If you ever had to fill out a questionnaire you know the little boxes one has to check or the dotted line where you write down your occupational title. For Jasmin Shakeri there is no apt box and every dotted line would be too short. Because asked for what she does for a living she will give you many answers: She’s a musician, singer, songwriter, entertainer and dancer – all combined in one, highly concentrated and passionate!
The Basics As the daughter of an Iranian graduate engineer and a fashion designer she grows up in Berlin, constantly exposed to all kinds of music: “My brother is nine years older. So when it came to music he was always ahead of me since he was able to deal with the lyrics in a different way. He sprinkled me with music of kinds of styles. There was everything from Sting to Aretha Franklin, it was very diverse and open-minded.†Despite this openness, however, there is one specific sound that particularly touches her. A sound she today transfers into her own context in a creative, quick-witted, smart and authentic way: American R’n’B.At the tender age of five she takes ballet classes and visits an artistically orientated elementary school. Jasmin loves performing arts; she loves the stage and dancing but as far as singing is concerned the perfectionist inside of her hesitates. She does not discover her talent until she is sixteen when she accompanies a friend, who had asked for her help in writing songs, to the studio and sings a few lines.
Background Work From then on she works hard on herself and on her gift. Jasmin takes singing lessons and starts writing songs. She gains experience as a studio singer but soon comes to realize that all the vocal training will not be of any advantage if she is not able to make music at a place where it can be enjoyed in the most immediate, direct unfiltered manner: on stage. Jasmin applies for a job as background singer and tours henceforth with big names like Ayman and Yvonne Catterfeld. She is gone for weeks, playing a show every night and enjoying the live experience of a concert as well as the hard work that stands behind it. However, this still does not suffice the full-blooded entertainer: “There is a slight rumbling inside of you when you are singing background. This rumbling is not so much about the urge to step to the front; with me it’s more about wanting to finally perform my own stuff because I’m able to feel my own lyrics on a deeper level than somebody else’s lyrics. There are just so many emotions in your voice alone when you’re singing what you wrote yourself!â€
The Lyricist And Jasmin has written a lot in the meantime! She starts off in English but then switches to German very quickly after realizing that German is the language she is able to twist and turn best with a remarkable ease. In this process she creates lyrics that not only talk about love, life, sex, career, fears, family and friends in a very sophisticated way but are also infused with a flow that was unheard of in German R’n’B. Jasmin merges danceable, club-oriented beats and powerful lyrics, in which she takes the liberty to present herself in all facets of her femininity. The vamp is just as well a part of this personality as the dear friend, the sister, the daughter, the brat, the sexy dancer and the wholehearted and politically conscious student of North American Studies. The Beathoavenz, a producer team from Berlin and also the Executive Producers of her album, and KD Supier, another talented producer from Germany’s capital, give her the musical room she needs to unfold her lyrical talent.
Jasmin On Stage As a true artist Jasmin Shakeri belongs on stage. That is why in April 2006 she played one of the leading roles in a Hip H’Opera called “così fan tuttiâ€, a Hip-Hop-Musical-Opera that sold out the Komische Oper in Berlin. At a showcase within the framework of liveDEMO in May 2006 she presented her own material for the first time and received thunderous applause for her elaborate stage show complete with great dancers, background singers and an amazing band! On this occasion she attracted the attention of one of Germany’s most successful rappers, Jan Delay, who immediately asked her to go on tour with him as his leading background singer. This says a lot about her presence on stage, her vocal abilities and her professionalism, the main reasons for fact that Jasmin Shakeri is the number one choice of incredible artists like Ms. Dynamite, Dwele, Omar and many others whenever they need amazing talent, iron work ethic and not to forget dazzling looks!Trying to limit the young artist to just one role would not only be wrong but also completely impossible since her various facets and features in inimitable combination turn her into what she is: a musician, singer, song writer entertainer and dancer who needs her own box on every questionnaire!CONTACT: che*che (music), tatjana stein & nico zeh phone: 0030 61287657 [email protected] or [email protected]
JASMIN SHAKERI LIVE @ JAN DELAY CONCERT IN BERLIN 23.10.06!!!