Canadian-Iranian Artist Rubina Embraces the Duality of Life in 'Darya'

Ahead of the release of her debut EP, Take Me to the Moon, Persian-Canadian artist, Rubina, has released a third single, one that hypnotises with a unique blend of electronic textures and Middle Eastern instrumentation, coated in a deliberately dark, broody seduction. 

Described by the artist as being born in a “place where human emotion dissolves into nature and nature dissolves into us,” ‘Darya’ sees Rubina sings in both English and Farsi - but it’s not the only duality that exists in the track. It’s about love and loss, it’s a storm and a stillness, it’s inspired by both the coasts of Vancouver and Shomal, in the north of Iran.

“When I originally wrote the song, I wasn’t chasing right or wrong - who can really define that?” Rubina says of the song. “I was chasing honesty. The kind that’s raw and messy, that can drown you before it saves you. This song is where my past and present finally stop fighting.”

She presents this recurring dichotomy as her truth  - not in conflict, but as a reality of her life’s experience, the ups and downs, the good and the bad, which manifests in the construction of the song; sometimes it sneaks, other times it soars.

There’s a cinematic nature to the track, as if it sonically narrates a dream sequence, just minimalist enough to leave space for interpretation - influenced no doubt by co-producers, The Fund - but atmospherically layered enough to showcase the emotional undercurrents that drive the track. It makes the wait for the track’s official video release on October 17 all the more intriguing and paints new shades of an upcoming EP that, after the releases of ‘Parsi’ and ‘Tehran’, is shaping up to be as culturally resonant as it is personal.