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New album now available!

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Shameem’s new album is now available for purchase! This self-titled debut album features 10 brand new tracks written by Shameem, including one song co-written by Grammy-winning UK producer James Bryan.

This album brings together 18 months’ work of writing, performing, touring and experiencing that amazing thing called life. Driven by Shameem’s soulful, expressive voice and the strong rhythmic grooves of her band, the songs tell many different stories of hope, anguish, love, protest and growth – check out the lyrics and inspirations here.

Now available at the following stores:

Online stores

BandCamp – online download and physical CD
CD Baby – online download only
iTunes – online download only

Perth Record Stores

Fat Shan Records
Planet Video

“Keep ‘Em Shameem” – Drum Media article 17/11/11

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Local songstress Shameem Taheri-Lee and her band launch their debut LP this weekend, and Jackson Best finds out the goss.

You first caught people’s ears with the Universe for Afternoon Tea EP back in 2009. What’s been happening since Afternoon Tea? Playing lots of shows, and writing lots of songs! Earlier this year we did a big WA tour, which was challenging and exciting for the band. I also did a songwriting trip to London mid-year and scoped out the music scene while I was there, and played a few gigs too.
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“Shameem Taheri-Lee: Hey Soul Sister” – Xpress article 16/11/11

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Perth singer-songwriter Shameem Taheri-Lee is set to release her debut album this Saturday, November 19, at the Hyde Park Hotel. Shameem took her band to Soundbaker Studios to lay down 10 tracks of smooth soul-funk and R&B, an exciting follow up to her 2009 EP Universe for Afternoon Tea. PATRICK MARLBOROUGH chatted to Shameem about the album, her upcoming shows, and where her music fits in the Perth scene.

Born in Australia to a Chinese-Malaysian father and an Iranian mother, Shameem Taheri-Lee is an expressive musician who has been wowing crowds with her soulful voice. Over the phone, she is as infectious and calming as her music. She begins discussing the recording process of her new album.
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Radio Interview 6PR 13/11/11

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Radio Interview on 6PR with Paul Cook.

[audio:http://shameemmusic.com/wp-content/audio/6PR Paul Cook Nov 2011.wma]

Radio Interview RTR FM 12/11/11

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Radio Interview at RTR FM with Warren Kimble on the Saturday Jazz show.

[audio:http://shameemmusic.com/wp-content/audio/RTR FM Interview Warren Kimble.mp3]

Album Recording

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In Time – inspiration

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The lyrics for “In Time” are here.

This song was written late at night, not long before album was recorded. It is the most intuitive, raw track of the album, and was recorded in only two takes.

This song was inspired, in part, by a beautiful poem, shown below. It’s about the simultaneous ecstasy and torture of being in love with an invisible, incomprehensible God.

“This is Faith” – poem by Ruhiyyih Khanum

To walk where there is no path
To breathe where there is no air
To see where there is not light –
This is Faith.

To cry out in the silence,
The silence of the night,
And hearing no echo believe
And believe again and again –
This is Faith.

To hold pebbles and see jewels
To raise sticks and see forests
To smile with weeping eyes –
This is Faith.

To say: “God, I believe” when others deny,
“I hear” when there is no answer,
“I see” though naught is seen –
This is Faith.

And the fierce love in the heart,
The savage love that cries
“Hidden Thou art yet there!
Veil Thy face and mute Thy tongue
yet I see and hear Thee, Love,
Beat me down to the bare earth,
Yet I rise and love Thee, Love!”
This is Faith.

Strawberry – inspiration

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The lyrics for “Strawberry” are here.

I have a bright, red birthmark on my left eye. The curious and irritating questions when I was a kid, as well as cultural notions from some of my family members, gave me quite a negative attitude towards it, to the point where I was seeking to have it removed. But as I grew up, I decided that it was something that was unique about me, and that it should be treasured.

This song is about being proud of the things that make us all individually unique. It is inspired by my red birthmark, hence it’s title, “Strawberry”.

Parents and Children – inspiration

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The lyrics for “Parents and Children” are here.

There is a time in all of our lives when we realise that our parents are not perfect. Sometimes we can even be pitted into a role reversal situation where the child has to act like a parent to their own parents. I do volunteer work with a number of young people, and this is an interesting and challenging period that I see them navigate through.

Yin – inspiration

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The lyrics of “Yin” are here.

“The world of humanity has two wings — one is women and the other men. Not until both wings are equally developed can the bird fly.” –  ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, the Bahá’í Writings

This song portrays how it feels sometimes to be a woman in a man’s world, and how I hope that I, as a woman, can make a meaningful contribution to the world. It is in part inspired by my experience studying in a pre-dominantly male-attended university course!!