Shab: “Growing up during the Iran-Iraq war, we insulated ourselves with music"

It’s a very Dublin day, cold and soft, with drizzle falling, when I step into the lobby of the Herbert Park Hotel to meet rising star Shab. The singer is Persian, having grown up in Iran in the ’70s as the daughter of a petroleum executive.

However, this life of privilege was turned upside down with the Iranian revolution, as a result of which Shab lived as a refugee in Turkey, and then Germany. She subsequently relocated to Baltimore in the US, where she was reunited with her family after four years of separation.

Back in 1979, when the Pahlavi dynasty was replaced by the present-day Islamic Republic of Iran, Shab’s day-to-day life began to change, and it became mandatory for girls to wear the veil in public.  “I didn’t like wearing the veil,” she says. “I would come home from school in first grade and I would throw the veil".

"When I left Iran, I was nine-years-old. I went to Ankara first and waited for my paperwork to come through, and then I went to Germany for almost three-and-a-half years. We escaped that way. While I was in Germany, my sister was my guardian. My mom was in the US. I didn’t see my mom for almost four years.”

This wasn’t any normal four years of separation. It was the four years between 10-14, a time of huge change and turbulence in a young person’s life. And it didn’t get much easier when Shab moved to Baltimore, as she was mercilessly bullied in high school. One summer, she spent the entire holiday binge-watching American movies, TV shows and newsreels, all so she could walk in the next semester with a bright and chirpy ‘hello’.  “I came back speaking so well that all the girls were jealous,” she says. “They were going, ‘How do you speak English so well now?’

I said, ‘Well, I studied  and I learned.’ They could barely speak one language and here I was speaking three.”

Music was another huge source of comfort.  “It was through growing up during the Iran-Iraq war, that we started to insulate and protect ourselves with music and art,” she reflects. “The Jackson 5, Indian music, Turkish soap operas – you name it. We kept ourselves protected in this bubble, away from the outside world. Music has always been a big part of my escape, and I always say it’s transcendent and transformational. It helps you go to another world – it can uplift you.”

Having experienced the worst of international events, Shab has developed an enormous appetite for creating joy and comfort through music.  “I want to make a world music, a world pop,” she says. “I am influenced by so many different places and I feel my sound is universal. There are bits of pop, dance, EDM and hip-hop. We’re threading the needle between different genres.”

At this point a waiter interrupts us and takes Shab’s order, which is a green tea and lemon. “I have to drink water after 1pm if I am doing any vocal performance,” she says. She’s very disciplined, I remark.   “I have to be,” says Shab. “People pay a lot of money for those tickets. If I know I give 110% of myself, I know I did my job. I do everything in my power to make it an amazing show.”

Does the discipline come from coming to music a bit later?   “I think so,” replies the singer. “It is 10 % glamour, 90% hard work. But you still need discipline, to stay grounded and to keep your ego in check – you need to stay authentic and true to yourself. At one point I had four jobs, I hustle. I work hard.”

Shab’s show’s are captivating affairs, featuring music and dancing with an erotic overtone.  “It’s important for me to show that you can have this powerful sexual image as a mom, and as someone who came into music a bit older,” she says. “I think femininity is a beautiful thing. Just feeling it in your skin – it’s about confidence. You’re emanating that energy into the world.”

Shab began making music in 2015, having first worked in multiple family businesses and attended law school, but she has no regrets about changing her path. “No, my husband’s a lawyer,” she says. “We have enough lawyers in the world. I’ll stay in my lane!”

In 2016, Shab moved to Dallas and continued to write songs in Persian. In 2018, meanwhile, she began collaborating with Grammy-winning producer Damon Sharpe, writing her first English language material. She recorded ‘Down To The Wire’ and ‘Spell On Me’, with the latter becoming an international hit. Her first fully English language album, Infinity, includes eight tracks, referencing the infinity symbol.

What can fans expect from the collection?   “High energy,” says Shab. “Lots of dance anthems. My sound is definitely evolving. In terms of themes, it’s forget your troubles, know that you’re worth it, and love yourself.”  Shab concludes with a resoundingly positive message, in spite of being aware of the neverending turbulence of the international news cycle.

“Everything I do is for my fans, my kids, my family,” she says. “There are things in the world that I don’t agree with, but I don’t complain. I am not a complainer, I am a doer. I don’t dwell on what’s wrong. I want to share the positivity – the good stuff.”

• Shab is billed to release her first full length English language album Infinity this year.