Gola Makes Her Mark On Alpha Unsigned Competition With Stunning Rendition Of Sting’s “Desert Rose”
Gola offers her spin on the genre-bending classic, famed for its exploration and fusion of western pop and middle eastern music, with a dazzling demonstration of her Persian influence. Bright, ethereal vocals entrance listeners while the esteemed artist continues her work to integrate the world’s lesser-heard music styles into modern popular music.
LONDON, UK (November 29th, 2022) - Multidisciplinary Iranian artist and women’s rights activist Golazine, internationally known as Gola, has delivered her rendition of Sting’s “Desert Rose” in collaboration with Alpha Music and Records now streaming on all major platforms. In March of 2022, Gola finished as a finalist in the Alpha Music and Records Alpha Unsigned competition at the O2 in London for a £100,000 record deal. Each of the finalists left such a profound impact on the judges that they decided to create an album compiled from their final performances; Gola’s rendition of “Desert Rose,” however, stood out to the judges enough to make it a leading single prior to the album’s release. “Desert Rose” follows the release of Gola’s historic feminist album, “CHANGE,” that not only speaks passionately about the human rights violations and oppressive gender inequality in Iran, but garnered attention from esteemed media outlets like Cultured Focus Magazine, C-Heads, and Ms. Magazine. This record has a deep-seeded meaning for the songstress, as it was the first song she heard in childhood that took a step towards bridging the gap between middle eastern and western music; it cultivated a sense of belonging and hope that was previously unknown to Gola, reassuring her that she might one day be able to experience her dream of being a contemporary music artist.
In childhood, the only way Gola could hear western pop music was from tapes her siblings shared with her after sneaking them home. The style of music was outlawed by the Islamic Republic, though Gola still managed to cultivate a deep love of international icons like Madonna and Michael Jackson during secret listening sessions. Artists like them, along with Sting, granted Gola the ability to envision her own path forward and follow her innate passion for the arts; her dream was always to truly impact people with her music, and as an international activist and performer, it is clear that Gola is well on track to leave her mark on millions of lives around the globe.
As the finals of the Alpha Unsigned competition approached, each contestant had to prepare both a cover and an original for the performance. Gola found herself set on “Desert Rose” as her cover song of choice; it not only held an intensely sentimental meaning to her, but it provided her the perfect opportunity to continue Sting’s exploration of fusing middle eastern and contemporary western music. She collaborated with her keyboardist and guitarist, refining the arrangement to showcase Isfahan Dastgah, a style of Iranian traditional music. Gola recalls the creative process feeling very organic, with a great deal of excitement to be creating something new.
More about Gola:
Golazin, known internationally as Gola, is an Iranian singer, musician, actress and women’s rights activist. Her mother was an entrepreneur who started a fashion and sewing business when she was in her late teens to empower women. Therefore, Gola grew up in a household that encouraged girls to exercise their power and to empower others. It was in this environment that Gola found her purpose. Growing up, stage performance and music was always present. However, in her religious hometown of Isfahan, Western music had to be smuggled. Even though she spoke very little English, soon Gola was singing along to all the songs on cassette tapes her older brothers and sisters collected. Her passion and talents for music only grew stronger. In grade school, she became a key singer in her school’s choir, competing with other schools. The choir eventually became one of Iran’s best primary school choirs. Meanwhile, Gola started attending an acting school which led her to appear in several theaters in Isfahan and Tehran. Gaining recognition after a while led her to be invited to be one of the judges in the International Film Festival for Children and Youth held in Isfahan.
Gola’s interests for the performing arts soon led her out of Iran. After completing her studies at Sooreh University — famously known as “Iranian CalArts” — she moved to London, where she thrived. Back in Iran, she was part of the first female pop band, Orkideh. They consistently toured, sold out shows in Iran, and Gola received awards and recognition. Yet, female artists were still prohibited from recording their own music. Now in London unconfined by Iran’s views of women in the society, Gola was able to pursue her passions for performance, acting and Music, collaborating with other artists, such as the Iranian Rapper Tohi. Their two records, “Roya” and “Ta Azam Door Shodi,” became big hits in Iran. Gola also collaborated with the singer-songwriter Idan Raichel on Gola’s single “Khoda Danad”, and later joined him on his world tour for performances in London and Paris.
In 2011 Gola acted in a few plays in the Independent Iranian Theatre Festival in London and was nominated for Best Actress. Gola then appeared as the lead actor in a 35mm short “Tehran 1998” which was shot in London. After appearing in the press and landing an interview with “The World Tonight” on BBC4 Radio, Gola seized this momentum, sensing it was finally her moment to shine in the music world on her own. She was already recording solo records, including “Iranam” for the Iran National Team during the World Cup. Recognized as one of the best World Cup songs, it was still prohibited from becoming the official national song in Iran because it was performed by a woman.
Finally, following years of recording music in her native tongue Farsi, Gola released her first official English record “The Line” exclusively on I-D Magazine in 2018. Speaking on why she wrote “The Line” Gola said that the song is about change: “I strongly believe that we, the women, are moving forward in an unstoppable way. We are getting stronger, from Saudi Arabia to Iran, we are finally finding our voice. No one should tell us what to wear, what to say or what to do. We are individuals and deserve respect.”
“The Line” was Gola’s first collaboration with pop songwriter Melanie Fontana and the British producer Cash of the band Cash+David. After “The Line'' premiered on FUTURE SOUNDS on Radio 1, the remix released in 2019, reached the Top 20 Club chart. Following the success, Beyonce and Gucci invited her to be featured in the first edition of “Chime For Change” magazine. Launched in February 2019, the “Chime for Change’’ is a “global campaign to convene, unite and strengthen the voices speaking out for girls and women around the world...” She followed “The Line” with her second single, “Now You Know” released in 2019. Co-written with Melanie Fontana, “Now You Know” was featured on Record Of The Day, and like most of Gola’s work, it’s a record about empowerment: “This song is about my life and the moment when I finally realised that I do not need anyone or any authority to govern my own life.”
In 2022 and beyond, Gola continues to break barriers and empower girls. Her music and videos have garnered millions of listens and views on streaming platforms like YouTube, iTunes, Spotify, Radio Javan and others. She’s been featured in The London Times, Haaretz, Hunger Magazine, I-D, Vice, and on Iranian radio and television such as BBC Persia, VOA Persia, and MBC Persia.
Over the last year, Gola has released many singles among Farsi speakers. Her new protest album “Change” bears the scars of her childhood growing up in Iran, It’s both a songbook of suffering and an emotional call for freedom. Gola’s latest self-taped and self directed one take video of her song “Haghame” went viral on the national day of Hijab in Iran, she became the face of “Hijab No Hijab” campaign. Her video received more than half a million views on her instagram page in less than three days. Gola continues to spread her message of empowerment, peace and love through her music, performances, and acting work.
Connect with Gola: Spotify | Instagram | Twitter | Youtube | TikTok | Facebook
Press contacts:
Liam Grocki | liam@evergreenent.com
