“Ultimately, I feel like I’ve won the game,” Moroccan singer Abir shares from LA, as her latest album drop coincides with exciting preparations for the arrival of her firstborn child.
The Game, the name of Abir’s latest body of work which released on September 10, is a metaphor for love and all of its raw and intricate complexities that unfolded before Abir during her writing process – a process which saw her fall in love, get married, and start a family, not consciously realising that her artistic output was largely reflecting her life experiences at the time.
“I see love as this game that we kind of play to win… and sometimes it's played to lose… shoot,” she told The New Arab, likening the stages of love to the quarters of a basketball game. It’s a journey her new soulful R&B album takes us through, as it marks a bold shift in her sound.
“In the first quarter, you’re almost hesitant, you’re afraid. You’re like, okay, what’s going on? I have these butterflies, I’m feeling all these great things, but I'm still grappling with this ego and my fears and all the stuff that happens when you first kind of fall for somebody.”
The first track on the album is called Butterflies, it was also the first single and is a symbolic opener to the storytelling that unfolds throughout The Game, which Abir says is the most “vulnerable” she has ever been in her music.
Abir also draws a parallel between the issues that can arise as a connection progresses and the middle quarters of a game, when the stakes begin to rise.
Her track Q+A unpacks feelings of not wanting to get too close to a person without understanding long-term compatibility, as she touches on topics including religion, family dynamics, and future expectations.
Unlocking vulnerabilities
Even though Abir’s path led to a beautiful endgame, she wanted the album to capture the journey to love in its varying manifestations — including the not-so-good- and so she drew on past experiences and those of her circles, to complete the picture of everything The Game entails.
“It’s this journey that you have to really stick out to get to the ultimate decision, which could be a win, could be a loss, or it could be a lesson,” she shared, highlighting the body of work carries themes of “divine alignment,” which she sees as the spiritual thread guiding you to exactly where you’re meant to be.
Of course, unlike a game’s clear-cut scoreboard, in love, the manifestation of winning looks different to everyone, but Abir brings it down to a feeling of safety, not only with your person, but ultimately, within yourself and how you feel.
“I think it's when you feel you have a safe place in someone and in yourself… mainly in yourself actually, because if you are happy with it, with yourself, and trust your gut and yourself to make the correct decisions for your life, it feels like a win.”
The Game has not only unlocked a deeper level of vulnerability in Abir’s music, but has ushered in a sonic shift she describes as “more soulful,” and a move that felt “natural” for her evolution as an artist.
“Sonically, it's a huge difference… it’s a different phase and level to my craft and creativity, so it's been a really awesome experience for me where I just was able to create in such an open way,” she told The New Arab.
However, the artist initially grappled with which direction to take her music in, considering a sequel to HEAT – her 2020 album that placed Arab sounds and visuals at its front and centre.
The album was released at a time when conversations on cultural exploration among the Arab diaspora and creatives gathered powerful momentum online, and for many, felt like a form of therapy.
“Heat was almost like my thesis. I felt it was like a college project that fully described everything I've always wanted to put out in music. It’s a special one of one. Then you start evolving even more, and there are more important conversations that come up,” she shared, stating the era helped her become “more confident” in creatively expressing ideas and experiences that matter to her — but that she has so many other elements to her that she also hopes to creatively explore.
The Game does still interweave Abir’s Arab roots through its R&B soul in more “understated” yet present ways, whether through her visual storytelling or in sonic textures — for example, her track Something Real draws inspiration from Egyptian singer Amr Diab’s timeless hit Tamally Maak.
Sonic story of love
Signed to EMPIRE Music Label – led by Palestinian CEO Ghazi Shami – Abir shares that she has also felt understood in the decisions she has taken surrounding the release of her work, including putting a pause on musical releases in 2023 and onwards, following the ongoing livestreamed genocide of Palestinians in Gaza.
“I just felt like everything that I was doing [in music] was not important, and I didn't care about it. And for good reason," she shared with The New arab.
“Stepping back into work, I was trying to figure out how I could be present and also be present in the sense of speaking about things that matter,” she said, adding that using her platform to her “best ability to share what is happening” remains a priority for her.
Abir is looking forward to eventually touring The Game once she has settled into motherhood, particularly as the pandemic prevented her from touring with her last.
“I just want to get out on the road. I feel like that's exciting. I've told myself I definitely need to tour this album, I just want to be out and singing these songs!” she shared.
But at present, Abir prepares to welcome a new chapter in both her personal and artistic life, as The Game serves as a sonic story of love that closes with her win and the final track, Stretchmarks — an ode to her love, her unborn child, and their exciting adventures to come.
Aisha Aldris is a London-based journalist who writes on social and humanitarian issues alongside culture and the arts
Follow her on X: @aishaaldris