Dubai-based DJ and fashion blogger Tala Samman talks journeys of discovery, getting people moving, and fecal coffee in a conversation with Arab News.
I love the journeys that music can take you on. Music has always played a big role in my life, from dabbling with various instruments growing up, to spending my summers in Syria creating my own mixtapes. I went through the whole teenage pop-music phase, but I built a love for hip-hop, rap and R&B soon after. It was the layers within the songs —from the beats to the verses. As I’ve grown up, and since I started DJing, - I allow myself to discover different artists, genres and origins.
There’s nothing more satisfying than playing music that makes people move and hopefully gets them to discover new music. I get to play around with music I love and make people jam. It’s the same feeling I get when I share content on myfashdiary.com that allows my readers to learn and discover new things.
People think it’s easy being a DJ, and all you really do is hit ‘Play’ on a playlist. But there’s so much more to it — so much prep and time that goes into every set. When I play for a crowd, nothing is pre-recorded; I play live picking up the energies from the room. When I started out, I did have a few people say they didn’t expect me to know how to mix.
I was so proud to open for Dua Lipa here in the UAE. She’s such a strong young woman who stands up herself, whether it’s speaking her mind, to not caring what people think. She’s also the only pop singer I currently love!
The world’s most expensive coffee is made of feces. Did you know that? I once bought a coffee lover — who owns a top coffee roastery in Dubai — a bag of it when I was in Bali. It’s called Kopi Luwak.
I tend to get on with men better than women — personally and professionally. I don’t have any brothers, but I’ve always been very close to my father and had close male friends and cousins. I’ve always had a small close-knit group of girlfriends, too, but always preferred to be surrounded by males.
I don’t believe in regrets — you can only learn from your mistakes.
