation, the approach is gentle and folkish, and as a songwriter
Ayoub (as revealed in the translations of her lyrics in the CD booklet)
sticks to generalized longings for romantic love. Occasionally, the music
veers toward American country-folk, notably in Je T’attends, which, with
its repeated use of the phrase “don’t know why (sung in English)
suggests Norah Jones. But American country singers don’t
usually sing their choruses in French followed by the wordless expression
“ya leyl”; Ayoub is a poster child for international understanding, and her
music should have pop appeal across cultures.”
In my travels, singing and sharing my stories of longing, love and life, I
marvel at the stories listeners and past-audience members shared with me along
the way.
“It’s a bond you forge with people, you know? In their private homes, in
their spaces, in the lives they share with others, you are a part of all that. It’s
beautifully humbling.”
What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?
There is no right or wrong. You have to follow that little voice in your head. If you do, without any sense of judgement, it will lead you to awe-inspiring moments. We are here to heal. That is our mission. And by healing ourselves, we heal others along the way.
We’d love to hear your thoughts on NFTs. (Note: this is for education/entertainment purposes only, readers should not construe this as advice)
I am fascinated by NFTs and I am most definitely keen on developing that as an alternate source of art-making. It’s just a lot out there. I am more about analog these days. Especially after the pandemic.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://elizabethayoub.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/elizabethayoub/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/elizabethayoubfans
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/6th-republik-music/
- Twitter: https://x.com/ElizabethAyoub
