Last month, Faouzia, a Moroccan-born, classically trained, multilingual artist with a profoundly powerful vocal prowess, promised the crowd at Paris’ Théâtre Les Étoiles “a night full of music, conversation, and my biggest announcement yet.” And she delivered. With a captivating grace, she mesmerized her audience with favorites, such as “Fur Elise,” “Tears of Gold,” and “Minefields.” She also announced her upcoming debut album, Film Noir, and performed a few selections from it.
“I have waited over 7 years for this moment,” Faouzia stated. “Every obstacle, every defeat, every triumph all poured into one project.”
The album contains eleven tracks:
- “Lost My Mind in Paris”
- “Peace & Violence”
- “Unethical”
- “Tous Ces Mots”
- “Sweet Fever”
- “Don’t Ever Leave Me”
- “Desert Rose”
- “Weirdo”
- “Porcelain”
- “Ornament”
- “Perfect Stranger”
“When I first started writing this album, I approached it with one question: If this were the only project I left behind, what would it sound like? What would I eternally be proud of? I wrote this album as though my survival depended on it, because in many ways it did. When you’re on the brink of losing yourself, everything — your purpose, your identity — is at stake. Film Noir transcends lyrics and melody. It is a culmination of every thought and every story I so urgently needed to tell — my one and only testimony.”
Faouzia released the hauntingly beautiful single, “Unethical,” in August and followed it up with the intriguing “Peace & Violence” in September. The artful cinematic video that accompanies “Peace & Violence” features Faouzia’s unique interpretation of Bonnie and Clyde and stars her curious kitty, Loubna. The video was shot completely on 35mm film, and it was directed by Bobby Hanaford.
Faouzia described “Peace & Violence” as “cheeky, fiery, and full of bravado. This song speaks about devotion and loyalty so powerful you’d fight battles, start wars, and even burn down the entire world just to see someone shine in the embers. Flipping back and forth between a war cry and a joyride, the song is sure to take you on the emotional rollercoaster of your life.”
Last Friday, the artist released “Desert Rose,” a song by Sting and Cheb Mami that she performed last year on China’s hit singing competition show, Singer.
Film Noir won’t be released until Friday, Nov. 7, but you can pre-save now.
Faouzia Links:
Instagram • TikTok
Featured photo: Film Noir artwork
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