In times where social injustices are at the forefront of the new media cycle and in digital discourse, it only makes sense that those seeking justice would similarly have a powerful presence. Iranian/American pop artist Ashley Zarah not only offers a distinct light-hearted take on feminism, she does so with a uniqueness that leaves an imprint on those who listen.

Ashley recently released a new music video for her fan-favorite single "My Boyfriend", a feminist empowerment anthem retelling Zarah’s courage in a relationship gone wrong. Other tracks, like “Control”, take a true introspective investigation on perceptions of ourselves internally and external labels built on facades and powerlessness.

Zarah's highly anticipated project, the Better Mess - LP, is currently in pre-production for release in the Fall of 2020, leading with fan-favorite, "My Boyfriend," as its first single. For this single, she is donating $5 to the Yemen humanitarian crisis for every pre-save the song gets. Please read our exclusive interview below to learn more abut Ashley Zarah.

Where are you based?
Los Angeles, CA.

What inspired you to get into music?
It was always something I was obsessed with. Growing up, I thought everybody thought about music the way I did, but began to understand that wasn’t true. I don’t think there was one thing that inspired me to pursue it; music is like an organ in my body that has a voice in everything I do. But I think seeing the impact that music has had all over the world and throughout history, the impact it can make on individuals, societies, and generations, was really powerful to me. I’ve never been interested in attention or glamor, but interested in the emotional and psychological way it heals people. I am one of the countless people who’ve been saved by the sound and lyrics of an artist, and as I seem to share the same skillset, it feels like my purpose is to pay it forward.

What was the moment that you decided to seriously pursue music? Was there an event, person, or feeling that acted as a stimulus?
It was probably when I got accepted to Berklee College of Music. Something I came to terms with when I was 16 was that I wasn’t aspiring to be a musician — I was one. I was already a singer and a writer, I just wasn’t a “professional” at it. And my community made it very clear that I would most likely ruin my life trying to become one.

I kept killing time in college, trying to figure out a way to make it work, how to be a full-time artist and still be accepted by the people around me. I started secretly applying to a few music institutions and was accepted into the most prestigious one in the world, and that acceptance had to mean something. But when I showed it to my loved ones, they told me that it was great and all… but that future couldn’t be for me. And I had never disagreed with a statement more in my life. It’s like a lightbulb just went off in my head telling me that I had to leave to find out who I really am and what my place in the world is, because this environment isn’t conducive for my growth. So I moved across the country to finally commit to myself and my intuition; commit to a future that was created by my own choices. And the result turned out to still be music! Now I know the importance of living truthfully, and I always try to express that to anyone listening.

You describe your style as dark pop. What does it mean to you?
To me, Dark Pop is all about both facing and enjoying the reality of life. It’s the idea that life may feel like a vapid, black canvas, but every experience we have is a unique pop of color that splatters across it. In the end, we’re left with a vibrant piece of art that was actually built on a dark foundation. This suggests that life is not something linear, not something that “only gets better from here” or is “only downhill at this point.” Good things and bad things are happing concurrently all the time. No period of our lives is purely bleak or purely radiant. It’s both filled with darkness and filled with color, but our perspective shapes what we choose to see.

Pop music has become very superficial and very predictable for many of us. It seems to be using music to cover up what people are feeling rather than using music to help guide and heal them. I don’t understand why pop music can’t be both fun and honest, so I decided to create it myself.

Your single "Awake" had a more Middle Eastern feel. As a person of Iranian and Jewish background, how do these cultures influence your work? What inspired this song?
My first language was Farsi. I was raised listening to rhythmic, poetic, microtonal Persian music; there was kind of no escaping what is already engrained. In addition, my perspectives and phraseology are built by the Iranian and Iranian-Jewish philosophies that my community raised me with. Their tradition of storytelling and art of figurative language is a huge part of my lyric writing. I always say I’m a storyteller at my barest, because music is just the vessel I resonate with to express my reality; but what all musicians are actually doing are telling stories. Furthermore, Iranians love music and dance. Persian men and women had song and dances for nearly everything; sword dances, horse dances, battle dances, spiritual dances, napkin dances! So making music that isn’t syncopated is pretty much against my nature.

“AWAKE” covers a topic that is considered taboo in the Iranian community. I read somewhere that nearly 80% of Iranians have mental health disorders, and unfortunately I’m not surprised. We are a culture that greatly values the community. Your self-worth comes from what your guests think and say about you. If I had a dollar for every time I heard “but what would people think?” I would be the richest Persian in human history. A suppressed group of people living to please others is not a very healthy one. “AWAKE” is about anxiety and pretending it doesn’t exist. I battled with depression all my life, but only recently recognized I had anxiety. I thought the daily stress I felt in my mind and body was normal because I knew nothing different. But being vocal about my mental health only invited others to chastise me, tell me I was crazy, that I was weak, that my perspective was just all wrong, and that I needed to keep this to myself because “what would people think” if they knew I was struggling. So instead of inviting more anxiety into my life, I just kept my mouth shut about it, which of course doesn’t fix anything. I wrote “AWAKE” to remind people that no matter where you come from, torturing yourself with emotional repression is not the way; and you are not crazy for reacting to the world the way you do. Seeking help and support, as scary as it sounds, will guide you to the right people who want to see you happy and healing.

Your song “Control” talks of unhealthy relationships. Can you talk a little bit about this song?
“CONTROL” can be approached through a few different lenses – but the point from which I wrote it was directed at the self. It’s all about performance and manipulation. Pretending like we’re in control when we really aren’t, lying to ourselves and everyone around us by saying everything’s fine when it isn’t. I thought that if I admitted the truth about how much everything hurt, I wouldn’t be able to function anymore; all the walls I’d built would collapse, and there would be no putting them back up. I just figured the hollow person I’d become was just who I was and that time would make me better at ignoring the pain until it was gone. So I took the “fake-it-till-you-make-it” approach and just pretended I had everything under control. Nothing was wrong. Ever. And I was such a great actress, no one ever questioned me.

But a life of acting and shapeshifting is exhausting and terribly self-destructive. It’s a life that keeps you self-hating, crying, and paranoid when no one’s around, but smiling the moment someone walks into the room. My videographer for the shoot, Siobhan Beasley, said we were capturing Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde; I think she hit the mark.

Jejune loves your new, super fun, song "My Boyfriend". Clearly you were not impressed with a guy. Can you tell us a little bit about the backstory behind this song? How did the guy react when he heard it?
That’s a great way to put it! I definitely was not impressed. I had this drummer who I was friends with for a few years, with no reason to believe he was a sociopathic narcissist. The lines of our professional and personal relationship started blurring; and we decided we would have this fun summer together, but agreed that as soon as it gets weird we’d end it because our professional relationship was too important to risk. Needless to say, it got weird really quickly. I ended it twice, but he just kept coming back, and I didn’t love myself enough to commit to the boundaries I was trying to place. As you can hear from the lyrics in the song, it was awful. Every line in that song is hilarious and true, and every time I sing it live I cannot believe it ever happened.

I actually don’t know if he’s heard it! I stopped talking to him when everything exploded for good, and he blocked me everywhere so I have no way of knowing. I hope he likes it though!

How did writing this song empower you? You certainly look like you had a lot of fun with the music video!
Oh gosh, it was liberating. I’m an extremely empathetic person, so I’m very considerate of other people’s feelings when I speak. However, this often times keeps me from saying what’s really on my mind. After everything that happened, I was still making an effort to say good things about this guy because “no human is all bad,” and “everyone has their issues.” But these excuses pardoned him from taking responsibility. All his life, he was never held accountable for the things he did to people. Somehow it was always someone else’s fault, and this time it was my turn. But his behavior was so unheard of, I just couldn’t let it slide. I held it in for four months because he was so sensitive about even the tiniest criticism. So when everything was over, it was really liberating to just speak the truth without caring how he’d react to it.

The song is definitely empowering. It reminded me how incredible I am, and that I choose the company I keep. I choose how I allow people to treat me, and if I truly love myself, I don’t allow toxic people into my life.

For this single, you are donating $5 to the Yemen humanitarian crisis for every pre-save the song gets. Can you tell us what inspired this and why the Yemen humanitarian crisis is dear to you?
Absolutely — I think it was 2016 when images of the bombing in Aleppo made it to the news. It was one of the few times where I felt incapable of doing anything – so I didn’t even try. It showcased the world’s apathy as all our leaders sat idly by and watched innocent people get blown up, to be blunt. Now in the midst of the coronavirus, the victims of everything that’s occurring in Yemen resurfaced that moment — but this time, I knew I needed to do better. The people of Yemen are near extinction — meaning they will disappear and never come back. I can’t just watch a whole country of families, history, and culture get wiped out by the greed and hatred of others. People are not expendable despite their country’s politics – just like Iranian citizens are not terrorists, Yemeni citizens are not terrorists. The western world has a habit of projecting this idea that the problems we have in the Middle East are warranted, and the lives of middle-easterners don’t matter. I needed to bring more awareness to this cause and make it easy for people to take action; and successfully, with everyone’s participation, we were able to donate to the International Rescue Committee and the Yemen Foundation.

By no means is this crisis over, it’s also extremely time-sensitive, so I urge anyone who can to continue supporting organizations that are trying to save the Yemeni people from this nightmare.

Since COVID and an indefinite end to live performances and festivals, many artists rely on streaming, downloads and other digital outlets to generate income. How has COVID impacted your life — both in regards to music and otherwise?
So, studies have shown that if people are listening to music right now, they’re listening to nostalgic music because they’re seeking comfort. For the first time ever, music streaming is in competition with video streaming and more people are choosing to binge watch television and movies because it probably passes the time better. I’ve expedited my merch production for that reason because I knew streams were down, shows are no longer an option, but maybe people can cozy up with some new clothes and support my music. COVID has definitely put a lot of stress on all of us, but I’m trying to spend my time finding solutions and assimilating to a new normal. People may not be listening as much, but they’re still listening.

In regards to my personal life; having two jobs, playing shows, writing, recording, rehearsing, organizing and shooting music videos, I was kind of running on empty by March — everything suddenly froze when the coronavirus made it to the states, and as terrible as it feels to say this, because I know how this virus has ravaged the lives of so many around the world, it gave me time to take a step back and reflect on the world, reexamine my lifestyle. I think it did this for a lot of people; it’s revealing what’s really important to us and showing how interconnected we all are.

Are you working on any new creative projects?
Definitely – right now I’m in post-production for my upcoming LP and reimagining the visual aspects of its release since the pandemic halted my initial plans. But that’s a fun challenge to accept! While that’s going on behind the scenes, my new collaboration with electronic producer D-SAB, “Let Go”, will be released August 14th, and the second single off the Better Mess – LP, “Everybody Knows”, will follow soon after.

How are you staying positive during shelter in place?
With everything dangling in suspension, I’m just trying to take things one day at a time. We never know what may be coming next, and worrying about the unknown only distracts us from moving forward. Practicing self-care has been an essential part of maintaining my sanity. My mental health has always benefitted from remaining physically active, so I’ve made sure to build a fun and effective exercise regimen that I can sustain indoors. I also journal regularly to make sure I’m digesting everything that’s going on, not only in the world, but also in my personal life. And then, on top of that, making sure I do things I love like practicing, reading, baking, skincare. It’s okay to do things that bring a smile to your face, especially in times when it seems like everything is falling apart.

What is your motto in life?
“Fear causes hesitation and hesitation causes your worst fears to come true.” We spend so much time worrying about things that haven’t happened yet, that we end up hesitating and creating the exact outcomes we were fearful of in the first place. Instead, if we do things with a positive outlook, not debilitated by doubt, our results turn out to be very favorable. You’ll surprise yourself when you do things with confidence, when you remember there is no such thing as failure. They are simply learning experiences.

To learn more about Ashley Zarah, please follow her via the below platforms:
www.AshleyZarah.com
Twitter: ashzarah
Instagram: ashzarah
Facebook: Ashley Zarah Music

Ashley Zarah's Empowering And Fun Feminist Escapades