- Songwriting is about your experiences,
and it expands your vocabulary
in terms of the way you see the world.
Music is something that people can connect with
and feel an emotion.
There was a few really cool underground spots
where I would go and listen to jazz in Dubai
and I'd see all these musicians
and I'd be like yeah that's where I wanna be at.
- I'm Anna Devis.
- I am Daniel Rueda.
- Together, we are architects and photographers.
- [Daniel] Our approach is to play with perspectives
and geometry within an urban landscape.
- [Anna] And as architects, we travel the world
exploring and seeing aspects of buildings
so we can tell stories through the image.
- [Daniel] We are on a journey to meet with other
like-minded and inspiring
creatives in Dubai.
- [Anna] Here, we meet with Layla Kardan,
a bold new performer who is breaking perceptions of what
it means to be a female singer in the Middle East.
- [Daniel] We first meet Layla in Dubai's
old neighborhood of Al Fahidi.
(traditional oud music)
- I think, both of you being architects,
you can appreciate that it's such a completely
different architecture to what you typically see in Dubai.
- Yeah.
- [Daniel] Yeah, not many skyscrapers around here.
- We were living in Australia and my father
was really excited about the great opportunity
in Dubai, so he moved us here.
It was such a different world to what I'd seen,
you know, growing up in Sydney, but it became,
you know, a home for us.
I have really beautiful memories as a child
growing up in Dubai and got to learn a lot
about the culture.
You really feel the history and the heritage
of the people when you come to the creek.
Really interesting alleyways in these bazaars
where you'll see spice markets, fabric merchants,
sellers of antique jewelry,
and all of that is a feast for the eyes.
I like to reference traditional Middle Eastern instruments,
just because I love the sounds of them.
But in a subtle way, I like the oud more as a drum beat,
and warp it and distort it, but it's still there.
- It's a very clever way to make a very
historical instrument not too lost in the history
and use it in a more contemporary way.
I think it's fascinating, actually.
(slow piano chords)
- [Anna] Even though you feel you are in such a modern city,
you know you are in Dubai, you are not in America
or in Europe because they always have this
traditional touch in everything they do.
- [Daniel] At night, the whole city comes to life
and we begin to understand how Dubai's music scene
has become a crucial part of the nightlife here.
- [Layla] In the last three years,
there's live music all over town.
Before we would go to this one spot to watch Jazz music,
and now you can, in one night, I can name like seven
or eight or even more places.
♪ Yeah yeah yeah yeah ♪
- [Anna] Wanting to share a more intimate
side to the music scene,
Layla invites us to an after party,
where we meet the community of musicians
that she collaborates with.
- Guys, this is a complete jam,
so we don't even know what we're doing, sorry.
And that's another thing I love about Dubai,
is that I've got an incredible band of musicians
from all over the world.
(upbeat jazz music)
Wherever you go in the world,
it's important to see the culture and the music.
♪ Guilded ♪
♪ I wanted it golden ♪
I think it's the first thing that teaches us tolerance is
when you understand a little bit about a person's culture
and where they're from.
Music is a very beautiful way to share a message.
♪ No place to go ♪
- [Anna] This day with Layla has given us opportunity
to see Dubai's strong artistic circle.
Allowing inspiration and vision among musicians
to be shared through collaboration.
♪ No place to go ♪
- An experience we won't forget in a music scene
we were unaware of before coming.
Yes, sir!
(light guitar solo)