Clarissa Bitar is an accomplished Palestinian oud musician and composer hailing from Los Angeles, California. With a background in Music and a specialization in Ethnomusicology from UC Santa Barbara, Clarissa’s musical journey has been enriched by training under esteemed Arab oudists such as Simon Shaheen, Charbel Rouhana, and Bassam Saba. Their performances have graced stages across the United States and internationally.
On this episode, Clarissa talks about growing up playing guitar, falling in love with the oud in college, and gradually switching from a biology major to ethnomusicology major to a working musician.
Clarissa’s latest song ‘Leh’ is coming out on December 5! The song includes lyrics by Mohammed El Kurd and Clarissa singing! They talk about the variety of musical influences in the song, heartbreak as inspiration, shooting the music video in Mexico, and becoming comfortable using their own voice on tracks after being on T. They also talk about their history collaborating with Mohammed, and what it’s like evolving together as artists and people over several years.
At Nadia’s request, Clarissa also tells a story about getting high with their teta.