How violinist Yasmine Azaiez found her sound
Yasmine Azaiez · Artist portrait
Watch on YouTube ↗Explore · The story behind the music
A VIOLIN.
MANY WORLDS.
Heritage, improvisation
and a sound of her own.
Yasmine Azaiez
One instrument.
An open conversation.
A violin can sing, trace a rhythm or pull an ensemble into new territory.
For Yasmine Azaiez, its possibilities extend through classical music, North African sounds, jazz and electronics. Her voice is part of that conversation too: another means of shaping a melody, a texture and a moment.
Begin with the music ↗01 · The foundations
Technique meets
curiosity.
Tunisian-Indian heritage and a classical education are starting points for a musical language that keeps expanding.
Yasmine studied at the Yehudi Menuhin School and New England Conservatory. That training underpins her work as a violinist, singer and composer, giving her the resources to move between composed music and improvisation.
North African music and jazz became central to her sound. Listen for the way a phrase can move from sustained melody into rhythmic insistence — and for the space she leaves around it.
Meet the artist
Finding
her sound.
A closer introduction to Yasmine and the musical voice she has made her own.
02 · Encounters
A career shaped
by exchange.
Her performances have taken her to the Royal Albert Hall, L’Olympia in Paris, the Royal Opera House Muscat and the Carthage Festival in Tunis.
Collaborators named in her artist biography include oud player Naseer Shamma, clarinettist Kinan Azmeh, accordionist Cory Pesaturo and cellist Mstislav Rostropovich. The range reflects a practice built through encounters with different instruments and musical traditions.
Across these settings, the violin remains a personal voice: a way of listening to others as well as being heard.
03 · Shiva’s Shoes · 2025
Heritage
in motion.
Six tracks. A shared pulse.
The immediacy of a live exchange.
Produced by Ashish Manchanda, Shiva’s Shoes connects Indian heritage with North African jazz. Recorded almost entirely in single takes, it allows the musicians’ responses to remain part of the music’s character.
Layered violin, vocals and danceable rhythms create a world shaped by repetition and gradual change. Stay with the groove and listen for the small shifts inside it.
Listen to the album ↗Spotify loads when you activate the player. Playback options depend on Spotify.
A quieter encounter · Duo with guitar
True Sorry
Two instruments, room to listen. This duo performance offers an intimate contrast to the fuller arrangements and electronic textures elsewhere in Yasmine’s work.
Her live performances range from a solo electronic set through trio and quartet line-ups for Shiva’s Shoes to collaborations with philharmonic orchestras.
True Sorry
Yasmine Azaiez · Duo with guitar
Watch on YouTube ↗04 · AVG
The violin enters
an electronic world.
Live strings, vocals, looping and electronic production extend the palette.
AVG brings cinematic textures together with North African grooves and contemporary beats. The violin stays at the centre of a performance that draws on Yasmine’s experience across acoustic and electronic music.
The project has appeared at Burning Man and Lightning in a Bottle, according to the 2026 AVG press kit.
Watch AVG on the artist page ↗05 · Beyond the stage
Opening a stage
for others.
A musical career can also create opportunities for the next generation.
In 2019, Yasmine founded a large-scale violin competition in Tunisia, supported by the British Council and independent Tunisian partners.
The initiative brought competition, mentorship and performance opportunities together, encouraging young musicians to develop their confidence and pursue their ambitions. It adds another dimension to her work: performer, composer and cultural organiser.
Keep listening
Follow the thread.
From Shiva’s Shoes to “Alone”, “Revolution”, “Balladi”, “Neon Balloons” and AVG: discover different entrances into Yasmine’s music on the artist page.
Watch & listen ↗European booking
Shiva’s Shoes · AVG
Ask GRIOT about dates and the live format for your stage.
Sources & further listening
Based on Yasmine Azaiez’s 2026 artist press kit, AVG press kit, press portfolio and cultural-impact documentation supplied to GRIOT.