Localized: Doumie

The Salt Lake music scene showcases a wide diversity of artists, spanning various genres, identities and countries of origin. Doumie and Gavanni, who immigrated to Utah at a young age from Madagascar and Nigeria respectively, are perfect examples of two musicians who bring fresh perspectives to the local scene. You can see the R&B/pop artists at SLUG’s August Localized showcase at Kilby Court on Thursday, August 17 (doors at 7, music at 8). Thank you to Riso-Geist for sponsoring the event!

Although Doumie grew up around music in Madagascar, she didn’t truly consider herself a musical artist until something magical happened in 2017. Her cover of “Indray Andro” received attention from the creator of the song, Madagascan musician Rakoto Fran. He invited her to his home in Biarritz, France where they drove to San Sebastián, Spain to record a new version and video of “Indray Andro” together. “It was a great experience that gave me a wild belief in myself,” Doumie says. “And I was like, I’m just gonna start doing music and actually write my own songs.”

In 2010 at age 18, Doumie immigrated to Utah from Madagascar by herself. She says it was a tough transition because of the language barrier as she only spoke Malagasy and French at the time. The move to the United States was important and worth the struggle to “get access to more opportunities.” After doing covers for several years, Doumie dropped her first album in June 2020, Butterfly, a  soulful R&B/pop rock record with smooth melodies and lyrics, best described as an emotional exploration of human experiences.

“That’s the power of being an artist—music is really a healer.”

Doumie says the lyrics in her songs often come from painful experiences or chaotic emotions which can often be cathartic to sing about. “That’s the power of being an artist—music is really a healer,” Doumie says. “I want it to heal myself and heal other people through my songs.” For her, song ideas can come at any time, whether it be a topic she wants to sing about or a melody she wants to include. “I just record myself on my phone … I talk about what I feel, what’s going on in my life … or my friend’s life.” She also enjoys finding instrumentals to sing freestyle over on the daily “just to exercise her voice.”

After the pandemic started calming down, Doumie began performing at small shows around the city. Now more than ever, she feels that unheard artists like her are starting to appear in more spaces around Salt Lake, performing and practicing their art. “There are more studios, clubs and cafes, and all of that gives more access to artists that have just been doing everything by themselves,” she says. In 2021 her Instagram @_doumie got hacked, and she lost over 7,000 followers comprising people who listened to her music and important figures in the music industry. “It was so hard to rebuild everything because I did everything from scratch,” Doumie says. “But there’s always gonna be obstacles with anything that you do.” She’s been able to steadily rebuild her following since then and connect and collaborate with more local artists.

“There are more studios, clubs and cafes, and all of that gives more access to artists that have just been doing everything by themselves.”

Since Doumie first became involved with the Salt Lake City music scene, she notes that its consistency and variety have grown. “People are now doing pop, and there’s a lot more female artists that are rappers,” Doumie says. One thing she thinks the local scene could do to take it to the next level is foster less competitiveness and more community and camaraderie, especially between artists who make different genres of music. She says, “What if we were all happy for each other’s growth instead of wanting to be more than someone else?”

Even though it’s been several years since Doumie put out her album Butterfly, she feels she’s still on that journey of a caterpillar becoming a butterfly—a fully formed version of an artist that can easily tap into sorrow and joy, has more confidence and feels spiritually rich through making music. “I want to be so sure of myself, because … I’m not 100% there,” she says. “I feel like [it’s always important to] remember where you want to go in the future.”

Read more Localized Interviews here:
Localized: Gavanni
Localized: Jon Bean and the Eyerollers