Deeyah Thathaal (placeholder)

DEEYAH DISCORAPHY

- Deeyah appears as Deepika Thathaal on Anders Wyller’s: Fathers Land 1991

- Deeyah appears as Deepika Thathaal on Jan Garbarek/Ustad Fateh Ali Khan ‘Ragas And Sagas’ in 1990

- Deeyah appears as Deepika Thathaal on ‘The Sweet Sunny North: Henry Kaiser and David Lindley in Norway’ in 1994.

- ‘I Alt Slags Lys’ (In All Kinds Of Light) debut solo album released under Deepika Thathaal 1992

- Deeyah 2nd solo album self titled album ‘Deepika’ released in 1996 under her birth name Deepika Thathaal.

- Deeyah appears on Paul Oakenfold’s Perfecto Chills in 2004.

- Deeyah UK only CD single ‘Plan Of My Own’ released in 2005

ARTIST BIO:

Enigmatic, intelligent and beautiful, Deeyah is a truly international artist with global star appeal. A singer, composer and director Deeyah is a versatile artist and a passionate human rights activist.

Deeyah was born and raised in Norway, to Muslim immigrant parents (her mothers heritage is Iranian and Afghan and her father is Pakistani). Deeyah now divides her time between the UK and the US where she has been writing and recording her eagerly anticipated first international album. Deeyahs musical style bridges the boundaries of languages as well as musical genres by bringing together her rich cultural and musical heritage with the influences of pop culture.

Living in Scandinavia she grew up with pop. She admired Madonna, Michael Jackson and Prince. Later she developed a taste for rock as well as hip-hop. I love A Tribe Called Quest, Dre, Cypress Hill, Above the Law and Tha Alkaholiks as well as Rage Against The Machine, Black Sabbath, Faith No More, and Alice In Chains. All these acts have a big impact on my musical taste and a great influence on my own musical expression.

Immersed in music from an early age, Deeyah trained within the Indian classical vocal tradition for more than fourteen years and had the rare privilege of being the only female ever to be trained by Ustad Fateh Ali Khan and one of very few females to be trained by Ustad Sultan Khan. In her native Norway, Deeyah has already released two critically acclaimed albums under her birth name Deepika. From an early age Deeyahs unique musical abilities have captured the attention of world renowned musicians, artists as well as legendary music industry veterans which has given her the opportunity to collaborate with such greats as her teachers Ustad Fateh Ali Khan and Ustad Sultan Khan, as well as Shaukat Hussain Khan, Jan Garbarek, David Lindley, Nana Vasconcelos, Talvin Singh, Guy Sigsworth, Zakir Hussain, Don Cherry, Martin Ware, Adrian Sherwood, A.R. Rehman, Rick Nowels, Billy Steinberg and Knut Reiersrud, Steven Fargnoli, Roy Eldridge, and Rob Dickens.

Although Deeyahs musical accomplishments are impressive, a dark shadow has always followed her from the very beginnings of her career. Being from a Muslim family and having chosen music as her profession Deeyah has had to dodge bullets of criticism her whole life. After years of suffering in silence, and having to endure constant intimidation, physical threats and even being attacked at one of her own concerts as well as a failed abduction attempt from her school grounds, Deeyah left Norway in 1996. When the symptoms of the same problem she had fled from in Norway resurfaced in the UK in early 2005, Deeyah once again packed her bags and left for the safety of the United States. Tired of running and protecting the image of conservative segments within her community, Deeyah finally made the first step towards reclaiming her life. Out of the years of anger, sadness and frustration, her most controversial song and video to date What Will It Be? was born. What Will It Be? features L.A. rapper Young MayLay (the voice and model for the lead character in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas)

Despite the continuous abuse and death threats, Deeyah remains defiant against prejudice and discrimination on all levels—especially towards women. This seems to be why this amazing artist’s career seems to start and stop on a dime, says one London journalist. The minute we get a chance to hear her brilliant tracks, the religious and political backlash seems to materialize and shadow her every move. This is truly a shame and a loss. Deeyah is one artist that is really worth watching.”

Breaking the vicious cycle of silence Deeyah now reflects social, political and personal views through her lyrics and music on her forthcoming album.

Her chief collaborator on the new album is acclaimed producer Darin Prindle who has worked with Sinead O’ Connor, Madonna, Fishbone, Cypress Hill, The Isley Brothers and TLC. According to Darin, “Deeyahs Classical background allows Deeyah a singular perspective on music and adds another facet to her unique musical identity. She is a star in every sense of the word. She has talent, drive, beauty and most of all, intelligence which you must have in order to stay at the top once you get there.”

Deeyah also features on a remix of the hit Bone Crusher single, “Never Scared’ which topped major UK Asian request charts.

Deeyah’s first single, the double A-side “Plan of My Own”/”I Saw You” was released in the UK by Brainwash Records on January 31, 2005 and received heavy spins in clubs around the world reaching ..1 on The Box, ..5 in the UK Dance chart and ..37 in the UK top 40 chart. Deeyah’s second single “What Will It Be?” is causing a stir by boldly addressing women’s rights and other socially taboo topics in the Muslim world. It has received major support on some networks for its stance while being banned outright by other stations after they were bombarded by hate-mail and threats. Despite this, What Will It Be reached ..14 on the UK dance charts.

Deeyah contributes more than just mere music to the cause of women’s rights. She is a patron of ASHRAM, a women’s shelter in Birmingham, UK where she contributes her time and support to its victims.

For more information, please log on to www.deeyah.com