Your Hell
Stockholm-based Syrian pop artist Leen narrates an apocalyptic version of revenge in “Your Hell”, her second single. The first track she wrote fully on her own, produced by Olivia Lundberg and Jonathan Thorpenberg (frontman of The Unguided). Influenced by pop icons like Lady Gaga and Dua Lipa, Leen sings as an archetypal wronged woman with a touch of Middle-Eastern vocal technique.
In “Your Hell”, we hear echoes of Leen’s perspective from growing up as a woman in Syria. But there’s universality in the song’s anger. “Women being exploited, being treated in a horrible way, their rights being taken from them, sometimes even being killed! Despite everything they sacrificed for the ones they love.”, she explains.
After a friend suggested producing her tracks, Leen assumed the task of turning words into music. “I panicked because all my songs were only text. I went home and started with some chords.”, she tells us. The song remained untouched until 2021 when Olivia Lundberg produced the core version of the song.
The result is a track with a collection of emotional states related to mistreatment and trauma. “In the verses, I am going through the first stages of shock until I reach the stage of anger, acceptance, and revenge.”
Leen came to Sweden at the age of 18, leaving her family behind in war-torn Syria. After attending a music vocational school, she released her debut single “Refugee” in 2020. It was chosen as the official song of Sweden’s Refugee Committee.
Parallel to this, she’s been acting with the Arabic Theatre where she had performances on stages like Nyköping teater, Skarpnäcks kultur hus, Övik teater and Tur teater. She’s also been singing on stages like Pero, Regina teater, Boat People Projekt Allsång in Skåne, and the Michael Nyqvist Foundation Award.
The Syrian pop artist signed with Rexius Records in the summer of 2021 and is currently preparing for the release of “Your Hell” in November.
🎨 Tanja Berkö
📷 Leen (self-portrait)
Cover art by: Tanja Berkö, photo by Leen (self-portrait)