This North African native mixes the old with the new to produce a world music album with a sound all its own. Born in Tunisia to an English painter father and a French ballerina mother, Zera Vaughan entered the Tunisia Music Conservatory at age 10 and followed it with entrance into the Paris Music Conservatory.

Zera's music does not fit into the typical mold of any particular style. While she sometimes sings in Hebrew and Arabic, her debut album Back to the Roots is sung in French and English to melodies that are contemporary, but with a distinctive traditional Middle Eastern sound. Mixing the music of her youth in North Africa with the music of today, Zera has returned to her musical roots. Her distinctive voice blends with the traditional sound to form a world music sound that reaches right down to your soul.

Back to the Roots is a collection of 11 original and cover tunes, but even on the cover tunes Zera makes them distinctly her own. Among the covers is a hauntingly beautiful rendition of the Sting song "Fragile" that leaves you wanting for more.

Zera and her family split their time between Paris and Los Angeles.

[ visit the artist's website ]