RIYADH: From soulful Hijazi oud melodies to renditions of smoky jazz and blues tunes, Loulwa Al-Sharif is crafting a sound, shaped by personal loss, that is uniquely her own.
The self-taught singer, also known as Lady Lou, left journalism to pursue her heart’s yearnings, she said during her appearance recently on Arab News’ The Mayman Show.
“I knew that I loved, like, music since I was a little kid. I used to love to perform just for my family and myself, but then I stopped for a long time.
“And while I was working in the newspaper and in other jobs before that, I used to do music … part-time.”
Al-Sharif sang Arabic songs when she was young.
“When I was 15 years old, when I discovered that I liked to sing, I used to sing Khaleeji (Gulf) and Tarab (classical Arabic music) such as songs from prominent Egyptian singer Mohammed Abdel Wahab.
“But then when I started learning (to sing) in English, the first song I learned, with my blues brother — his name is Moez — it was ‘Ain’t No Sunshine.’”
“So just simple, you know, it’s a very simple song with him because he encouraged me, like, you have soul, and you need to do that more,” she said.
The death of her father was a pivotal moment in her life. At the time, she had not been performing and was still quite “shy” and lacked confidence.
“I believe that was my — I don’t know what to call it — escape or something, I don’t know. But all my emotions and my feelings were, ya’ni (like), driven into the music.
“Even, to be honest, it helped me a lot because my father was a musician, and so believing that, oh, wow, I’m doing what my father used to do and putting all my emotions into, ya’ni … it was healing.
“Saraha (honestly), so it was healing for me. Pursuing music and just creating and singing.”
Al-Sharif learned her craft at jam sessions, often late at night, supported by members of the Jeddah music community.
“First, I chose rock. I started singing, like, rock covers, you know, like Evanescence and things like that.”
She then focused on jazz and blues tunes, including from the late English singer Amy Winehouse.
“To be honest, I feel like I was, like, a little bird, and now I’m just, like, flying.
“It’s helped me a lot. Because I didn’t have that confidence back then, and I was, ya’ni, when I performed, I used to perform in front of, like, a few people.”
