Zainab Lax is a multi-instrumentalist and music therapist with roots in Germany, Turkey, India, Afghanistan, and Turkmenistan. Born and raised in Germany, she found music early on as a way to explore and connect her many-layered cultural identities.

Her main instrument is the harp, which she first studied in a Western classical context. Over time, she expanded her repertoire to include Eastern instruments such as the Indian sarod and the Iranian tar. Through this meeting of different sound worlds, she creates spaces in which people can encounter their own questions of belonging, identity, and rootedness.

In 2017, Zainab completed her studies in music therapy at the ArtEZ Conservatory in Enschede, the Netherlands, where she deepened her knowledge of music-therapeutic methods, particularly in work with people affected by post-traumatic stress disorder. She later completed a master’s degree in Cultural Diversity in Music Education at the University of Hildesheim. Her master’s thesis focused on empowerment, which has remained a central part of her artistic and therapeutic work.