Shani – Independently Breaking Her Own Ground
I have always admired pioneers, maybe because I’ve been trudging through the trenches trying to create my own place in the world, or maybe it’s because what seems so effortless is really one of the most daunting tasks, or maybe because there are so few “individualists” who actually succeed in breaking those barriers, and getting heard.
Well, Shani, a beautiful, and powerfully gifted talent, is who I might call a pioneer. Shani is a recording artist, actress, and producer, and she has recorded four albums. She has appeared in films, and is nominated for several Grammys this year with her newest CD entitled “At the Casbah.”
Imagine that you are a sweet young girl from Arkansas. Imagine you are pretty and sexy. Imagine entering a world where the proverbial “casting couch” is commonplace. Now imagine a salmon swimming upstream, but instead of preparing to lay her eggs and die, she plants her seeds, and actually reaps a harvest. Shani is that salmon. She recently won Best New Hot AC artist for New Music Weekly Awards, and her hit single “Destiny” is in the Top 10 Hot AC radio charts. Her hot new single “Get Somebody” is the Top 3 “Most Added” / Chart bound. Shani’s music has also been featured in the motion picture Crash, and she was a featured vocalist for The House of Sand and Fog and “Sony Playstation.”
I had never heard of Shani before. Since I am a jazz aficionada and Broadway enthusiast, her genre of music wasn’t my usual staple. But my curiosity was peaked when I was at the Independent Music Network (located in Studio City, California), where I met the publicist, Debi Fee. Debi told me a little about the rising star, so we set up a meeting at the local Starbucks. During that brief “meet and greet,” Shani exceeded my expectations. She was incredible!
I later met Shani at her home in Studio City. Just as I had expected, her home was decorated exquisitely—all her own doing, of course. (After meeting her, I wouldn’t have expected anything less). Shani was a gracious host, and she, along with her three well-groomed dogs, met me at the door. We chatted for at least an hour before I had even set up for her interview, during which she spoke candidly about her experiences as an independent artist.
Shani has successfully combined today’s hip-hop sound with polyphonic beats and Eastern modes and instruments. Shani’s music has layers, and with each listen, it grows on you more and more.
Shani’s music reminded me of Omar Sharif’s Laurence of Arabia and those sweeping epics that were made 60 years or so ago. If I closed my eyes while listening, I saw sand dunes and Middle Eastern princes riding their camels, and I thought about the big movie studios that had signed actors and actresses like Rudolph Valentino, Humphrey Bogart, and Lauren Bacall.
“There are a lot of things that I’m dabbling in today, which are helping me to push the envelope. My new CD is called “At the Casbah,” which is a little bit of an exotic title. I tend to use exotic instruments and world music melodies. It’s also a hybrid of other musical styles. It has hints of R&B, jazz, and hip-hop. It’s sort of a thematic concept record in that it takes you through a musical journey, almost like theater in a way.”
First and foremost, Shani is a writer. She writes her own music and lyrics, and loves to collaborate with other writers. On her current project, there are a lot of featured writers. She never set out to be a producer, but she really wanted to get her vision realized.
“Lyrically, I wanted to tell a story. It’s like soundscapes. For me the transitions of the songs, and while putting the order of the songs together, there needed to be a flow. Where you start
and where you end are completely different places. Hopefully you’ll go through this big ride once you sit and listen to the CD for an hour. That was my intent anyway. It’s bizarre to be in the ‘swinger’ era, and then all of a sudden you’re in modern day hip-hop. But it works.”
When Shani was a child, her father had introduced her to rhythm early. He was a drummer and had a huge record collection ranging from Stevie Wonder to Diana Ross.
“ I liked singers who didn’t show off vocally, but knew how to interpret songs. Sting was a big influence, and Prince was too. I think I zeroed in on Prince because here was a guy from Minneapolis, playing rock guitar with a Beatlesque influence, and then he goes into this funk zone. There were elements of jazz too. I loved his records because they had such a mixture of styles. What came out of Prince was this unique, very unpredictable presence. It wasn’t one of those records where all ten songs sounded alike. I loved that about Prince, and I always felt like I got my money’s worth. So for a young writer, that was a big wake-up call. It was okay to venture out and try new things. The hardest part was getting the business people you are working with, to understand that as an artistic statement.”
When Shani moved to Los Angeles, she was exposed to Middle Eastern influences. She knew instantly that those influences would become a big part of what she did. She immersed herself in that culture and learned the intricacies of Middle Eastern music. She has worked hard to bring that to a Western audience. This was very difficult without the support of the industry.
“At first, nobody got it. I was constantly going back to the drawing board, and trying to improve upon my formula. As a result, each one of my albums sounds a little bit different.”
Shani sings in three languages: English, Farsi, and Spanish. To Shani, her music is very pop, but she admits that for an industry person working in a pop field, it was very left of center.
“A lot of times when people think of world music, they think very serious, solo instruments, and people sitting on the floor playing traditional instruments. Inside of world music, there are a lot of layers. To me, my records are pop, but the industry doesn’t really look at it that way.”
The natural evolution of Shani’s sound is obvious when you listen to each one of her albums: “Undercurrent,” “Call of the Wild,” “Velvet,” and the completion of the Middle Eastern/Western cycle is most apparent in her latest album “At the Casbah.”
“Surviving in this industry as a female has been one of my biggest challenges. Being a female who is not afraid to be a female, for example, I am not downplaying my femininity. Back in the 90s, there was a movement of female singer/songwriters—not that they weren’t feminine––but I think of artists like Alanis Morrisette. When she came onto the scene, she had this very intense, almost angry angst. When you see her now, she’s actually quite feminine and soft. And not that musically you can’t have that range, but I personally believe that was by choice. Because it’s very hard to be feminine and soft, and also be taken seriously.
“I went to a party with a guy I work with, and we were meeting someone new, and a question came up about the album. It was interesting to watch the eye contact of the person going to him. The new guy asked, ‘Oh, so how long did it take you guys to record?’ and I would answer, and his eyes would have to go back to me. This went on for a couple of minutes until finally my male friend said, ‘I didn’t do anything on the record. She produced it.’ I thought how interesting, that there’s just an automatic assumption that I’m just the singer. Somebody finds my songs, puts it all together, and I just show up in the end. That always irks me. You don’t hear people questioning that with men at all.”
Shani attended junior college and studied architecture, psychology, and art history. Her experiences with those subjects seem to affect her music. These influences are elements that keep you listening. These, along with polished arrangements, clever lyrics, and a pleasing voice, are what make her music work.
What inspires Shani’s lyrics? It could be a trip to Italy or the plight of her friends or even her training as an actress. She states that while studying acting, she has to be in touch with her feelings at all times, and this plays a big role in her songwriting.
“My influences early on in songwriting were ‘show me don’t tell me.’ It’s almost like channeling and writing in a metaphorical way. There are other ways to say I love you. I learned to open up and hear dialog that could say the same thing without being so blatant.”
Shani always knew that she would be in front of the camera. She started acting when she was only four. When she came to Los Angeles, she immediately got an agent, and her manager was adamant about training.
“This is where I learned about layers. In actuality, all you’re really doing is peeling away the layers to get down to what’s really real. I went through a few years of training while also touring. Eventually people knew me from my music, and began offering me projects in films, and this ultimately led me to producing. Why I keep adding more things to my plate, I’ll never know. But it makes for a very interesting ride.”
So what is Shani’s secret? Hard work, determination, and a constant presence. She never gives up. She is constantly educating herself and perfecting her craft. Maybe that is why she’s climbing the charts and winning awards at such a rapid pace. Shani is not only a pop personality in the Middle East, but this young lady from Arkansas continues to beat the odds; but she is helping to bridge the gap between Middle Eastern music and the Western world.
Shani has proven to the world that there is nothing substandard about being an independent artist.
“At the Casbah” is scheduled to release early this year. To learn more about Shani, visit www.shanimusic.com.
Written by Kaylene Peoples
