In an exclusive interview with VOA, singer and songwriter Shayan speaks about her formative years as a musician and the dominating characteristics of her music. She also sings demonstrating her vocal skills without any musical instrument to back her up.
Current social and political issues dominate Shayan’s lyrics. Through her music, she tries to raise awareness about the largely overlooked topics in our society, such as the objectification of women. The problems in society that disturb her show up in her songs repeatedly. And her love songs are deeply personal and unusually transparent.
Shayan’s full name is Farzana Wahid. She comes from a well-known musical family and now she has also made her mark in the contemporary music scene. Her father is Khasru Wahid and Ferdous Wahid is her uncle. She grew up in Dhaka in the 80s and was deeply influenced by Rabindranath Tagore and singers like Shahnaz Rahmatullah, Bhupen Hazarika, Kabir Suman, Pink Floyd, and Leonard Cohen.
