Sufi-inspired singer and composer Mentrix draws her sacred music practice into a secular exploration of the illusive dualities of Existence and belonging for her bold debut album My Enemy, My Love, for which she also inaugurates her female-led record label, House Of Strength. Iranian-born Berlin-based Mentrix- real name Samar Rad - fuses eastern and western sounds with lyrical songwriting, crisp drum machines and propulsive traditional Sufi instruments, into a bold and luminous goth-pop debut. Her dazzling polyglot sound has arrived fully-formed, sounding like an Iranian take on The Knife or Zola Jesus.
Samar’s songwriting is inspired by Persian traditional poetry, the teachings of Sufism, intertwine with contemporary synthesizers and drum machines into heady trance-like pop songs. Her lyrical existentialism searches for meaning, a future-leaning ode to her origins. Those featured on the record are primarily women, from session players such as Claire Bay playing the ney, to multi-award winning legendary New-York-based mastering engineer, Emily Lazar. Until now, Mentrix has only ever released as a vocalist on other people’s music. With My Enemy, My Love, she announces her arrival on the scene with a mature and unique sound, a powerful exploration of resilient womanhood and belonging between eastern and western culture.
Mentrix told us more about herself, her influences, the album and more. Read the Q&A below.
Please tell us a bit about yourself and what it was that led you to make music. Who/what are your influences?
"I was inspired by Sufism, Iranian poetry, the sound of Daf. I was frustrated and needed to express myself. I was inspired by punk and drawn to all kinds of music which was my shelter. Music was not an obvious choice to me. It was a gradual journey that slowly came together. I am still learning while making music. My influences are broad. Bjork, Erykah Badu, Karen O, Autechre, Radiohead, The Sex Pistols and Suzie & the Banshees to name a few in the west and Shajarian, Parissa, Marjan and Googoosh to name some of my iranian influences."
You've just released your debut album My Enemy, My Love. What is the record about? What was your songwriting process?
"I base my songwriting on traditional iranian melodies. The making of this record was a journey of constant learning and doing. I wanted to bring together Iranian instruments I loved in an electronic environment; I wanted to make music that was a natural extension of myself, bringing together all my influences. The record is about all these things that I aimed to achieve. It is also an expression of my internal existential wanderings."
What was your favourite part making the album? What new things have you learned/what have you gained from the experience of recording your first LP?
"My favourite part is probably recording and producing percussion. It becomes very scientific when you dive into the audio waves. I am fascinated with the effect of sound on the body and mind. Production can be torture as you zoom in real close to sound… it is surgical. But it is fascinating. It is like travelling into another dimension..."
What do you hope listeneres will take away from My Enemy, My Love?
"That they will love it and that they will want to hear more."
Finally, what's next for Mentrix?
"It is hard to plan for shows. So I am using this time to work on a very punk interpretation of my album especially for live. Let's see how things evolve..."
My Enemy, My Love is out now.
Photo credit: Gilles Estève
