Born to Iraqi immigrants, singer/songwriter Yasamin didn’t gather up the courage to pursue her musical dream until later in her life. This would mean leaving behind a full time career as a scientist and throwing herself fully into recording. Her first full length album is due out early 2017.

Yasamin first introduced her music in 2013 with The Hello EP - Chasing Melodies. Her music video for Platinum and Gold aired on C4. She has appeared on TVNZ’s Good Morning and has been featured on 95bFM and TheAudience.co.nz Top 10 Chart Show. Yasamin is releasing her new single London on 31 August, along with the music video for the song. This will be the first release from her upcoming full length album, which is due out in early 2017. Yasmin answered the following questions for muzic.net.nz:

How did you become involved in music?

After I finished University, I felt a strong urge to be creative. No one knew I played music and I didn’t really sing but I knew that I was not ready to settle into an office and have that be the rest of my life. So I went to Nelson and attended the Nelson School of Music for 1 year. I did a performance course there then came back to a job and doing music on and off on the side. I found it really hard to call myself a musician until really recently despite releasing an EP in 2013 (Chasing Melodies), playing multiple gigs and making 3 music videos! In late 2015 I decided it was time to quit making excuses and to make music a priority so I cut work down to 3 days a week and used the rest of the time to work on music. 

Which one of your songs are you most proud of, and why?

My new single London. It will be out on 31st August 2016 along with the music video. I wanted to move to London a few years back for all the wrong reasons then I realised that a problem viewed from far away is still a problem! So I wrote a song about it and got on with life! 

How would you describe your music to someone who hasn't heard it before?

My music is pop. It is simple. It has a huge focus on lyrics and I love catchy melodies. If you like Regina Spektor or Corinne Bailey Rae you might like what I have to offer!!

What can we expect to see from you in the next year?

I am recording a full length album with my friend and fellow musician Geoff Ong. There will be 2 more singles released with music videos before the album comes out! I already have the concept for my next body of work too and I am excited to get stuck into writing that as well next year. Also I am launching my new blog in August 2016 on my website http://www.yasaminmusic.com/. The blog will talk about creativity, mainly all the things we face when we try and create art. These are things I’ve always struggled with like thinking your art is not good enough, that you are not talented, that you are too old to start now, procrastination, inner critic, self doubt, not being original, all the weird and crazy things that goes on inside a creative’s mind! 

What local albums have you been enjoying recently?

I’m loving Fazerdaze and The Beths at the moment. So good!

How do you balance your music with other obligations; family, job etc.?

I made some pretty big decisions the last 1.5 years. I moved to Mount Maunganui from Auckland where I am no longer spending hours in traffic, and sort of isolated myself there in the healthiest way possible! I took on a part-time role only in the field I studied at University which has given me more time to focus on getting music done not just talking about getting it done! Time is the biggest enemy, there’s never enough of it and it passes way too quickly so I tried to cultivate as much of it as possible by really simplifying my life.     

Do you have any advice for aspiring musicians?

The power is in the doing. Don’t just make plans, act on them (I’m talking to myself here too!). It is normal to experience self doubt. To think you are not capable of something. To attach your self worth to what people think of your art. To compare yourself and your art to others. It is normal, but you should not let these things cripple you from taking action. I talk about that stuff a lot in my blog so if it interests you head over to my website to check it out. It launches on 31 August 2016 along with my single London.

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