Student Highlight: Cimone Firdaus Rajan
Biography
Cimone, a 24-year old full-time singer and songwriter, graduated from Berklee College of Music in 2019 with a songwriting degree and music technology minor. Her interest in Islamic Studies grew progressively while she was at Berklee after participating in the Berklee Study Abroad Program in Valencia, Spain. After experiencing the rich cultural impact of the medieval Muslim world on Spanish and Mediterranean art and culture, Cimone decided to tailor her songwriting degree towards the exploration of Muslim culture, along with her own heritage as a Middle Eastern and Pakistani-Canadian. This pursuit eventually led to her upcoming debut EP (album), “after the rain”; a sonic blend of R&B and Sufi sounds.
Pursuing the dual-degree MA program in Muslim Cultures and Civilizations at Columbia Univerisity and the Aga Khan University in London, Cimone plans to focus her research on Sufi music in Pakistan, and the intersection between Sufi music and her own R&B/Pop music, to better understand the cultural influence she herself grew up with as a Pakistani-Canadian and further inform her music career.
Cimone’s debut EP/album, “after the rain,” just released, and can be listened to on all streaming platforms at the link below:
https://distrokid.com/hyperfollow/cimone1/after-the-rain-2
We had a conversation with Cimone about her work and studies.
Question: Can you describe your work to me?
Cimone: I began writing this EP back in 2019, when I was forced to confront a lot of emotions I had bottled up for years, especially in the wake of my dad’s passing. Through some very honest conversations with myself, I was able to document this journey towards healing, acceptance, and recovery; and thus “after the rain” was born. I would describe its sound as deeply introspective, bold, and lush, with layered vocals that lay over a fusion of Eastern-Sufi sounds and contemporary R&B production - a few tracks on the EP actually feature samples from my dad’s Sufi songs. It also illustrates much of my upbringing as a first-generation Canadian-Pakistani. “after the rain” brings home this story of loss and self-discovery, and becomes a beautiful celebration of who I am. I really hope that this record expresses to listeners that it’s okay to be honest with our messy emotions, whether positive or negative - it’s what makes us beautifully human!
Q: How and when did you become interested in this field?
C: I come from a very musical family, so I grew up surrounded by music. My dad, Firdaus Rajan, was both an engineer and Pakistani-musical artist, who was also part of the musical group “The Rajans”. Watching my dad perform in concert at such a young age really ignited my passion for music and singing. I knew I wanted to perform just like he did, and my dad immediately noticed, many times bringing me up on stage to perform with him. I soon began performing in community events, talent shows, and singing competitions. I then started writing songs at 12 years old, influenced by Motown, NeYo, and Childish Gambino, along with composer A.R. Rahman, Sufi-artist Abida Parveen, and my father.
Q: Has, and if so, how, has the COVID-19 affected/changed your work?
C: I would definitely say COVID-19 has affected the course of my work. Connectivity became a lot easier, since I could collaborate with artists and producers that I respect from different areas of the world without distance being a huge issue (which I still continue to do). And while this will remain to be a continuing journey, the amount of time I got to spend with myself helped me learn a lot about the kind of artist I am and want to be, and what I want to do with my career; which is actually what led me to this MA program! At the same time, it was really difficult finding inspiration as a creative while having to stay inside, especially because I write a lot of my songs from personal experiences. I couldn’t actually experience a lot of life from my bedroom, but this challenged me to really work the gears of my imagination. I did end up getting some cool songs out of the pandemic, which I want to release sometime after the EP comes out!
Q: What are your plans for the future? During and post Columbia?
C: I still plan to pursue a full-time music career as an artist and songwriter, but I want my degree in Muslim Cultures and Civilizations to further inform this career path. During my MA, I plan to work at the intersection of music and women of the Muslim world, and how this specifically informs the music that I create as a Muslim woman myslf.