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Scenestr – Finding Your Soul With Shameem

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Had a really nice chat with Scenestr magazine, here’s the piece…

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Last Friday, Perth soul songstress Shameem released her new album, ‘The Second City’.

After a successful launch at the weekend at the Subiaco Arts Centre in Perth, Shameem will soon be packing her bags for an extensive east coast trip. But before she hits the open road, we managed to corner her with the following Q&A.

Your first single of your new album ‘The Second City’ entitled ‘Under One Sun’ is about spreading the spiritual message about how we all descended from the same gene pool. How did this song come into being?
Well, I was invited by James Bryan, who is an awesome producer and has worked with Nelly Furtado and James Morrison among others, to go to the UK where he is based and do some songwriting with him. He had come across my music by discovering some demos that I had put up on MySpace, of all places! So I travelled to the UK and spent a couple of days in his studio co-writing with him. ‘Under One Sun’ is the first song that we wrote together. I had already come up with the concept for the chorus, and together we refined it and fleshed out the rest of the song. He was really behind the message of the song too, so it came out really naturally.
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Howl & Echoes – Shameem’s new single, album and tour!

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Awesome review of the album by Howl & Echoes; another blog piece citing “Under One Sun” in relation to the Sydney siege.

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Native Perth songstress Shameem has released her debut album, alongside a string of dates around the country to showcase her new stuff. She likewise dropped her second single Under One Sun, which although unintentional, is a comfort after the events of the Sydney siege.
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iZRA – Shameem

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iZRA is an online magazine for kids ages 10+, and here’s a Q&A that I did with them.

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Socially conscious Perth soul songstress, Shameem has announced the release of her new single, Under One Sun and new album, The Second City set for release on January 16. Here she chats with us about the writing process and her creative collaboration.

1. What was it like working with Grammy-winning UK-based producer, James Bryan, (Nelly Furtado, Olly Murs, James Morrison), to co-write this single?: Well, it was my first big co-writing experience, so it was a really different approach to be bouncing ideas with someone else instead of just bouncing ideas around in my own head. I learnt a lot from working with James; he had a very clear idea about what things would work and what wouldn’t work in a song, so I would fire ideas at him and he would be like “yes… no… hmmm, try that again, but with a different lyric?” and really channel the direction of my creativity.
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Sounds of Oz – Shameem sends important message with “Under One Sun”

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I was so moved when I saw this piece from Sounds of Oz about “Under One Sun”, referencing the Sydney siege and the need for coming together despite our differences.

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I haven’t written in here about the Sydney siege. At the time it was all unfolding, I was a bit conflicted actually. This is a music blog, not a political or news outlet. Was it my place? And if I should write about it, what should I write?
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“Under One Sun” live at The Basement, Canberra

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Here’s a little snapshot of our performance at The Basement, Canberra… pumping out “Under One Sun”! (click on the title of this post if you can’t see the video window)

Sydney Morning Herald Online – Soul singer Shameem brings worldly, unique voice to entertain

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So chuffed about this fantastic article in the Sydney Morning Herald online. The same article was also published in The Canberra Times and The Brisbane Times.

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Born and bred in Perth to a Chinese-Malaysian father and an Iranian mother, Shameem’s voice is as unique and worldly as her upbringing.

“My first memory of music is Michael Jackson,” she says through a chuckle. “My mum really liked him, she has a love for pop music. Also I have memories of my grandmother chanting prayers around the house.”
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SoulBounce – Walk With Shameem ‘Under One Sun’

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Great little review of the “Under One Sun” music video by SoulBounce.com.

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It’s a little gloomy outside today in my neck of the woods, but Shameem‘s video for “Under One Sun” has truly brought in the light. The Australian singer/songwriter, (who co-wrote the track with GRAMMY-winning producer, James Bryan) is spreading love and good cheer, but without a holiday motif in sight in her latest single’s visual, as she strolls through a paper cut-out world that looks straight out of a children’s pop-up book — and feels much more like the sweetness of springtime than blustery winter, as far as Shameem’s flourishing skirt is concerned.
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The West Australian – Shameem takes spirited approach

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Got this amazing write up in The West Australian! Woohoo! Scroll down for full article.

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Music can change the world because it changes people. Local songstress Shameem Taheri-Lee hope hers does exactly that. Born in Australia to a Chinese-Malaysian father and an Iranian mother, the bubbly Perth vocalist and songwriter, who performs under her first name, enchants audiences with heartfelt personal stories and imbues her songs with a spiritual influence.
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Spreading The Seed – #SongOfTheDay

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So chuffed that Spreading theSeed made “Under One Sun” the #SongoftheDay on 10 December!

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Under One Sun – inspiration

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The lyrics for “Under One Sun” are here.

Scientists have discovered that every single human being on the planet shares 99.9% of their genes with every other human. In other words, we are 99.9% genetically the same as everyone else, and only 0.1% different. Through genetic research, scientists have also concluded that we are all descended from a common ancestor who lived in Africa some 200,000 years ago. So we are literally all related to each other, by blood.

Even before I learnt these scientific concepts regarding evolution and DNA, I was a believer in the oneness of humanity from a spiritual point of view. In the Baha’i Writings, it says: “O CHILDREN OF MEN! Know ye not why We created you all from the same dust? That no one should exalt himself over the other. Ponder at all times in your hearts how ye were created. Since We have created you all from one same substance it is incumbent on you to be even as one soul, to walk with the same feet, eat with the same mouth and dwell in the same land, that from your inmost being, by your deeds and actions, the signs of oneness and the essence of detachment may be made manifest.”

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 Painting by Phil Doncon.

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