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“From whispery to powerhouse, Barakat exhibits vocal prowess, holding the song selection together with skilled delivery. Pop influences poke through with songs like “Let Go” and “Leave Your Light On.” Middle Eastern musings set the stage for “Cycle.” The masterfully intricate vocal elements on the final track “Wanting to Go Home” are delicious. All are underlined by a hard rock and metal sensibility.”
THE RECORD
Austin-based, hard/alternative artist, Hanna Barakat, announces her new album, Siren, due out August 16, 2019, “a vocally powerful performance by the Texas-native driven by compelling songwriting and thunderous production." (Substream Magazine) Born in Texas to a Lebanese father and American mother, Barakat combines a variety of influences. "While proudly paying homage to her roots, Barakat has cultivated her own style that merges Arab-Oriental influences with her love of rock music for a stunningly unique and original sound." (Metal Nexus). Pure Grain Audio declares, "Artists come and go like skin cells but, sometimes, there are those that truly stand out for their immense talents. Barakat is clearly a member of the latter."
The album was produced by John Moyer, bassist from famed hard rock band, Disturbed, and mixed by Martin Nessi (Michael Jackson estate, Ariana Grande, Josh Groban, Celine Dion, Andrea Bocelli, Ricky Martin, Kelly Clarkson), and mastered by Ted Jansen of Sterling Sound (Disturbed, Evanescence, Three Days Grace, Breaking Benjamin, Halestorm, Pat Metheny).
Barakat beautifully describes the inspiration behind the album:
“I chose the title, Siren, for my debut record, after John Moyer and I produced our final song together, which happened to be “Siren.” The power of the music and the lyrics filled me with such fire. It motivated me and inspired me to take this next step in my journey with such confidence. Though the song references the mythical sirens of the sea, I loved the idea of a double meaning: an actual siren, warning call, alarm! The songs on this record were written over a span of 10 years. These songs have been my comfort and my therapy, as I’ve journeyed this world, witnessed injustices, engrossed myself in my ancestral culture, grown within myself, literally travelled the globe, loved, lost, failed, loved again, and struggled to reach the place where I am today. I want to bring awareness to these situations, not by forcing any political agenda, but by pushing for love, understanding, and acceptance of all the other humans walking this earth together. Throughout history, there have been unnatural walls physically erected, or socially accepted and perpetuated, in order to divide people. I want to tear those walls down. All of them. Through my music, with rock guitars, heavy drums, deep rhythmic bass lines, and my intricate vocal melodic lines and punchy harmony stacks, I have chosen to forge arab instruments like the oud, kanun, frame drum, riqq, into my sonic landscape, where I feel they so naturally and appropriately belong.”
“When trying to describe an artist like Hanna Barakat, her voice and talent are such a given that it frees the listener to embrace the musical journey she takes you on. She is not afraid to step out of the box from song to song while still following her vision of song-oriented rock layered in a luscious soundscape of melodic instrumentation and vocals. There is a message, emotion, and uniqueness within each song that transcends trends while still embracing the familiar.”
Hanna Barakat (Left) with her Producer, John Moyer (Right) at the SIREN CD Release Show and Party!