Music
Zahed Sultan: A Kuwaiti Artist’s Musical Journey
Zahed Sultan: A Kuwaiti Artist’s Musical Journey
Zahed Sultan
© [unknown]
His relationship with music began at age 14 as the local DJ for mixed as well as segregated parties in Kuwait. While in college, it was a dormant ambition of his to be able to write and produce music and began to materialize in the last 6 months of his senior year when he went on a record-buying spree to master DJ-ing professionally. His passion for producing music has intensified exponentially since. Since childhood, music has always played a pivotal role in his life.
In essence, the power of music to do so much by saying so little is what draws him to it as a medium. He merely collates his upbringing, experiences, and surroundings into palpable narratives, which he then makes public. Thereafter, they are open to interpretation and dissection. They no longer belong to him.
He was 22 years old when he wrote his 1st piece of music. He used a pc and an analog Roland sampler to program and sequence the song. “My mind is my sketchbook. It’s an ever-evolving fantasia of anime, sound and color yearning to come to life”.
Zahed Sultan
© [unknown]
Zahed only took a serious leap into music (as a profession) in the spring of 2011 and has remained dedicated since. Being a relatively new venture for him, the greatest differences to date have been an ever-growing commitment to creative exploration and collaboration (through sound, design, and community projects) while learning / refining more complex audio-visual production techniques.
Today, Zahed Sultan is known as an alternative / electronic multimedia artist and music producer. He released his debut album ‘Hi Fear, Lo Love’ on April 1st, 2011 and attained success with his 2nd single ‘I Want Her But I Don’t Want Her.’ Parisian DJ, Stephane Pompougnac, featured the single on the internationally acclaimed Hotel Costes 15 compilation.
Zahed’s music has been licensed for television (‘CSI’ / US) and film (‘11.6’ / France) and he has been featured on renowned global platforms such as MTV Iggy (US), and O2 Academy TV (UK) as an emerging Arab artist.
“Being an artist to me means everything and nothing. Everything in that my five senses are ever engaged by my surroundings and experiences. Nothing in that it is not a choice, if artistry (or creativity) is flowing through your bloodstream you have no other option but to let it out – else you won’t feel at ease until you do”
Zahed Sultan
© [unknown]
Zahed also being a social entrepreneur requires an extensive amount of technical / organizational skills coupled with strategic prowess. Being an artist, on the other hand, demands of him to let go of the former and embrace “the grey” – exploring intangible notions, ideas, feelings even, and thoughts. “I constantly push myself to excel and shuffle between both practices. They must co-exist with each other in order to grow”.
Zahed is set to release his sophomore album ‘eyeamsound’ later this year. “In my 2nd album I want to look at everything I have done and take the best of what I have learnt from ‘Hi Fear, Lo Love’ but also not be afraid of experimenting on exploring new channels, new media and pushing myself further”. Zahed is planning a global tour to introduce his sounds to a wider audience for the debut of his live ‘eyeamsound’ audio-visual experience. Stay tuned.
To visit Zahed’s website, click here
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