Today, vibrant Saudi Arabian artist Rotana reveals her highly-anticipated ‘Demo Love Series.’ Unedited and unfinished, the ‘Demo Love Series’ EP is a way for Rotana to share her process in all its messy and unfiltered glory. With no mastering, mixing, or autotune, Rotana strives to show her music in its most raw and authentic form.
Over the past few months, the Saudi-born LA-based artist has teased out singles from the ‘Demo Love Series.’ The five-song EP includes previous releases “Loud Love,” “In The Morning,” “Bad Weather,” and “Crime,” and one final unreleased single, “Side Effects.” The EP is an ode to lost love. Rotana has managed to create a stunning and touching body of work.
Each song is accompanied by a lo-fi animation that Rotana created in her Los Angeles apartment with her best friends. The visual series is heavily inspired by The Simpsons – specifically Lisa Simpson – and weed culture, which had a big influence on the creation of the videos. Throughout the series Rotana wears the same gold locket that holds scripture from the Quran, the holy book in Saudi Arabia. The locket is also pictured in the EP art. The locket follows Rotana wherever she goes as a reminder that we can play and discover new grounds while not forgetting where we came from.
Rotana was born and raised in Saudi Arabia, a beautiful yet complicated place and one of the most conservative environments in the world.
A few years ago, Rotana moved to the U.S. on an employee scholarship from Saudi Aramco, the largest oil company in the world. While studying for her masters at USC, Rotana uncovered her love for music. While always fascinated with storytelling, it wasn’t until getting to LA that she discovered that she could put those stories to melodies and create music for the masses. She quite literally and figuratively discovered her voice. With music, came a path to herself and what she wanted. Rotana quit her job to pursue music full time.
Rotana’s music always feels like heat, an eruption. Every song she writes, whether it’s about love, freedom or rebellion is an invitation to experience an eruption of self. Her debut release “Daddy” put her on the map with strong support from Spotify and Apple Music. With each new release Rotana reveals more of herself, taking the listener on a journey with her.
Rotana has also become a sought out creative, collaborating with brands such as Vogue Arabia, Fendi, MiuMiu, and Nasty Gal. Most recently, Rotana teamed up with Office Magazine to release a visual ode to womanhood titled ‘Her Life.’
Rotana’s music is here to fight for going back to a place of intuition, where you are letting the voice inside of you guide and explode. This is 2018. This is Generation Z. This is the future. It is female. It is powerful. It is animal and it is free.