A dream is just a dream until it comes true, right? Songstress Malak Ghanem, professionally known as Malak Sound, changed my perception completely regarding the matter. Your dream is just a dream until you do something about it. We’ve all had that moment in the shower (usually after a long day at work) where we fantasized about being on stage and performing to an audience. Sound took that moment and turned into an actual job.
“Pursuing this dream was not easy because being an artist is deemed as a career path that’s not ‘normal.’ I was always under pressure. My grandmother wanted me to be a decorated translator and my mother wanted me to be a hotshot lawyer. When I broke the news to my family that I wanted to study music, they thought I was throwing everything I learnt in the trash. I would lay down in bed at night and imagine singing to people, I did not see myself doing anything else,” Sound expressed.
“I think the world needs art, now more than ever. Society as a whole, not only in the Middle East, is changing at a historically rapid pace. With so much pressure on young people coming in from all directions (job, marriage, the future in general), it’s important that this generation is represented, not chained by the rules of older generations that don’t apply to them anymore,” she added. “Youth find their voice in music and art. That is why it is so imperative as a musician to create your art and write your music, and share it with the world, because you are expressing what everyone is thinking.”
Via Malak Sound
Since releasing her debut album, Circus, in 2016, Sound has been invited to perform at multiple music festivals and conferences. She is also the 2017 recipient of Ottawa Life Magazine’s “Ottawa’s Best Musician Award” as voted by its readers. Sound recently opened for the renowned Egyptian band, Massar Egbari, on their Canadian tour, and completed two cross-Canada tours in the summer of 2018 — alongside a fellow musician Bella Cat. Capitalizing on her latest wins, the natural performer is currently recording her new full length album, entitled The Neighbor.
“For anyone who is confused on what to study and are wondering where to find themselves, get educated and always push to be free so that you can live your best life. When you’re educated and free, you have all the tools you need. The rest is up to you.”
Sound’s team at Gallery Management – led by Dean Watson – has teamed up with Cairo’s Modern Touch Entertainment to showcase her music in Egypt this November, leading up to a tour of Egyptian music festivals in 2019 including the Citadel Festival and Cairo Jazz Festival. You can find her at the Tap West on November 30, and Agouza’s Cairo Jazz Club on December 2.
