HIYA
Can you introduce yourself to our audience?
My name is Reem El Sharif, and Hiya is the truest expression of who I’ve become—as a woman, an artist, and a constantly evolving sound.
“Hiya”—which means “She” in Arabic—is more than a stage name. It’s a pulse, a portal, and a presence I step into every time I perform.
I began my musical journey in Lebanon, where I won the Studio El Fann Gold Medal in 2010 for Classical Arabic Tarab. Those deep-rooted melodies have never left me. Over time, however, I felt called to reimagine and reinvigorate them. What started as traditional performance eventually evolved into bold experimentation—and finally, into full-scale production.
Today, I live at the intersection of ancestral rhythm and global beat, blending Arabic soul with electronic textures, and live vocals with deep house and organic grooves.
What inspired you to pursue a career in music, specifically in electronic genres?
What drew me to music—and keeps me here!—is its power to gather people beyond language, politics, or pain. I’ve always been mesmerized by how a single rhythm can bring total strangers into a shared breath.
But it was electronic music that gave me a new canvas. It allowed me to shape sound with both precision and surrender. To merge the structured with the sacred, the engineered with the emotional. Unlike other genres, electronic music doesn’t just speak—it holds space. It creates a ceremonial experience, where performance and crowd dissolve into something greater.
It’s not just sound. It’s ritual. A mirror. A trance. That space—between memory and movement—is where Hiya was born.
How would you describe your style and sound?
My sound is a living fusion—a dialogue between my pop roots, my Middle Eastern heritage, and my deepening love for electronic production. I often weave live vocals into my DJ sets, creating a raw, textured atmosphere where each performance becomes an unrepeatable ritual.
Hiya’s sonic signature lives in the in-between—between drum and daf (tambourine), between drop and du’aa (prayer). Expect deep house grooves laced with Arabic maqams, Levantine percussive patterns, and modern synth layers—all flowing together in dynamic storytelling.
It’s never just about the tracks—it’s about transmission. What sets me apart is the way each set becomes a ceremony of resonance—where voice, memory, and beat unite in something both ancient and freshly alive.
New Release: Ya Msafer
Don’t miss Hiya’s upcoming single “Ya Msafer,” releasing today—a beautifully layered blend of nostalgia and movement, merging traditional Arabic sentiment with contemporary electronic flair.
Follow Hiya on Spotify to be the first to listen.
“Ya Msafer” by HIYA released on 13.06.2025 via Cafe De Anatolia