Samo Zain: I want to crack the Khaliji market

Samo Zain is planning to woo new Gulf fans with his first all-Khaliji album. The Syrian singer has flown to the Emirates to meet with Khaliji lyricists and composers to put together the tracks. "When I first stepped into the music scene, with God's grace, managed to attract listeners from my country and neighbouring countries, such as Lebanon, Jordan and Palestine, and then came Egypt, the most important stage in my career which made Samo Zain's name across the Arab world. But I still need to bring my music to the Khaliji public for whom I've done nothing yet." He adds: "I recently met with many people from the Gulf area who urged me to perform in their accents because they prefer artists who respect the Khaliji accent. So I thought 'I can do that' and phoned up some friends in the Emirates and Saudi to pick their brains." On the success of his latest album, el-Ward el-Ahmer (Red Roses), he said: "You may not find a singer who discriminates against his own albums as much as I do. For me, Red Roses is in another league to all my other albums, starting with Meeli ya Helwa (Turn to Me), Ana Leek (I'm Yours), Arrabi Lia (Come Closer), Maak (With You), Aaraf Eih (Knowing), Leek Lewahdak (Only Yours) and Daiman (Forever). As soon as I announced the title of the album on Facebook and Twitter, I had a reaction that I hadn't seen with any of my previous albums. Plus, it was the first album that was all ballads, which not a lot of singers so." He added: "I'm glad enough that the album has been a hit and I've won several awards at Arab music festivals. It also stayed in the top-five on the Arab radio play chart for four or five months after it was released, despite top singers releasing their own albums at the same time." Arabstoday asked him about the situation in Syria as the conflict enters its second year. He said: "On the very first day this situation, I said on Facebook and Twitter that I'm against the bloodshed and totally reject the killing of innocent people, be they regime supporters or members of the opposition. They're all Syrians and they're all my brothers. I refuse to be a mouthpiece for the regime or the opposition. I'm a Syrian citizen and, like everybody else, I love my country and want to see it at its best, and that involves peace and security."