On Friday 4th of September 2020, one of Ireland's most raw and captivating artists, Farah Elle, independently released her first single by the name ”Sunblock”. The song captures a moment of solitude and reflection, exploring the emotional complexities of choosing joy over sorrow in our day to day lives. Farah’s message is clear. “The truth is, there will always be sorrow in life. There will also always be joy in life. Sometimes, the state of the world has us falling into the habit of protecting ourselves so much so that we forget to let in the joy around us too. Happiness can even feel painful to experience for some people, so it’s essential that we exercise it.” – Farah’s view of the world is related to a number of reasons. Being raised in Ireland with a Libyan background, having an eclectic range of cultures influencing her from a very young age and learning that life is not always unicorns and rainbows – she discovered early the importance of self-preservation.
In 2019 she was on tour with Blackbox Libya through Germany. Now, a year later, she is rejoining Aymen Al Houni and Fuad Gritli, the Breaking the Ice band. We have talked with her about last year`s experience.
Farah, what were your first thoughts on finding yourself within a Libyan crowd?
We Libyans find it quite difficult to listen to each other, mostly because of all the differences that everybody is focused on and certainly the ongoing problems which are happening. In our society there are several layers of problems. There is an ongoing trauma of the colonial time, the violence of people who are highly traumatized, the daily stress in times of crisis, we have a hard time listening for understandable reasons.
Music and art create a space where we can listen compassionately and meet on the same wavelength, and it’s a safe space to explore things that are quite heavy without having to talk about our difference
I have tried really hard in the last couple of years and have only learned to listen in the last year or two. I find that quite a challenge.
Another challenge is simply having to work with them all remotely, as I am physically very far away. Suddenly, I had to get used to people with a very different daily routine, I could see how difficult that could be and how the current situation within Libya impacted their ability to express themselves.
That was a big surprise for me.
What does it mean to be Libyan?
I definitely noticed that Libyan people have a swagger. They have a really cool vibe. That’s not something I’ve ever really seen as an adult, because I haven’t spent much time with Libyans for a very long time.
For example, on one of the nights when we had all been talking in the Shisha bar together, I realised that Libyans are able to have three conversations at once. The ability to socialise and have this really cool swagger. Something I could really take pride in. I liked that a lot.
When they speak Arabic they don’t say it is Arabic, they call it Libyan. I like that, there is a certain pride in being this very random blend of everything, an animation of random stuff that is going on.
It contradicts the prejudices about Libya, right? It seems Libya has some specialities that are very different from neighbouring countries.
Did you ever research about Libyan music?
Yes, one big surprise was that there is a lot of Libyan reggae. The whole concept of reggae and ska when it all began was all about unity, uniting all the different places and working together. So it’s interesting to hear that there is a lot of Libyan Reggae. That could be quite powerful if used.
Playing with Fuad and Aymen I learned a lot and their Libyan sound was new for me.
How does it feel to be a Libyan in Ireland? What are the reactions of people when they find out about your roots?
The funniest reaction is from Libyans themselves. Everybody from Africa is super excited if you tell them that you are from Africa. That is always a positive reaction. But when I meet other Libyans, they are mostly shocked as I appear so unconventional to them. That’s the main reaction. Especially because I am so untraditional. So many people I have met on the tour could not believe that I was a Libyan woman. I told them, yes, this is what a woman can be in 2020.
Music is a nice way to forget about the bullshit and actually connect and feel together. In that way I am quite lucky. But I’m not really paying a lot of attention to people’s negative reactions. The people that don’t appreciate what we do, the people who don’t like us, or the people who are skeptical are not our target audience, we are just trying to reach like-minded people, creative folk who love music and art and see the importance of unity and progress. Because as people we are very progressive and we just want that to come across in our art. We are not trying to change people we just want to meet on the same wavelength, and be proud of where we are from and have strength in our roots.
Libyan artists I have talked to were also experiencing negative reactions to their work when they didn’t fit social norms. How do you cope with criticism?
It is often a reaction to the individual journey of people, where they are at in that moment.So, for me, if people cannot cope with something quite different from them, I just see it as a reaction from where they are at that point. It’s just a question of different perspectives. Two people never have the same perspective anyhow. I mostly get positive reactions.
(The Libyan human rights defender and political analyst] Elham Saudi, the participant of one of the political talks, said something that struck me. Her daughter is under 10 years old and she has been looking for a positive role model for her. She was so excited to meet a compassionate feminist, somebody that is doing her thing. She liked my style and this was very encouraging. I mostly get positive reactions. If you are positive in life, you mostly get positive reactions.
What do Libyans have in common?
The vibes in talking and singing! With Blackbox and Breaking the Ice we have started a journey on which we will try to discover where the Libyan DNA lies in music, art and in culture in general.
Blackbox Libya is a cooperation of Heinrich Boell Foundation and Breaking the Ice
https://tn.boell.org/en/blackbox-libya-political-dynamics-and-spaces-artistic-intervention
