Hayat Selim is an Egyptian London based composer, singer-songwriter and voice recording artist. She moved from Cairo to the United Kingdom in 2017 on a scholarship to do her masters in composition for screen at the Royal College of Music, London, and graduated in 2019.
Hayat’s compositional work varies from game and film music, to advertisement and her solo song project in various genres mainly fusing Western cinematic sound with world music influences, electronic music and voice.
In 2018 Hayat was profiled in Meagan Marie’s book Women in Gaming: 100 Professionals of Play for her work in the Egyptian Indie gaming industry and her soundtrack The Great Red Spot was broadcast on BBC 3 Radio’s Late Junction show for the 50th anniversary of Apollo 11. Hayat’s original song and composition Mirage for the short film by Lena Srinivasan was nominated in the ‘Best Song’ category of the Jerry Goldsmith Awards 2019 and started opening doors in singing on media projects.
In 2020 Hayat was commissioned by Dynamedion to be the featured singer and composer of Sonuscore and Steinberg’s “Ethnic Vocal Phrases – by Hayat Selim” virtual instrument library and has sung on various video games and films since including Age of Empires IV, ‘Chivalry 2’ and ‘The Forgiven’.
Next to her pursuits in the media industry Hayat is a solo artist performing her original songs and arrangements in different venues in London and her upcoming EP album Sweat On My Forehead is due out in summer 2023.
THE STREET TALKED TO HAYAT IN LONDON BEFORE HER PERFORMANCE IN CANBERRA.
DESCRIBE YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH MUSIC.
At this stage of my life music is a way of living integrated with reality. At a younger age I considered music a mean of escapism, a way to isolate one’s self from reality and challenges however over the years music became a way to help cope and deal with the difficulties of life, facing them with the strength that music gives as opposed to using music making as a means to escape them altogether.
As often as we have heard this, music does tell what words cannot. There is only this much words can describe the most complex of human emotions however a short musical cue, a specific timbre or overtones of the voice can invoke what words never can.
I consider music-making the biggest gift. It has accompanied me in many difficult times and the more its practice supported me through life, the stronger the urge became to dedicate my life to music making. It really feels like a friend you can always rely on. It is a form of spirituality almost, a reminder that there are things far greater than us out there.
YOU WRITE MUSIC IN VARIOUS GENRES. WHAT ARE THE DIFFERENCES IN YOUR APPROACHES FOR SONGS/FILM/GAMES.
Music writing started with song-writing for me. I started writing poetry as a teenager and when I was 18 I turned one of my poems into a song. Until this day I approach song-writing the same way: starting off with words, rhyming, coming up with a melody using voice and from there finding the right harmony in form of a piano sketch, lastly fleshing out the arrangement/orchestrating.
When it comes to games and films, I still strongly rely on melody, basing everything off that whenever that is possible however in the last years I have learnt more about using textures, ostinatos that do not necessarily rely on a melodic line and that was quite a challenge since 13 years into composition I still approached composition heavily melodically.
When writing for games, the music does not necessarily need to land on what we call “hit points”. It is background music that serves the mood of the game, loops, however does not necessarily need to follow every action. The challenge in game music is to creative loops of music that intertwine smoothly together and can work together when layered (if necessary). The approach is quite similar with immersive experiences in actual venues when say two soundtracks play in adjacent rooms with no proper sound separation. The music needs to be written in a complementary way where both these soundtracks can work together if played in parallel.
With film music there is generally less freedom than with the above mentioned. The music serves the motion picture in a one-off viewing; if the right emotion or approach is not captured you may lose the audience or the dramaturgy altogether. I personally love this kind of restriction because it helps really focus all your energy on serving the story as opposed to having endless options and freedoms. You are more task-oriented and efficient in your workflow and it is personally a beautiful experience living and re-living the story of the film. The characters and events become almost your own while on the job as it is a pretty solitary one.
WHERE DOES YOUR INSPIRATION COME FROM?
When it comes to song-writing my inspiration comes mainly from events in the past and present. Song-writing helps me resolve unresolved matters and explore solutions for current interior and exterior conflicts. In the last years I have also explored with singing in no specific language, rather in made up words with no specific meaning that come right out of the heart and one’s feeling; what I would call “heart language”. It has been very liberating to do so.
When it comes to commissions the inspiration comes from the story of the game or film for example that need music writing. As the music composer you find yourself part of this story, living with it, waking up and going to sleep with it. The story becomes yours as well or at least you find connection points from your own experiences or those of people around you and it is one of the greatest feelings out there when you can personally relate to a scene you are writing the music for.
My inspiration also comes from works by other composers that I grew up with and ones whose works I explore and study for the sake of a project. This industry has a very fast turnaround sometimes and there is not always much time to ponder, take enough time to meditate on an idea, sleep on it and take one’s time exploring it. With time one learns to “get to the point” straight away based on experience and quick understanding of what the client is looking, taking little time to put something together an idea that could be explored or fleshed out further when there is more time.
TELL US ABOUT THE REPERTOIRE OF SONGS SELECTED FOR YOUR CONCERT IN CANBERRA.
The repertoire on February 16th is a cross-cultural one merging Western cinematic sound with world music influences from Ancient Egypt, the Middle East, Ireland, Latin Europe and more. The repertoire will consist of original songs as well arrangements. Some of the accompaniment will be solely on the piano and some of it will be with self-produced backing tracks to give a bigger sound as well as stick with a reasonable budget for the purpose of this concert which is shedding light on the upcoming musical Camelia.
The repertoire includes two songs in ancient Egyptian, one an arrangement and one originally written for the Grand Egyptian Museum. There will also be Arabic singing in different dialects, the Fus-ha classical Arabic as well as the Lebanese dialect. There will be songs with made-up “tribal” sounding cinematic languages and the most recent additional to the program is Dark Chant by Birger Clausen in the old Irish language which I had the great pleasure to recording May of last year.
The repertoire is meant to be a journey through cultures and time and the crossover nature of the music should hopefully be a demonstration for the kind of music that may end up in the upcoming musical Camelia.
WHAT IS YOUR CREATIVE PROCESS IN COMPOSING?
It depends on the medium. If I am writing a song I start with writing what I want to talk about in bullet points, with random order of thoughts. Next I order the thoughts chronologically e.g. if it’s a story then in the right chain of events; if about a certain idea then a gradual introduction and progression until the full subject is revealed etc. Next I start turning the text into a poem, rhyming it all and finally experimenting with melodies using my voice until I find the right one. This may cause subtle changes in the text to work rhythmically with the syllables etc. Next comes harmony through adding piano chords and from there fleshing out the arrangement/orchestrating.
When it comes to game and film music I first of all work on finding the right sound palette, meaning which instruments and soundscapes that I will use based on the footage, the story and what was agreed upon with the director, developer or producer and flesh things out from there. In film music we start with that is called a spotting session where composer and director sit down together and decide on spots where music is needed. Sometimes the compositional approach starts from the melody, sometimes I start with the harmony that will dictate the emotions and moods in the film or game and write melodies/motifs afterwards if needed as well allocate the harmony to the different layers of instruments and soundscapes.
WHAT IS IT ABOUT COMPOSING FOR FILM THAT ATTRACTS YOU?
There is almost magic to writing music to motion picture. Music can bring so much depth and emotion to a scene and it feels absolutely wonderful to be technically involved in that process. You get to be part of the story, the essence of it, the lives of the characters and then somehow the story accompanies you in your life as well.
As a more extroverted person, composing for media can be quite a collaborative process compared to song-writing or writing a stage piece. You work closely with the director if you are lucky and there is an ongoing conversation about the role of the music in a film.
Furthermore I love films and storytelling. Films have certainly played a big role in my upbringing, exposure and education. I have been listening to film scores since early teenage and admiring the brilliance of a well composed scene. When deciding to become a film composer myself the process went smoother and quicker than I imagined due to film music always having captured my attention when watching a film and having listened to many film scores over and over again.
HOW HAVE YOU COME TO WORK ON MUSIC THEATRE PROJECT’S NEW WORK CAMELIA?
In 2016 I got to know Egyptian-Australian director Mohammed Hashem while singing on his play Halima in Egypt. The story is based on a young Nigerian girl who escapes to Egypt to try become an actress only be to have to fight an endless stream of opposition and racism. I really liked Mohammed Hashem’s approach to the musical so when he approached me again in 2021 to discuss Camelia with creative producer and Music Theatre Projects’ founder Dianna Nixon and writer Ian Batterham I was very open to this idea straight away. I found the story and the idea to be very appealing and different to anything out there and it felt like a great honour to be considered for it. There was a lot of chemistry in our initial meetings during COVID and it is super exciting to be able to meet the creators of this idea in person and starting some hands on work on the concept during my residency.
With the story of Camelia taking place in a very multicultural time for Egypt I also felt that this very well may be my territory given that this merge of musical styles has become my go-to in composition. Having the film music background as well as having trained in musical theatre singing for years would hopefully help create the right sound world for this musical.
WHAT CONVERSATIONS DO YOU THINK WE NEED TO HAVE ABOUT CULTURALLY AND LINGUISTICALLY DIVERSE VOICES?
I personally think that cultural and linguistic diversity is now trademark of the 21st century. It is no longer a nuance but a necessity. The world is globalising by the day, barriers and borders crossed and there is no way for humanity to continue to thrive without diversity and inclusion. We need to get to a point where diversity, inclusivity and mixed race are the norm and global culture as opposed to an exceptional nuance subject approached with extreme care or something institutions need to be “seen doing”. If we are telling stories about a past time where different countries and cultures were more secluded that is fine but there is simply no way we can continue writing secluded stories in this time and age. It is our duty as artists having a voice to speak on behalf of and include others who do not have it.
WHAT HAVE BEEN YOUR CONTRIBUTIONS TO CULTURAL DEVELOPMENTS IN EGYPT?
I have to be honest here and say they have not been nearly as much as I would have hoped at this stage but it is a work in progress. Last year I had the great pleasure to be commissioned to write the music for some of the immersive videos playing at the Grand Egyptian Museum which is due to officially open this year as well as music for several historical buildings in the new administrative capital of Egypt that I will be announcing sometime this year.
Prior to the move to London I have worked in the Egyptian Indie gaming industry where the notion of original game music had not been introduced at that point and instead existing soundtracks were licensed. Most screen composers in Egypt are focused on the advertisement and film industry and it has been a great pleasure to be one of the first to introduce efforts towards the same in the small but rising game development industry in Egypt.
What I would truly like to invest more into is performing in Egypt; singing and speaking directly to a crowd. To me this is one of the strongest forms of change through music and I really hope to have (make!) more opportunities as performer in my own country as well.
HOW HAS COVID-19 IMPACTED ON YOUR WORK?
As somebody who works in post-production the first six months of the pandemic were fine as footage was ready from before COVID hit. I also had some game music to write and the development was ongoing during the pandemic as opposed to films that need to be shot onsite, games can continue being developed from home. In summer 2020 I also started getting a lot of session singing work from home which was a new door opening in my singing career. To me the real impact ofCOVID hit in autumn 2020; projects were sealed with no new ones invested in at that stage and it was a tough hit. I finished all my saving in that time and had to start again from scratch (as has been the case for many freelance musicians). It was quite a difficult time.
Things started picking up nicely again starting spring 2021 and I am very grateful for all the amazing projects since, most of all being able to start performing again.
WHAT’S INSPIRING YOU CREATIVELY AT THE MOMENT?
As old school as that sounds, I think matters of the heart are inspiring me creatively most at the moment. I am also very inspired by my sister having visited me here in London for the first time. We have faced many things together as women growing up in a male-dominated country and the extreme storms of beliefs and ideologies in and out of Egypt have created a gap between us for some time. Experiencing our sisterhood away from any influences has been a blissful experience that has left me very pumped and inspired recently.
WHAT ARE YOU READING/WATCHING CURRENTLY?
I am currently rereading Paulo Coelho’s The Alchemist. I have read this novel as a teenager and again in my twenties. It is great to re-experience it with a little more depth in my thirties. Regarding movies/TV truth be told I have been watching a lot of (dark)/drama comedy as inspiration for my most recent commission.
In her only Australian appearance, Hayat Selim performs Mirage at The Street Theatre on February 16, 2023.
STREET TALK 