Dua Saleh is someone who might well be familiar to you. As an actor, Dua has taken a key role in comedy-drama Sex Education, their star turn as Cal Bowman capturing the hearts of fans on both sides of the Atlantic.
The Sudanese-American multi-hyphenate is also a noted musician, and helped to sculpt Travis Scott’s ‘MY EYES’ – rubbing shoulders alongside luminaries such as Justin Vernon and Sampha.
Freshly signed to pivotal independent label Ghostly, Dua Saleh has now outlined plans for a run of solo material. New single ‘daylight falls’ is online now, the opening page in their latest chapter – drawing from disparate strands of their identity, it melds together hip-hop production, some R&B aspects, and some potent, highly personal lyricism.
Words etched from the heart, ‘daylight falls’ comes at a worrying time for trans communities, and the pushback on female and non-male spaces generally.
Dua Saleh comments…
“I was thinking about a point when I was at my lowest, and being a friend for kids who might be feeling the same, at the brink of it, especially with all that’s going on with trans and abortion legislation. Everyone’s going through it.”
Directed by Braden Lee, the full video for ‘daylight falls’ is wonderful, a beautifully shot journey to places and landscapes that hold unique important for Dua Saleh. The artist comments…
“It’s about healing and finding solace in people willing to listen to you in times of darkness. To encourage anyone to express troublesome feelings with someone, especially when you’re feeling at your lowest. I hope my art can be used as a tool to calm people in times of duress. My home country of Sudan has broken out into a Civil War and a number of people are dealing with the effects both physically and mentally. I’d like to highlight a non-profit organization, Darfur Women’s Action Group, that is working to assist marginalised communities in Sudan and in Darfur at this time. Please contribute what you can.”
Tune in now.
Photo Credit: Grant Spanier
