Ahmad Naboulsi

Ahmad Naboulsi is a singer-songwriter trying to balance school and his music career at the same time. A social relations and policy junior, Naboulsi’s music incorporates guitar melodies with a blend of emo influences. Today marks the release of his first self-titled EP. Naboulsi will be playing a show at 8 p.m. tonight at (SCENE) Metrospace, 110 Charles St., with other artists in celebration of the album.

The State News: What is the inspiration behind your music?

Ahmad Naboulsi: I guess lots of different things (like) school, friends, parents, girls, absence of girls — really anything. I kind of like to write songs about things that are in some way a little bit real, or at least mostly real. I always try to take advantage of the fact that I know a lot of really weird people, so it helps for writing songs I guess. Sometimes you think about a certain thing or a certain person when you start, but by the end of the song you’ve completely changed the intent or the tone of the song. … The third song, “Racing the Sun” is about feeling really disillusioned with East Lansing and school and this constant urge to want to be somewhere else, because that’s the obvious solution to things going wrong in your life.

SN: How would you describe your music?

AN: It’s difficult being a singer-songwriter because the options you have are automatically decreased. I just like to say that it’s acoustic music and that it’s not rap. I guess it’s better to say that my influences are mainly from mid ’90s or late ’80s emo and post-hardcore. I think some of that maybe comes through in my music, but I don’t think what I do really sounds like that. So, hopefully it’s not too similar.

SN: Who do you try to reach with your music?

AN: Really anybody. I guess I don’t really think of a target audience whenever I write. Mostly, I just write to create something that I enjoy and that I think is worth recording. Or even showing (it) to people, and then I guess whoever listens ends up listening. So, that’s always nice.

SN: Is it hard balancing your music career with school?

A:N Yeah, that’s actually really hard. That’s been the biggest battle since I’ve started really doing music at all. … If you’re really passionate about a lot of different things, it’s kind of hard to find a medium. In terms of the writing process itself, as long as I have access to a guitar and my computer, I (can) just write on the fly. Actually creating a product to showcase is a lot more difficult.

SN: What drew you to music?

AN: A lack of interest in anything else, for the most part. I tried everything when I was younger. … Once I got into high school, I started meeting a lot of people that were also interested in music. So that helped me to find more people that shared an interest, and that makes it easier to want to do something.

SN: Are you nervous for the release of the EP?

AN: Yeah, a little bit. This is like the first formal release that I have been a part of since my band in high school. It’s kind of a nerve-wracking experience because you want it to be really, really good, but you know there’s only so much that you can do especially given the amount of time. It’s kind of hard to take it down a notch and make sure that you just provide a good performance as opposed to a spectacular, off-the-wall performance. - The State News/ Lansing Lowdown