Zarema
Words by Glenn Sargeant
What is your earliest musical memory?
The first time I ever heard a song in English was Blonde, “Heart of
Glass”. That tune always sticks with me and is reminiscent of my early
childhood, living in exile in Uzbekistan, right before they allowed us
Crimean Tatars to return to our homeland of Crimea.
When did you begin songwriting?
I wrote my first song at age eight, after my mom and grandmother told
me about the mass deportation of native Crimeans from the Crimean
Peninsula in 1944. It’s hard to believe that that could happen in modern
times!
You have your new single ‘Child’s Prayer’ out now. What was inspiration/story behind the song?
A few years ago I was working on a documentary about refugee children severely affected by wars. It included the story of a young girl who survived an airstrike, but lost her mother and suffered amputation of one of her legs.
While the child was still in the hospital, and being fitted for a prosthetic leg, she kept calling-out for her mother. Her grandmother who was there
to care for her tried to comfort her by saying that when they were able to leave the hospital, they would go outside at night and look up to find
the brightest star in the sky, because that’s where her mother lives now. So after that, every night, this young girl would go out and look up at the stars so she could talk to her mother and say her nightly prayers. When I first heard this story, I couldn’t continue my work. I had to walk out of
the room and cry! Her story just broke my heart.
Where did you record the track and who produced it?
The instrumental of the song astoundingly was recorded by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra at the legendary Abbey Roads Studio in London! And my vocals were recorded at One On One Recordings in Los Angeles.
Do you have any interesting, funny or memorable stories from the recording sessions?
When I moved to the US I didn’t speak a word of English. Back then, almost twenty years ago we did’t have phones with translation app on
them. I was on my own, with no English speaking friends, so I watched a cartoon called “Curios George’, about an adorable, but mischievous
monkey. It displayed the script in closed caption, so I watched it, so I can learn. One day, I went to the gym and since there was no one else
there, I decide to turn on on TV and watch “Curios George”, they used a basic vocabulary and back then that was just what I needed to learn.
And then a couple came to work out and they saw a cartoon on TV and they looked around tried to find a child who’s watching it and then they
giving up, they decided to chance the channel. I was too embarrassed to admit that I’m the one who was watching it and I was disappointed that I
didn’t get to finish my lesson!
Did you use any particular instruments, microphones, recording equipment to help you get a particular sound/tone for the record?
No, nothing specific. The studios had top-quality equipment available,
and we were very pleased with the results.
Which of your tracks hear you at your a) happiest, b) angriest and c) most reflective?
When listening to other people’s tracks, I can say that
a) I feel the happiest when I can listen to something like Europe’s “The
Final Countdown”, and its augmented and magical intro!
b) I feel the angriest and saddest when I listen to the “Schindler’s List”
soundtrack, written by John Williams.
c) And I feel my most reflective, I would say, when I listen to “Blessed”
by Elton John or “Caruso” by Luciano Pavarotti.
Regarding my own tracks and recordings, I hope you can hear my emotional angst when I sing “Mama please tell the angels in heaven to save all the children God’s given.” – I just can’t sing those lines without feeling emotional!
At the same time, I share a feeling of hope when I sing “I keep waiting for the night, Till the stars can shine their light. I hope you can see me
there, So you can hear my prayer.”
And as emotional lines go, I just can’t forget my favorite lines in my song, “Closure”, where it says, “If you had a chance to say goodbye and
all of your regrets, If you had a chance to hold them close before they left, If you had a chance just one more time to look them in the face, If
you had a chance to say your love will never end.”
Was it a difficult song to write?
Yes, it’s always difficult when you try to capture someone else’s real life tragedy. You want to treat it with just the right respect and empathy. And in today’s media, there are so many reminders of refugee children living in completely unacceptable conditions. Children should never face that kind of humiliation and those thoughts make it an emotional journey to write a song about that touching subject.
Do you have any further music releases planned for 2026/2027?
Not something I can share just yet. But I always stay busy, so we’ll just
have to wait and see!
Where is your hometown and could you please describe it in five words?
My entire family lives in Crimea. They live in a very scenic small town, surrounded with beautiful mountains, forests, rivers and vineyards. It’s impossible not to want to write or sing a song when you’re looking out at that beautiful Mediterranean scenery!
Do you have any live dates planned in the UK/Europe in 2026/2027?
Not yet.
What two things do you hope to have achieved once you have left the stage?
To have inspired and encouraged just a few people listening to my music. And along the way, I hope to do some humanitarian work on behalf of refugee children. I speak five languages and would love to be helpful to refugee children in war zones. That would give me great
satisfaction.
Do you have any favored stage instruments, effects, pedals, microphones etc?
I have an appreciation for all musical instrumentalists. And I love the sound of the cello, but, unfortunately, I don’t play cello. As for myself,
my voice is my instrument, and I don’t use any effects.
You are given the opportunity to write the score for a film adaptation of a novel that you enjoy. Which novel is it and why?
Absolutely! Doctor Zhivago if they would remake it.
How do you look after your voice?
I try not to yell too much at all the bad drivers on the Los Angeles freeways!! And I love camomile tea lately, as it’s caffeine free and it
seems to sooth my vocal chords
Who are some of your musical influences? Do you have any recommendations?
Whitney Houston, Celine Dion, Tina Turner. I love Elton John and Freddie
Mercury.
What makes Zarema happy and what makes you unhappy?
Talking on video calls with my family in Crimea makes me happy. Seeing the many helpless children in refugee camps and seeing
children makes me very unhappy, really heartbroken. I just want to take away all of their pain.
Zarema’s new single ‘Child’s Prayer’ with The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra is out now.
https://ffm.to/zarema-childs-prayer
