Meet Lara Mamoun

We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Lara Mamoun a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, so we’re so thrilled to have Lara with us today – welcome and maybe we can jump right into it with a question about one of your qualities that we most admire. How did you develop your work ethic? Where do you think you get it from?
From an early age, I was always drawn to both the Sciences and the Arts – it’s what helps me make sense of the World around me and most importantly, the World within me. I wasn’t your typical kid, for I was overly ambitious and prolific in my creative and entrepreneurial work from an early age and I couldn’t help but share my creations with my family, peers and community. I grew up watching my father, who came from an impoverished background, become a self-made man through his intellect, tenacious work and honesty. I was also fortunate to have a highly educated and hard working mother who went above and beyond to care for me and my siblings. And so I strongly believe that my wonderful parents inspired me in so many ways, which has helped me develop the strong work ethic that I have today.

When I was 4 years old, I remember drawing and then selling my first comic book to my mom. The experience taught me that my work mattered and that I could also be rewarded for doing what I love. I couldn’t contain my entrepreneurial Spirit and my love for sharing my artistic passions with my community. At school, I would draw and sell comic books so I could make enough money to invest in my other creative projects. I remember always loving arcades and how they’d make me feel, so I wanted to be able to build my own. And so, from the ages of 10 to 17, while I was growing up in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, I would build and design carnival-like games, buy toys, concession items and organize annual carnivals in my neighborhood that I’d call ‘Fun Day’. I would then go on to invite all of my neighbors and classmates to attend. I’d charge them an entry fee and would also charge them for each game they’d play. Whenever they’d win, they’d be rewarded with tickets that they could use to claim prizes from my prize table. It was fun, so I continued to organize these ‘Fun Days’ until I was able to make enough money to buy a giant inflatable water slide that I then placed in my backyard. I waited for my parents to go out of town in the summer of 2008 and I opened my own waterpark that I dotingly coined ‘Watermania’. Evidently, the waterslide was my main attraction and I also had a mini pool, plastic slide, a concession stand and water activities. Granted, in hindsight, it might’ve been a little strange of me to do all of those things, but I was determined to recreate the places that I enjoyed going to and so I did – given my limited resources and with the help of my imagination.

My passions and ambitions were always intertwined, however, being the rebel that I am, I believe that at times I lacked the discipline I needed to be consistent. I was always a trouble maker, but in order to continue to do what I love I knew I had to set boundaries for myself and others. I spent my youth developing my craft, and my adulthood applying myself. That’s why today, I am able to work in various industries – i.e. Film, Music, Tech and Business – and I devote all of my time and energy to all of my projects. Fundamentally, I am just so in love with everything that I do and once I commit to an idea or a feeling, I fully immerse myself. This, I believe, is the true basis for my strong work ethic.

Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?
I’m very excited to talk about my music and how it’s been working on my visual album ‘Purple Skies’. For those of you who don’t know me, I go by the stage name Elle Moon and I make Pop, Rap, EDM and Rock music. On August 30th, 2021, I released my debut album ‘Purple Skies’ that features 11 tracks, 10 of which I composed myself. I write, produce and sing in English, French and Arabic. And for the past two years, I’ve been independently producing, directing, editing and starring in my visual album. So far, I completed 8 out of the 11 music videos from my album and it’s been quite thrilling to be able to showcase my work, both musically and visually, as it allows my fans to have a better understanding of who I really am.
With ‘Purple Skies’, I wanted to be able to share my experiences, hopes and dreams with my listeners and so I’m hoping that by the time my visual album is completed, I’ll be able to paint the full picture of who I’m becoming as an Artist and what my journey has been like so far.
What I’m most excited about is the upcoming release of my Single ‘Family Obligations’ from my second album. With this new album, I’m exploring new sounds, composing various genre-bending tracks and delving further into my essence to be able to share more of myself with this magical World. And ‘Family Obligations’ holds such a special place in my heart, as the song explores what people are willing to do for their families, and more specifically, it’s a recounting of what I had gone through with the breakdown of my Family and past relationship with my ex-girlfriend. I made this song as a means of processing not just my generational trauma, but to also hopefully heal from my traumatic experiences with Love.
Divorce is never easy. I learned from an early age that nothing lasts forever, and unfortunately in my early twenties, I experienced it with the love of my life. For years, I struggled with my sexuality and so did my ex-girlfriend, as we were both raised in somewhat traditional Middle Eastern homes. However, I was fortunate enough to be accepted, loved and supported by my family after having come out of the closet, but sadly, the same can’t be said about her and many others going through the same thing.
Sometimes we don’t get what we want, and it’s unfair to have to walk away from someone we love because the odds aren’t in our favor, but I learned that with every ending comes a new beginning, and I’m hoping that this song will help me close this chapter of my life and truly move on from what once was. I feel quite vulnerable sharing this side of myself, but I also believe that it’s necessary for me to have closure and hopefully, this song will resonate with others going through the same thing. Just know that you are not alone in your journey and that together, we can make it through anything.

There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
The skills I’m most proud to have had along my journey have been ambition, self discipline and patience. Evidently, there are many wonderful qualities I admire in others and in myself, but I believe that these have helped me continue to create and share my works, to learn how to manage my time, energy and resources and to never give up on myself or my dreams – no matter how long it takes to realize them. I’m quite persistent when it comes to pursuing my aspirations, and resilient when things don’t go my way. But I don’t believe I would’ve turned out this way had it not been for my wonderful family, my peers, the community in which I was brought up in, as well as the experiences that helped shape me. However, I do believe that we each have our own respective journeys and that we may value certain qualities differently. My advice to young Entrepreneurs and Artists is to trust yourself, be kind to yourself and don’t be afraid to learn. This world was built for You. You are limitless and beautiful, and however you choose to lead your life, as long as you are authentic, consistent and persistent, your quality of Life will improve. So no matter what qualities you choose to adopt, just continue to believe in yourself and fight for what you love, and I promise you that the World will follow suit.

Is there a particular challenge you are currently facing?
The challenge I’m currently facing is financial instability. I’ve always financed all of my creative and entrepreneurial endeavors; I’ve done so from the tender age of 4 and will continue to do so in the future. In the past few years, my main source of income has been through my ongoing work in Film as a Producer, UPM, Director, 1st AD, Cinematographer, Screenwriter, DP, Script Supervisor and on-screen Talent. As a freelancer I bounce between departments, but in the past few months, we’ve had strikes with both the WGA and SAG-AFTRA which impacted the Film industry in my city of Atlanta and thus, my main source of revenue. In spite of the fact that it’s been incredibly difficult to book as many gigs as I previously had, I do believe that these strikes are necessary in helping protect writers and performers’ rights and wages. And since I wasn’t able to return to my work on set, I figured I’d get creative with financing my current projects.

It may have been challenging at first, but I’ve been working on entering the public vending and private catering business for the past year with my business partner, Berna Agan. We run a mobile food car in the city of Atlanta by the name of ‘La Vie en Rose crêperie’. However, our paperwork took a little longer than anticipated and I knew that I had to do something to keep the money coming in. So I bought and assembled a Snow cone machine, as well as the necessary components to operate it remotely and secured an initial supply of syrups, ice, silverware and cups. Once I assembled everything I needed to start ‘Elle’s Cones’, I then took my set-up to Dragon Con. And over the course of the convention, I sold snow cones to raise money to film my ‘LA Feels’ music video. It was a great way to socialize with people and to share my music, while also conducting market research into the food industry, which will in turn benefit my mobile food catering business. In this day and age, everyone is hustling to pay the bills because it’s important to have financial stability. I like having multiple revenue streams for difficult times such as these. And I truly believe that when one door closes, another opens. And opportunities abound for those who are brave enough to take risks.

With that being said, if you have or are currently encountering obstacles, my advice to you is to never give up, be persistent, stay consistent and don’t be afraid to try new things. Anything is possible, and you could overcome any challenge you face by simply trusting yourself and others around you. So go forth and explore!

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All rights reserved to Moon Scope Records, LLC

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