DUBAI: The Saudi violinist, DJ and producer Kayan (whose real name is Noor Faisal) doesn’t do things by halves. When she decided to learn Indian music, for example, she went all in. She dressed the part, met with a guru, and sat on the floor while learning in order to “feel it fully and live it fully and understand its essence,” she tells Arab News. “I don’t know if it’s a good thing or a bad thing, but when I get into something, I get into it with all its elements.”
Kayan’s journey has been unconventional and unique. She was reportedly the first female violinist in the Saudi National Orchestra. She is the first musician in her family, but says she may have inherited a love of the arts from her grandmothers, who both painted.
Kayan was raised in the Eastern Province, and went to a government school, where she wrote poetry, painted, danced and took part in school plays. (Supplied)
Kayan was raised in the Eastern Province, and went to a government school, where she wrote poetry, painted, danced and took part in school plays. Where music was concerned, she says she was a “deep listener,” enjoying Khaleeji, Egyptian, and Lebanese tunes. Later, Western pop and electronic music entered the picture.
“For me, sound and music is how I express myself — how I see life, how I feel life, how I remember life. It is my way of experiencing this existence, externally and internally,” she says. “Existence” is the translation of her chosen artist name.
After school, Kayan spent six years living in Bahrain, earning a bachelor’s degree in international relations. But her heart always belonged to music.
“My degree could get me the best corporate job, and it did get me that for the longest time. So choosing to leave that and go into music, it was a question of course,” she says. “There were a lot of questions along the way.”
Kayan performing at Riyadh Golf CLub. (Supplied)
While in Bahrain she studied Eastern music — from Khaleeji to Hindi — and also worked for BBC World Radio, where she learned about music software and hardware. It was also where she began to learn what she calls the most challenging instrument in the world: the violin.
“It picked me, I did not pick the violin,” says Kayan. It all began with a YouTube video of a violinist playing on the streets, using a loop pedal.
“I was in that moment. I was frozen in time and space, listening to that performance over and over again,” she recalls. “Something inspired me and, the next day, I bought a violin and I registered with an institute. I didn’t think about it. I just did it.
“I had no clue that the violin was the hardest instrument in the world,” she continues. “With the violin, there is no way to know where the note is. Your ear has to guide you because the instrument has no identification of where the note is.” So, she bought other instruments to experiment with, including the drums and the xylophone. But, at the back of her mind, she was still thinking of the violin.
Kayan believes that playing the violin requires both technical and emotional abilities, as they both “contribute to one another.” She favors the emotional part more. The violin is known as a highly expressive instrument, tapping into melancholy, longing and sorrow. It is also believed that the violin is the closest instrument to the human voice, akin to a person telling an intimate story.
For her solo work, Kayan combines her violin playing with electronic music — she is also a DJ and producer. (Supplied)
Her relationship with the instrument was strengthened when she returned to Saudi Arabia in 2020, a time when the country’s entertainment industry was undergoing unprecedented changes and receiving heavy government backing. She won a scholarship for aspiring musicians launched by the Ministry of Culture and the Saudi Music Commission, then joined the Saudi National Orchestra. As its first female violinist, Kayan says that the pressure is on, not just for her, but for her Saudi colleagues too.
“It’s a big responsibility, because Saudi is developing in a way that, when it opened up, you’re expected to be the best in the world. I’m someone who didn’t start in a proper way, because I was trying to figure things out. . . We are expected to learn Eastern and Western music, and be the best at both, and represent the country, and score A-plus.”
For her solo work, Kayan combines her violin playing with electronic music — she is also a DJ and producer. She has performed across the Kingdom, notably in AlUla and Riyadh, as well as abroad. One of her main goals is to modernize Saudi music — staying true to its essence while infusing it with electronic vibes.
“People are curious to know what Saudi music sounds like — not in its traditional form, but in its contemporary form. And that’s the question,” she says. “Everyone wants to see how the new generation will present the Saudi song.”
Kayan is currently working on a new concept album of Saudi electronic music, she says, adding that her ultimate dream as an artist is connection.
“Sometimes, music is a friend. Sometimes, it’s a healer. Sometimes, it is magic. To me, it is not an escape — but it can be,” Kayan says. “On a personal level, I always dreamed that if I felt something beautiful and I played it and I felt its beauty, I would love for someone else to feel that beauty.”
