Diva Khoury: Little Black Book
Diva is a Lebanese musician who has just released her first EP on Spotify! Little Black Book. Her music is relatable, unique, soulful, powerful, lyrical, vulnerable and strong. We met in LA back in 2016, and have reconnected to discuss her latest release. You can find her Spotify profile here, follow Hussey Tunes playlists where she is featured and Diva Music on instagram here.
All the way from Beirut, Lebanon!
Yes! All the way in the middle east.
How are you doing over there amidst this pandemic?
It’s unfortunate for the whole world. But it fell in the middle of an economical crisis that we were having. So we’re experiencing a really hard time in my country. Every country has their own struggles with their own issues, but we’ve been dealing with a revolution and economic crisis since October so it added fuel to the fire.
When did you move back to Lebanon? I remember we met in LA in 2016.
I was in LA for three years and I’ve been back here for three years. Wow that’s a long time!
Did you find a new inspiration in your surroundings of your home country?
I think I find inspiration in whatever circumstance I find myself in - and definitely in my surroundings! LBB has nothing to do with what is going on in the country now. But in times when your hands are tied and there’s so much in life you can’t control - I think that’s the best time to hit the drawing board and get creative. It keeps me positive, all things considered. So I’ve been writing a lot more since this whole thing went down!
I think every artist I’ve talked to has been like, “Yeah I’m really finding a new branch off my tree of creativity…” So talk about LBB! Its really beautiful, almost a little bit of sadness but so much hope! And I felt kind of - womanly listening to it - is that weird?!
That’s amazing!
The instrumental and you singing behind the piano is so impactful.
Thank you so much! I love everything you said because that’s the feeling I was hoping to evoke from the people listening to what I wrote. I tend to write about deep-seeded things - I’m all in my feels when I’m writing. But I like to infuse hope even in the saddest things. And about being womanly; we’re all trying to come into our own in that sense during these times. LBB oh man - that was a trip! It’s been in the works for a long time.
Really? Why was it such a trip?
It never felt like the right time to release. I’m a perfectionist and I’d keep finding itty-bitty things to keep going back to and fix in whatever song. I had a period of going through some stuff and I had to take a year off. About a year of not being able to write or create which set me back.. But that’s a part of life so when I got back to myself I was able to really get into it. It was also fun to watch the songs mature over time.
Going back to you being out of commission, because a lot of creatives I talk to kind of have this time - all for different reasons and time lines - where they have this moment where they can’t do what they want to be doing. Which really kicks off motivation and that makes artists even stronger for the next phase because they know what it’s like to not have it. And they’re like, I can’t live without my craft! - and the love is that much bigger when they get back.
It’s a struggle, because you quit so many things in your life to do this “thing” that you love - and for different reasons - you find you’re banging your head against a brick wall! I’m not doing what I’m meant to be doing! So you go into this ego trip of, “I’m not creating but I should be but I can’t find inspiration to write…” and it’s a downward spiral of yuckiness! But eventually you have to buckle down and take care of "just me” and exclude art from the picture. And once you’re out of that and creating again it’s like, oh that’s why I went through all of that! I can harness all that frustration and personal growth and put it in my work. It was such a relief to be able to write again. You know when you feel non productive and questioning your purpose? Oh man…
Because artists aren’t dramatic enough already - we have to put the weight of the world on our shoulders!
The rest of this interview will be available on the Hussey Talks podcast this Autumn. This was recorded on Thursday, July 30th while Diva was in Beirut. In light of the devastating explosion on Tuesday, August 4th, Diva was not harmed and is safe, as are her friends and family. If you’d like to help, The Lebanese Red Cross is a reliable and impactful provider.
