Influence Profile
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Trending in YARA’s World
Latest Album
Common Sense
Released Aug 7, 2025
Trending Globally
Story
Quick Facts
Born
1980
1980
From
AU
AU
Journey
Yara Alkurd records and performs under the name YARA, a Melbourne-based singer-songwriter and producer whose work sits at the intersection of neo-soul, pop-soul, and soul. Born in Ukraine of Palestinian heritage and raised in Gaza during her formative years, she relocated to Australia at the age of 12. That crossing of borders, cultures, and circumstances before her teenage years carries a weight that surfaces throughout her music with a sense of lived truth rather than borrowed sentiment — grounding her songwriting in something that feels earned.
Active since 2023, YARA writes and produces her own material independently, playing keys and handling both lead and backing vocals across all her releases. Her catalog to date comprises four tracks — 'Common Sense,' 'Lonely Love Affair,' 'Bad Behaviour,' and 'Back of the Uber' — a body of work that maps the breadth of her songwriting, moving from introspective, slow-burning ballads to more layered pop-soul arrangements. She releases through her own self-titled label, YARA, retaining full creative control at every stage of her output. That independence has kept her catalog cohesive and considered, shaped by artistic intent rather than market pressure. Her collaborative reach across the 2023–2025 period has been broad, with credits spanning Manali, Eliott, Velvet Bloom, Emma Volard, SKŸE, Rara Zulu, Meiwa, The Senegambiant Jazz Band, and Jack The Fox — a range of partnerships that reflects both her versatility and her standing within Australia's independent music community.
Beyond the studio, YARA's live performances have earned recognition for their intimacy and immediacy, translating the emotional precision of her recorded work into something felt directly in the room. With a small but purposeful body of work and a voice shaped by experiences that few artists can claim, she stands as a compelling and distinct presence in Australia's contemporary soul scene — one whose next moves will be watched closely.
