Biography 2022
Tania Saleh is a singer/songwriter/visual artist born in Lebanon in 1969. She is considered one of the pioneers of the Arab alternative music scene.
Her first single, "Ozone" was released in 1997. Since then, she started experimenting with different forms of artistic expression (musically, lyrically and visually). Not only did she write almost all her original songs, she was also keen on reviving the Lebanese and Arab traditional musical and poetic heritage to make it accessible to the new generations.
Her collaborations are very eclectic: Ziad Rahbani, Toufic Farroukh, Chinese Man Records, Ibrahim Maalouf, Charbel Rouhana, Rayess Bek, Khaled Mouzannar, RZA, Nile Rodgers, Anneli Drecker, Lisa Nordstrôm, Hazem Chahine, Lina Nyberg, Kjetil Bjerkestrand, Knut Reiersrud, Bugge Wesseltoft, Øyvind Kristiansen, Kari Bremnes, Terry Evans, Joumana Haddad, Alaa Wardi, Sabrine Jenhani, Emel Methlouthi...
Since 1997, she has released 5 studio albums and two live albums: "Tania Saleh” 2002, “Wehde” 2011, “Live at DRM” 2012, “A Few Images” 2014, “Intersection” 2017, “Live in Barcelona” live EP 2019 and “10 A.D.” 2021. She also released 10 singles: “Ozone” 1997, “Ya Ghosna Naqa” 2004, “Slow Down” 2006, “The Rooster’s Wedding” 2007, “Ya Baalback” 2015, “Show Me the Way-Remix” 2020, “Ya Reit” 2020, “Out of Sight” 2020, “From Me and You” featuring Zãy, and “Sakakeen” 2022.
She wrote the song lyrics and coached the singers in two of Lebanese director Nadine Labaki’s feature films “Caramel” (2007) and “Where Do We Go Now?” (2011). She co-wrote the title song of Lebanese director Philip Araktinji’s film “Heritages” (2014). Her songs appeared in various film and series soundtracks including the animated film “Black Is Beltza 2” directed by Fermin Mugurusa. She has written songs for other female singers like Abeer Nehme, Rasha Rizk and Natasha Atlas.
Many of her songs have been used in various television and radio programs, online journals and film soundtracks worldwide. She was featured as one of the main Arab artists in the Al Jazeera-produced film series “Next Music Station” directed by Fermin Mugurusa and in the PBS-produced film “Dissonance and Harmony/Arab Music Goes West” directed by Jon Brandeis and produced by Miles Copeland.
She is featured in compilation albums around the world including: "Matteo & Bro" (Chinese Man Records, France), “Black Is Beltza 2” (Fermin Muguruza-Elkar, Basque Country), “Acoustic Women” (Putumayo-USA), “Songs From a Stolen Spring” (Norway/USA), “Bagdad Heavy Metal” & “Desert Roses 5” (USA), “Radio Beirut” (Galileo, Germany), “Sunset in Mykonos”, “Sunset in Marrakesh” & “La Fleur Orientale” (Turkey).
In 2022, she was featured in the single, “Sakakeen” produced by the French label Chinese Man Records and was invited to perform at the Education Pre-Summit at the UNESCO premises in Paris, France.
Her last two studio albums “10 A.D.” 2021 and “Intersection” 2018 have won the German Record Critics’ Award in the “World Music” category.
Her last three studio albums were co-produced by the Norwegian label KKV.
In 2020, she was invited to perform at the opening ceremony of Al Gouna Film Festival in Egypt.
In 2019, she was chosen to be a member of the jury at Carthage Music Festival in Tunisia.
In 2018, she received the «Lifetime Achievement Award» from the Lebanese American University of Beirut. (LAU)
In 2014, she was chosen by The Baalbeck International Festival to perform at the temple of Bacchus and by Lebanese trumpet player and composer Ibrahim Maalouf to perform with him as a guest at the Byblos International Festival the same year.
Tania performed live in various venues of the world including the UNESCO premises (France), Dubai Expo 2020 (UAE), The Barbican Centre & Liverpool Philharmonic (UK), La Mercè Festival (Barcelona), The Roxy & Arlington Festival (USA), Institut du Monde Arabe (France), The Nobel Peace Center and Oslo World Music Festival (Norway), Cairo Opera House, Bibliotheca Alexandria, Saladin Fortress, AUC (Egypt), Malmö Festivalen, Stockholm Kulturfestival, Kulturhuset Stadsteatern & Stallet (Sweden).
She has collaborated in musical and artistic workshops and residencies in Egypt, France, USA, Norway, Sweden, Germany, Kuwait, UAE, Switzerland and Lebanon.