Farah Zala
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Farah Zala

Mount Prospect, Illinois, United States

Mount Prospect, Illinois, United States
Band Pop R&B

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This band has not uploaded any videos

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"Unsigned Artist Search"

FARAH ZALA
Unsigned Artist Critique
Musicality
From the very first note, it is clear that Farah Zala has talent. Her voice is excellent; her lyrics are creative and the instrumentation of the band works really well together.

Creativity & Originality
Farah is a great songwriter. Her sound is unique and very creative. �Rainbow Over the Moon� is filled with descriptive metaphors and �Pain of Love� is an emotionally-driven love song hidden behind a sultry production that resembles that of Fiona Apple.

Marketability
Farah Zala is very marketable. She has a fresh, modern sound that would do very well in a national market and on radio. Additionally, Farah has a great look, which would fare well in print and on stage. We recommend more recordings and a rewritten bio. Excellent work � keep it up!!
- CNC Music Productions


"Chicago Music Guide"



Farah Zala
"Twist of Fate"
By: Dennis M. Kelly

Review of Farah Zala’s album “Twist of Fate�

Inspirational, Emotional and Magical, are just some words that come to mind when listening to “Twist of Fate� by Suburban performer, Farah Zala.

Farah commands your attention with powerful vocals that are articulate as well as beautiful. By creating a blend of soul and emotion, her voice can lift your spirit to a place of joy and contentment no matter what is going on in your life.

By far, the strongest track for me is “Rainbow Over the Moon� which includes a sultry saxophone that accompanies her through her most impressive work on the album.

Another couple songs worth noting are “Pain of Love� which effectively captures the intensity of raw emotions and “Rapture� which reminds us how we can live in a world of rapture if we’d only open our eyes to the starving children of the world and start to make a difference.

Musically, Farah demonstrates her wide range in styles from Rock, R&B, Pop, World and Jazz. All the music on the album is well produced; nice guitar-work, good beats and the saxophone really adds a nice touch.

Lyrically, Farah sings of positive subjects or subjects designed to motivate you toward positive actions, but she never gets preachy at any point.

All in all, I would highly recommend her album for your collection and I personally am anxious to hear more material from her one day soon. For more information on Farah, please visit her site at www.farahzala.com

5 out of 5 stars
Dennis M. Kelly - Dennis Kelly


"www.Rehearsals.com"

A 'Twist of Fate' is a stroke of luck for Farah Zala
By Doug Miller

· Visit Farah Zala's official Web site

For an unsigned singer who's been yearning for a chance at the big-time, a recent day at the famed CenterStaging complex in Burbank, Calif., was a huge milestone for Farah Zala.

Zala, the Vancouver, B.C.-bred pop-jazz-R&B chanteuse, brought her smooth voice and sultry songs to the state-of-the-art facility for a day of rehearsing and interviews, with all of it filmed in high-definition for broadcast on CenterStaging's ground-breaking, behind-the-scenes Web site, rehearsals.com.

Right away, she was more than impressed by the stable of session talent recruited to play as her band: guitarist Ben Mauro, who has worked with Lionel Richie for years, veteran touring bassist Sean McNabb, musical director and keyboard player David Garfield, and drummer Chase Porcaro Duddy.

"This is the first time I've met this band before," Zala said. "And they’re so outstanding that I really didn't feel like I had never met them before. I felt like I've been with them all my life. They're so experienced and so talented. They were able to judge me and give me critique and give me guidance when I needed it. They picked up me as if we're long-time buddies."

The chemistry was evident throughout a set of songs from her debut album, Twist Of Fate, all of which display her varied influences, one of which was never very far away.

"My musical roots come from my mom," Zala said. "My mom is an Indian singer, and she is my 100 percent influence into music in general. She gave me all the inspiration when I was young. And then, as I got older, I started developing more styles. But I wasn't introduced to English music or Western music until much later in my life.

"So I really had to base everything off my mom and her style of singing, and I didn't understand the language, so I just developed a style of my own. And then I got introduced to Whitney Houston and Mariah Carey and artists like that. And then I sort of developed my own style."

That style evolved once Zala began listening to female singers throughout the music register – she credits Aretha Franklin, Etta James, Billie Holiday, Nina Simone and Janis Joplin from the past and Beth Hart, Alicia Keys, Christina Aguilera, Nikka Costa, Imogen Heap and Hayley Gene from the present, to name a few.

And with Twist Of Fate, she’s carving her own niche with a jazzy sound that borders on world beat but also contains enough urban elements to keep it fresh and unique.

One of the songs she performed for rehearsals.com, "Spell," was described by Zala as having "a very pop, sort of Latin feel to it."

"Looking For A Way," originally done by the band Crystal Mansion, was a heavily orchestrated number that Zala wanted to give "more of an R&B feel."

Zala said "Pain Of Love" was created when she took the completed musical arrangement to a library, where she wrote the lyrics.

"That's what my writing process was," Zala said. "And I initially wanted the song to be very bluesy, really, really bluesy because I am very influenced by blues music."

Zala described the song as "very much a forbidden love for me."

"It'’s a very agonizing song," she continued. "This whole CD was very much a process of my life and things that I've gone through in my life, and that song really brought to the table the loves that I've had in my life and the losses that I've had in my life. I wanted it to be very agonizing and, just as blues is very passionate, I wanted that song to have those elements."

And then there was "Speak," which Zala had only written a few weeks before her CenterStaging showcase.

With some of her musical heroes working the day away in soundstages right near where she was performing, Zala admitted that it was somewhat hard to believe how far she'd come to get to where she was.

"It is very much a fairy tale," Zala said. "This is an incredible, incredible experience. I don't know if I'm allowed to drop names but next door to me is Janet Jackson! This is, like, insane.

"And then next door to me on the other side is, um, I don't know, Christina Aguilera. And these are all people that I listen to and I in awe of, and I get so much inspiration and so much drive from this that this is ... it's truly incredible." - Doug Miller


"Chosen through Sonicbids!"

So stoked and totally ecstatic to perform September 16th, 2005 and other times and dates TBA. - 2005 Temecula Valley Film and Music Festival


"Wearelistening.com"

"Wonderful vocal control, tone and confidence. Your ability to execute fast vibrato is a real turn on for my ears. I am very impressed. "Rainbow Over The Moon" is a beautiful song. Your performance on all three tracks are great." - Lior Shamir


"The WOW Factor"

The WOW Factor

The ability to truly move your listener is a subtle one and probably innate. There is no formula and of course, every ear tunes in at a different frequency. As such, we are all moved by that which ultimately resonates in our hearts; moved because it reminds us, takes us away or introduces something completely new to our palette.

I visit the SonicBids Community regularly. I make a point of doing so, not to scout but just to listen. I have noticed that some artists, in spite of their musical genre, receive praise from all walks of life; comments such as �This is not my bag but man, you sound great!� or �I am not familiar with your genre but you sound really good to me!�

Do these artists have the wow factor? They are attracting positive feedback from many and yet their music is often catering to a very particular taste. I don�t know the answer. Instead, I thought I would share the EPKs that have caught my attention and dare I say, have �wowed� me. I can�t speak for everyone at We Are Listening but in my humble opinion, the following songs are powerful for different reasons. What do you think?



�Rainbow over the Moon� by Farah Zala
�because of the voice
http://www.sonicbids.com/FarahZala2


Lior Shamir
Managing Director
We Are Listening
http://www.wearelistening.org
- Lior Shamir Wearelistening.com


"The WOW Factor"

I listened to Farah and I dig her singing. I also like parts of the sound: the open, spacious ambience (things have gotten so DRY recently) and gotta love that sax. She or her producer should feel more confident with what they've got and skip the stuff like the backwards sounds that to me distract me from the beautiful sparseness. Ditto the chorusy effect on her voice. I just wanna hear that sweet voice au natural!

Steve Sklar/Big Sky - www.sonicbids.com/BigSkyRocks


"www.musicbc.org"

"I just listened to your tracks and I must say, your vocals and lyrics are very powerful. Once again, the songs sound great! Keep up the good work!
Best Regards,
Nathan Stafford
Music BC Database Coordinator" - Nathan Stafford


"UNSIGNED Music Magazine through SonicBids"

ou have been selected to appear in a future issue of UNSIGNED's review section "New Style". - Ian Cole UNSIGNED Artist Liason


Discography

Pakistan Film Soundtrack " In the Name of GOD" Song "Bandaya Ho" Director Shoaib Mansoor

Debut CD "Twist Of Fate"
Temecula Valley International Music and Film Festival Compilation CD

www.myspace.com/farahzala
www.famecast.com/farahzala
www.farahzala.com

Photos

Bio

This project is a fusion of organic sounds, soaring guitars, image provoking emotionally charged lyrics and a voice that steals your innocence, hypnotizes your senses and gives you reverence all at the same time.

From the very beginning music has been a part of her realm. Her talent is inherited from her mother who is an East African/Indian Spiritual Folk singer/songwriter. Born and raised in Vancouver, BC Canada, Farah observed the magic of music from an early age but shied away from the kingdom of music her mother performed in whilst remaining oblivious to styles of music that were readily rotating in the world around her.

You could hear her voice, untamed and immature reciting hymns with no precedent to traditions, often being dragged off the temple podium for being too wild! She sang with a different swagger and added elements of distinction heard in her music today.

“I wasn’t versed in music, all I knew was Whitney Houston, Mariah Carey, Michael and Janet Jackson, Madonna of course! I wasn’t aware of the music I was missing until I really started to listen and free myself from inhibition. I was discovering myself entirely with my senses…good and bad. Every adolescent revolution, whether it was rebellion or transformation, every annoyance and every lasting memory had a dedicated song. My memories are listening to mix tapes stolen from my sister and friends and playing those tapes on my answering machine and preparing a gymnastics routine for P.E. It was a very interesting time in my life…I never knew what the possibilities were, that I could make my future anything I wanted. I suspect my parents got scared of my perversity so they let me go to discover the world."

I moved to Chicago to become a singer."

With no formal training in music, no vocal coach and no musical theory she blossomed into what is now considered a voice with power and passion.

Since the release of her debut album "Twist of Fate", Farah has independently promoted her album by opening for various local bands, appearing as a special guest for charity events, showcasing in open mics (six nights a week), booking weekly and monthly spots at internationally acclaimed venues (Underground Wonder Bar, Abbey Pub, Kingston Mines) by winninig talent contests and continually promoting her music and creating new music for an upcoming album project.

Farah recently was selected to rehearse and showcase her music for industry moguls at the famous Center Staging facility in Burbank, CA. This opportunity focused on emerging artists, legends, up and coming bands and touring bands contributing to music culture from past to the present. Farah was selected and placed in the "Emerging Artist" section of Rehearsals.com and was featured beside Norah Jones and Taylor Hicks.

Farah is currently focusing on writing, recording and performing out new material in Chicago with various musicians.

"I'm out almost every night working on music, whether singing, or writing or jammin at the studio...so, if you're ever in Chicago and want to hear some cool live music, just look me up at www.myspace.com/farahzala. I try to keep it updated!"