3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Morocco World
Malak Karimeddine Finds Her Musical Power in Emotion, Self-Discipline
In Morocco's music scene, where surface trends sometimes drown out sincerity, Malak Karimeddine stands apart with her honest approach.
She won one of the ten prizes at Orange Music Talents 2024. Her songs flow with grief, resilience, and a powerful conviction. She blends global sounds with Moroccan roots without sacrificing depth.
'For me, music has always been there,' she told Morocco World News (MWN).
She traces her early habit of singing alongside her parents back to childhood. Her father inspired her greatly, and she began writing diaries without knowing they would help shape her songwriting.
A self-taught journey
Karimeddine entered music with no formal training. The first step she took towards this journey is by building a home studio and starting from scratch on the technical side.
She says, 'When I downloaded the software, I did not understand the technical terms. I followed my creative flow and my intuition. I experimented until I discovered my sound.'
The result required persistent focus and repetition. She adds, 'Motivation is an illusion. Discipline and consistency matter. When the process hurts, the result redeems everything.'
Her independence shows in how she crafted her sound. She credits her innate drive more than external mentorship for her progress since no one provided her with initial tricks and wits of the industry.
Support from her parents remained essential, especially her mother's, and later, her husband's. Yet the technical learning came solo. Even now, collaborations with artists feel new. She calls the early phase of her career 'a lonely road.'
Emotion as subject and strength
For Karimeddine, music must reflect truth. She treats emotion as the key link between her music and her listeners. She describes emotion as 'what resonates most,' and insists a performer must offer authenticity.
Her song 'Habibi' honors her late father. On the surface, listeners hear grief and loss. She reveals the truth below the surface. 'Few know that Habibi worked as a healing tool for me. It helped me reconcile with his passing. It shapes emotion and it shapes my mind.'
Meanwhile, 'Sir' focuses on a broken relationship. 'Sir tells the story of a couple who started strong. Trust broke at some point. The woman walked away. I drew from people around me and my own experience,' she also told MWN.
Despite addressing negative themes, she avoids at all cost succumbing to despair. She affirms that emotion never traps her into negativity. 'I use negative experience as motivation to find hope. I embrace melancholy but aim for better.'
She also crafts her music to spread that hope. She builds upbeat and danceable rhythms, contrasts that help listeners sense relief at the end, even if the song carries pain.
Style confronts accessibility
Balancing poetic ambition and mainstream reach presents a tension in her writing. Early rock and metal influences stoked her love for metaphor and philosophy. She studied English literature and writes with that depth.
She admits, 'I write philosophically. I love poetic style.' Yet she recognizes mainstream lyrics connect more easily with broad audiences.
She faces a struggle when she tries to simplify. 'Downgrading my writing to reach the mass feels hard. I look for a middle ground between true art and reaching people.' That creative struggle underlines her awareness of audience and artistic purpose.
Orange Music Talents Tour
Her growth accelerated through Orange Music Talents. The program offered more than a contest. She traveled through 14 cities. Orange pushed her well beyond her comfort zone. She calls it 'a stage of learning.'
She met other emerging artists and learned that it takes more than songs to succeed.
PR, vocal coaching, stage presence, artist attitude, she absorbed practical lessons from mentors including Mehdi Mouzayen, Small X, Madara, DJ Bilal Africano, and Mohamed Moghrebi. She learned to carry emotional truth onto major stages.
She recalls how different audiences responded. 'Every city carried its own energy. At one moment I stood on a big stage. My song turned joy into sorrow. Many cried because they shared that grief. That memory remains.'
Female artist facing taboo and expectations
Karimeddine identifies challenges faced by many women in Moroccan music.
She believes addressing taboo topics holds significance. 'Tackling taboo subjects remains hard. My role demands exposing them with positive intention, hoping to shift viewpoints.'
That responsibility doesn't emerge from sentiment. She sees evidence of change. Young female artists assert identity more openly today. They resist stereotypes. 'I sense authenticity from emerging women artists. They claim their identity and fight for space,' she says. She affirms her commitment to that movement.
The Moroccan artist anticipates releasing empowering songs. She wants to address structures that confine women. 'Yes I plan songs that empower women. I will tackle stereotypes about behavior, attire, identity. I write from instinct. Some songs reflect sadness. Others may reflect joy. I remain true to my womanhood,' she asserted.
Global sounds tied to Moroccan soul
The music she writes carries a cross-cultural pulse. She blends pop, EDM, rock, R&B, soul, African and North African elements in one sound. Her aim stays simple. She wants unity through multicultural soundscapes.
Her current listening habits reinforce that ambition. She names Martin Garrix first. She sees a parallel. 'We share a goal: fusing genres under EDM. He produces electronic tracks yet collaborates across India, Africa and more to yield unique hybrids. His live shows plug into crowd energy. He inspires me.'
She also follows Tiësto, Ava Max, and Dua Lipa. She loves rhythm and pop sensibility. She integrates their influence into her evolving style.
Outside music, she nurtures strength through endurance running. Over the past three years she found peace and clarity in effort. She explains that running clears negativity and elevates mental energy.
'Running resets my body and soul. It frees negativity. It raises my frequency.' She credits it as a personal form of therapy.
Projects that promise expansion
Karimeddine hints at a new musical chapter. She teases collaborations with rappers and pop artists. She names a love-themed track that nears release. She invites listeners to stay alert.
Given rap's rise in Morocco, the collaborations may carry weight. She follows the genre closely, especially emerging names. She refuses to pick one favorite. She prefers to watch the scene shift and catch surprises.
She remains rooted in honesty. She draws lyrical fuel from negative experience. 'My source of inspiration finds strength from sadness. I address childhood trauma, personal betrayal, and friendship wounds. I seek healing through music.' She balances that with practice and continues her creative outreach toward positivity.
Malak Karimeddine embarks on her musical trajectory equipped with clarity and compassion.
The Moroccan artist looks ahead with confidence and knows both pain and purpose shape her work. She engages with culture and individuality. She refuses to settle into trends. She writes. She shares. And through each note, she speaks to what we all feel. Tags: Malak KarimeddineMoroccoMusicmusic industry
