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Podcast interview with Mind & Soul Matters

I sat down with Farah from Mind and Soul Matters Podcast to chat about how music has helped me to navigate life’s challenges. It was such a lovely and refreshing interview to do; she asked very different questions to other interviewers haha 😆 in a good way! We had a great D&M 💖 For those who prefer to see our faces, here it is in film format, thanks to Baha’i Blog

Interview with A Baha’i Perspective

Here’s a little interview I did for the podcast A Baha’i Perspective. Doing the interview kind of felt like doing a gig without singing the songs 😆 … explaining the inspiration behind each of the songs as we went along, except that I’m a bit more direct in this interview about the source of the inspiration 🙂

The Music – Channeling The Facts Of Life Into Her Craft

Nice write up from an interview that I did with premier Aussie music blog, The Music, where I talk about the background to my new EP.

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Shameem Taheri-Lee tells Louis Costello of her band’s latest EP while addressing her ongoing efforts to hone in her craft.

Like anyone venturing closer to their 30s and further away from the acceptable age to make poor decisions under the guise of being ‘young and naive’, Shameem Taheri-Lee has felt the downward pull of adulthood. However unlike most of us, Taheri-Lee was able to channel that feeling and transform it into her band’s latest release, Time Does Not Reverse.

“The EP comes from a place of reaching my late 20s, feeling a bit jaded about a few things with my life, but still clinging to hope and optimism for the future,” Taheri-Lee explains, adding that, “The songs are in order from the least profound, to the socially conscious, to the most inspired.”

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Scenestr – Shameem’s Soulful, Solo Tour

I had a really nice chat with Brendan MacLean from Scenestr magazine about my solo tour, among other things.

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Often dubbed ‘Australia’s answer to Alicia Keys’, Shameem’s music blends soul and jazz stylings with personal stories and socially conscious lyrics.

The WA neo-soul songstress will be touring nationally throughout October. But this time, she’ll only be accompanied by her keyboard. “When you’re a self-managed muso you’re always trying to find ways to save money and touring solo’s much cheaper,” Shameem laughs.
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Baha’i Blog – The Second City: An Interview with Shameem

Mostly I’ve been featured on music blogs, but this time I was featured on Baha’i Blog! Check out my interview here.

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Over 12 years ago while visiting Perth, Australia, I met an amazing young Baha’i who was singing her heart out at the Baha’i Centre of Learning there. Her name was Shameem, and even though she was only in high school at the time, it was immediately clear that this enthusiastic and talented young singer, songwriter and musician was really going places with her music!

Now on her third album, and with a bunch of awards under her belt, Shameem continues to bless the stage and the airwaves with her wonderful soulful sound.

I recently caught up with Shameem again to find out more about her and her music:
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Newcastle Herald – Shameem: The journey of the soul to its goal

Another nice Newcastle write-up from Newcastle Herald this time…

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IT’S rare to have music that’s consistently upbeat. But in her latest album Second City, Perth artist Shameem is trying her best.

The singer-songwriter, full name Shameem Taheri-Lee, has had her soulful tracks compared to the likes of Alicia Keys. Since her latest record was released in January, she’s had scores of similarly positive feedback.

Shameem named the album after a favourite Persian poem of hers, The Seven Cities.

“It’s like a big analogy of the journey of the soul to its ultimate goal,” she says.
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Weekend Notes – Interview with Shameem

This is an awesome, humongous, fantastic write up from the popular blog Weekend Notes! It includes a cool live review of the Perth album launch show for The Second City.

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Wardrobe changes and wardrobe malfunctions have oft outshone music performances. If you sat back and thought of the key moments in pop history (who can forget Janet Jackson) no doubt Britney Spears, Madonna and perhaps even Alicia Keys might spring to mind. While these women move and shake their thang on a global scale, Perth soul songtress Shameem is keepin’ the wardrobe change alive and well on a local scale.
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That’s Entertainment (The Newcastle Post) – Putting her soul on line

Article published in The Newcastle Post.

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For Perth-based songstress Shameem, who has just released her stirring sophomore record Under One Sun after a relatively protracted period, the creative process is much like the miracle of childbirth.

“It’s such a relief to have the album out there and seeing it so well received,” Shameem told TE.
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The Brag and Beat Magazine – Shameem

This is a really nice write-up from The Brag, which was also published in Beat Magazine.

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Shameem’s new album, The Second City, is an uplifting and contemplative soul-pop record brimming with rich vocals, infectious R&B rhythms, jazz-infused melodies and spiritual undertones. It’s also filled with beautiful messages. For instance, her new single ‘Under One Sun’ is a heartfelt cry for unity between people of different races, ethnicities and religions.
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ABC Radio National – The Baha’i soul of Australian singer Shameem

I did a really enjoyable interview with Geoff Wood on ABC Radio National’s The Rhythm Divine, talking about the spiritual inspiration behind my music and lyrics. Here’s a little except from the program, which you can download in full here.

Geoff posted a neat little blurb about the show before it was aired, and did this beautiful write up afterwards that was featured on the ABC home page for a few hours.

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It reads like a film script—struggling musician posts demos online and gets interest from a Grammy-winning producer who offers to co-write her new single—but it’s what happened to young Perth-based Baha’i singer-songwriter Shameem, writes Geoff Wood.

‘It shows that MySpace isn’t completely dead,’ says Shameem, laughing as she recalls the day a Grammy-winning producer turned her life upside down.

‘I got this message on MySpace from James Bryan and I hadn’t heard of him. He’d actually found some demos that I’d done. He said, “I really love your voice and do you write your own music?”
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