Name: Ninsun Poli

Age: 30

Hometown: Stockholm, Sweden

How would you describe your music? My music is created in a very free state of mind and without any boundaries or rules. It is my art and my way of expressing myself. It can be whatever you want it to be.

What does your family think of you being a musician? Did they always support you? My family is and has always been my biggest supporters in anything I do. Without them none of this would be possible!

Your brother Nabu is also a musician, part of the Mili Mili World Music band. How would you compare and contrast your sounds? I love Mili Mili World Music! Our sounds are very different from each other. Besides that, my brother is a musical genius. We both love working with different types of music and we both come from two different musical worlds. I think that's why me and my brother work so well together and understand each other when it comes to music.

Can you talk about the idea behind “Story”? Are you still adding content to it? "Story" is about taking [my] music into another dimension. It's about giving another meaning to the song and showing that music can be interpreted in different ways depending on who's listening. Me and my cousin Siduri Poli sat down and I explained to her what the songs mean to me and the feelings I had when I wrote the lyrics. Then she interpreted it in her own way and wrote a new story to each song. Normally, in movies for example, the music is added after the script is written. We liked the thought of having the music decide the story.

Do you have any upcoming performances? I'm currently focusing on my upcoming album, but hopefully I will be able to squeeze in a performance or two. I will do a live session on Swedish National Radio P3 in Stockholm on May 20th. It will [be] broadcast live on their website. You should be able to watch it from the U.S. I hope.

You recently performed at South by Southwest (SXSW) in Texas, how was it? It was amazing! It was my first time playing in the U.S. and I can't wait to come back!

Who do you look up to and why? I look up to my parents. For all the sacrifices they have made for me and my siblings and how hard they have worked to make their dreams come true. They have made me who I am and they inspire me everyday to become better. If I am half the person they are today I will be forever grateful.

If you could travel back in time, what time period would you like to live in and why? I would love to experience a Bob Marley concert live!

(Photo by Nina Andersson) — *(Photo by Nina Andersson)*

How does the situation concerning Assyrians in the Middle East make you feel? It's very heartbreaking to see history repeating itself after so many years while the world is just standing by watching and doing nothing. I hope that this makes the Assyrian people stand united so that we can fight together for what's left of our Assyrian legacy and keep the Assyrian culture alive forever. My heart goes out to everyone who's suffering [in] this inhuman war.

If you weren’t making music, what would you be doing? I can't imagine not making music. I think I would work with kids or teenagers.

Any final thoughts you’d like to share? My new EP Great Leap Forward will be released in the U.S. shortly. Until then, the video for the first single is out.

Portions of this interview have been edited.

Visit Ninsun's website here. Follow her on Twitter @NinsunPoli. Like her Facebook page. And follow her on Instagram @NinsunPoli.