RUBA SHAMSHOUM

A riveting combination of dream pop, and Middle Eastern Jazz

Palestinian singer and musician Ruba Shamshoum has formed a truly unique harmony. Her lyrics tell riveting stories of femininity, vulnerability, and celebrate human connection to nature and one’s self. Born and raised in Nazareth, she moved to Ireland in 2015 to major in Jazz Performance at the Newpark Music Centre in Dublin. Settling there for the last five years, she has become an active part of the Irish jazz scene whilst simultaneously releasing songs that have topped the indie charts across the Middle East and North Africa.

As well as performing both solo and with her band, Ruba wrote the music for ‘When I Saw You’, the 2012 Palestinian entry for the Best Foreign Language Oscar and has performed at international festivals across Ireland, the UK and the Middle East. In 2016, Ruba gave a TED talk titled “Being Creative in a Society that Worships the Past”, hosted by the London Business School.

In May 2017, Ruba released her debut album “Shamat”’ (Beauty Spots), written and arranged by her. With each song on the album exploring different and complex shades of emotion, she intricately covers themes of identity, escapism, fear, and love. Ruba is currently working on an anticipated project in collaboration with producer Alev Lenz, creating songs that centre around voice and poetic lyrics, layered with colourful harmonies, live instruments and electronica.