We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Yasmine Azaiez a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Yasmine, thanks for joining us today. What’s been the most meaningful project you’ve worked on?

I fortunately have not had just one meaningful project, but many. Each project I have worked on as a Violinist/composer have been so inspiring and creative in many ways, and have shaped my journey as a musician.
One in particular that comes to mind is my latest project- The Yasmine Azaiez trio, which will be released mid September, as it is the first EP I would have released in two years, after a bout of writers block.
I have been consistently writing/recording/arranging and performing on other incredible musicians projects such as Apollo Liberace,Samara and Javier Reyes, but writing my own music unique to my own universe was hidden in my subconscious for a while.
After the success of my record Africa, I was thrilled to have been able to perform it worldwide, then went in a different direction with my Prog Rock album BRAVE. This time, I felt as if I needed to go back to basics in an organic way, respecting my heritage as a Tunisian/Indian woman. It slowly came to me in waves and flutters and I began writing it in sporadic bouts, and performing the songs in venues such as Black Rabbit Rose and Dreamland with the incredible musicians TJ Troy and Miles Jay.
After a performance at Dreamland, the incredible Ashish Manchanda { who has worked with Quincy Jones} came up to me and requested a meeting. I was tentative, but went to the LA film school at his studio where he told me that he wanted to produce my record. After this, everything started getting easier and the music flowed, the ambitions grew stronger. I began writing again to my fullest capabilities.
I am so excited for this album to come out, and I am so grateful for my musicians , and Ashish’s faith in me.

Yasmine, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

Of course!
I am a Tunisian/Indian violinist/composer and I also sing at times. I began the violin at the age of 4 with the Suzuki method in London, then went on to be accepted at the Yehudi Menuhin school at the age of 8. At 18 I was accepted to the New England Conservatory on a scholarship where I studied Classical music my first year, then went on to receive a Masters in Contemporary Improvisation/third stream music.
I was always a creative person, and was lucky to have a mother who always believed in me and pushed me to stay motivated. It was tough at times, but I am grateful for her dedication to my craft.
I believe now that being a mixed child growing up in the UK has been beneficial to me, which I didn’t see in the beginning. It has allowed me to tap into my mixed heritage to create a unique voice, with influences of North African rhythms, Indian modes, Jazz chords and a Classical Technique.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

I had to unlearn negativity/a lack of belief in myself. Being in a such a competitive music school from the age of 8 until 18 really squashed my self esteem in many ways, and I realised in my early twenties that my motivation came from proving to others that I Was good enough, instead of wanting to spread love and awareness in the beauty of music to myself and others. I have always been a Humanitarian and Animal Activist, and I started sharing this in my music, doing fund raisers, creating an Animal rescue in Tunisia and spreading those messages in my compositions.

How can we best help foster a strong, supportive environment for artists and creatives?

The music industry has really changed over the past twenty years. The ways we can support Artists is by spending a few dollars to buy their records, as we used to buying CD’s from the record store { or perhaps I’m just getting old,} streaming their music, and going to your musician friends shows. Every bit counts, share your friends song on Instagram, post a comment… Its not much but it helps in so many ways!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://yasmineazaiez.net
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yasmine.azaiezviolin/?hl=en
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/yasmine.azaiez.music/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@Yazaiez

Image Credits

Mehdi Hassine
Shane Izykowski