Authority control databases: Artists
Authority control databases: Artists  |
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Ayah Marar | |
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| Born | 20 September 1980 Amman, Jordan |
| Origin | London, England, U.K. |
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| Occupation(s) |
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| Instruments | Vocals |
| Years active | 2004–present |
| Labels |
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| Website | ayahmarar |
Ayah Marar (Arabic: آية مرار; born 20 September 1980) is a Jordanian/Bulgarian singer and songwriter based in the UK. She has been featured as a vocalist or writer on music from British artists including Calvin Harris, DJ Fresh, Camo & Krooked, Bassline Smith and Jack Peñate. She has been referred to as the "Queen of Bass" and the "dubstep queen".[1]
Ayah was born in Amman, Jordan, to a Jordanian father and a Czech-Bulgarian mother. She spent most of her adolescence in Jordan, before emigrating to the UK at 18 years of age,[2] where she began her musical career at Warwick University.[3]
Marar is involved in the drum and bass scene and recorded her first single, 'Dance Child', with Loxy & Ink (Signal Records).[4] She recorded several singles in this genre, before meeting and collaborating with Calvin Harris and Toddla T in 2004.[5] Marar and Harris shared a home for a brief period, she toured the world as part of his live show and she collaborated on his second album, performing the vocals on 3 of the tracks, as well as a guest spot on Toddla's album and a single with his previous band Small Arms Fiya.[6]
Ayah worked at a record shop, Uptown Records, in Soho where she met and formed bonds with several radio and club personalities. In the meantime she helped to establish and run Lucky Devil Records and promoted events in and around London.[citation needed]
She wrote and recorded on albums by Jack Penate,[4] Bassline Smith, Calvin Harris (forthcoming and previous LP) and DJ Fresh.[7]
Marar receives support from BBC Radio 1, Kiss FM,[8] Ministry of Sound radio[9] and BBC Radio 1Xtra,[10] appearing on the latter several times for shows and PAs, and with support from the likes of MistaJam[11] and Bailey. She has guest-hosted radio shows. Her recent single 'Unstoppable' was Jam Hot Record of the Week.[12]
Ayah launched her solo career and created her own independent label, "Hussle Girl", as a platform to release her own singles and forthcoming album, "The Real".[13] Her album The Real was released on 15 October 2012 via Hussle Girl and Transmission Recordings in the UK and Radikal Records in the US and Canada.[14]
She held a residency as a DJ at Herbal[7] in Shoreditch for four years and worked as a touring MC with Hospital Records[15] and other companies. She formed a funk band, SlinkyFix, toured the UK and performed at events with Gilles Peterson and at the Jazz Café.[citation needed]
With the Austrian drum and bass duo, Camo & Krooked, she performed at Brixton Academy and throughout Europe.[16] Ayah was as of 2012 touring her solo material with DJ Tenku.[17]
Marar again collaborated with Calvin Harris on his 2013 single "Thinking About You".[18]
| Year | Title | Peak chart positions | Certifications | Album | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK |
AUS |
BEL (FL) [19] |
CAN [20] |
FRA [21] |
GER |
IRE |
NL [22] |
NZ |
US | ||||
| 2013 | "Thinking About You" (Calvin Harris featuring Ayah Marar) |
8 | 28 | 27 | 58 | 92 | 56 | 11 | 23 | 40 | 86 | 18 Months | |