Lana Lubany Explores Identity & Displacement on Pop EP ‘Yafa’

London-based Palestinian artist Lana Lubany chronicles her struggle with racism as a third culture kid and her feeling of displacement in her latest pop EP, ‘Yafa’.

“I’ve always felt like I was in between worlds - an outsider. And, after having finally accepted my own identity, I was met with yet another struggle to gain acceptance from the world,” Lana Lubany says. “This project is a safe space for the in-betweeners and beyond.”

The record’s moniker bears the same name as Lubany’s hometown Yafa, a port city in the Israel-occupied Palestine. Deeply personal and strikingly raw, the six tracks pivot between pieces from her upbringing and experiences of cultural dissonances that have shaped who she is today. A hybrid of melismatic English and Arabic pop sensibilities, each track sees her navigating these obstacles, bridging her experience as a Palestinian with her own eccentricities as a musician.

The album’s opener, ‘I Wish I Was Normal’, serves as a documentation of her inner turmoil and constant struggle with belonging in an environment where she didn’t feel welcomed. Meanwhile, on the title track ‘Yafa’ and ‘Nazareth’, the singer begins her journey of self-acceptance and embracing her Palestinian heritage. The former features haunting melodies that seep with melancholy, accompanying Lana as she revisits her hometown through her grandma’s stories, speaking of olive trees and the river – small details connecting her to her roots that are always in her thoughts and heart.

‘Another Year’, which was previously released as a preview single of the album along with ‘Nazareth’ and ‘Prayers’, is a more upbeat track, incorporating contemporarily reimagined Levantine rhythms, and touching on themes of Palestinian resilience and defiance against the atrocities of the Israeli occupation.

The album’s outro ‘Set Her Free’ is a tongue-in-cheek track calling out anti-Palestinian racists and double-faced friends who make her feel like an outsider, serving as a stark contrast to the mayhem of uncertainty and the feeling of isolation she struggled with at the beginning.