Emel Mathlouthi

Emel Mathlouthi, aka Emel, aka آمال المثلوثي, is a Tunisian singer-songwriter who incorporates a lot of Western musical idioms into her North African musical base, i.e., tones and rhythms that would be broadly identified as middle eastern in nature. Her earlier recordings have quite a bit of trip-hop threads running through it, with clear influences by Massive Attack and Björk. The combination of these distinct musical styles and traditions, especially when she brings in the pounding percussion, gives her music an almost Dead Can Dance type aura. And she does have the kind of strong voice that would withstand such a comparison. In 2019, she started singing primarily in English and her music became more ambient-oriented. Her song Kelmti Horra (My Word is Free) became an anthem for the Arab Spring in the early '10s, which led to her being banned from performing in Tunis for a while. She has returned to the stage in her native land since then.